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Dec 29, 2020 6:30 PM -

Quebec becomes fourth province to confirm more contagious COVID-19 variant

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A healthcare worker talks with people as they wait to be tested for COVID-19 at a clinic in Montreal, Sunday, Dec. 27, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

Quebec has become the fourth province to confirm its first case of a more contagious COVID-19 variant.

Health Minister Christian Dube says the person who tested positive is a family member of someone who returned from the United Kingdom on Dec. 11.

Three other provinces have confirmed cases of the new variant in recent days, with three cases in Ontario, one in Alberta and one in British Columbia.

The variant was first identified in the U.K. and has since spread to several other countries.

The latest case in Canada comes as Yukon Health and Social Services Minister Pauline Frost says the territory has received its first shipment of the Moderna vaccine.

Meanwhile, COVID-19 vaccinations in Ontario are expected to return to full operations today after being scaled down over the holidays.

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