The latest novel coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Monday (this file is no longer being updated. Read the latest here). Web links to longer stories if available.
This story is no longer updating. Click here to see Tuesday’s daily news file
7 p.m.: Willowdale Welcome Centre confirms 74 COVID-19 cases among clients, according to figures from Toronto Public Health.
Widespread testing was conducted at the North York facility over the weekend, and strikingly, a large number of those who tested positive showed few or no symptoms, according to Patricia Mueller, chief executive officer of Homes First, the agency that operates the 200-bed shelter.
Mueller said she is hopeful it will not have the same impact on refugees at Willowdale, who on average are 40 years old or younger and are in generally good health.
The shelter, which opened in the fall, has capacity for 120 women and 80 men on two floors.
Mary-Anne Bedard, the head of the city’s shelter support and housing administration, said the city is working with the province to conduct the mass testing, triaging clients as needed to send them to the appropriate programs — which could mean sending them to a COVID-19 recovery centre or into isolation at a different facility.
6:55 p.m.: The coronavirus pandemic has forced one of Canada’s major beef processing plants to shut down, with no estimated date of reopening, as cattle producers warn they could lose $500 million over the coming weeks.
The Cargill meat processing plant in High River, Alta. temporarily closed Monday after the operation was linked to more than 350 cases of COVID-19 in the suburban community outside Calgary.
About 2,100 people work at the plant, and the company is urging them all to get tested for the novel coronavirus, Cargill’s North America lead John Nash said in a statement.
The company said it typically processes 4,500 cattle per day, which the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association says represents 36 per cent of the country’s beef production capacity.
6 p.m.: Alberta is reporting 105 new cases and four additional deaths related to COVID-19.
That brings the total to 2,908 cases and 59 deaths in the province.
So far, 1,230 people have recovered from the illness.
Health Minister Tyler Shandro says cases in care homes remain a concern and the government will be releasing a plan this week to help the facilities and workers.
5 p.m.: Ontario’s regional health units are reporting their largest single-day jump in COVID-19 cases since the since the pandemic began, according to the Star’s count.
As of 5 p.m. Monday, the Star is counting 12,534 confirmed or probable cases in the province, a record jump of 668 cases since the same time Sunday.
Most of that increase came in the GTA as the region’s five health units reported by far their largest single-day jump in cases, up 473 in 24 hours.
The GTA regions also saw the majority of the 47 new deaths reported in the province since Sunday evening. In 24 hours, Peel Region reported nine more deaths; Toronto and Durham Region reported eight more fatal cases; Halton Region four more; and York Region one additional death.
Provincewide, the pandemic has now claimed 657 lives.
Meanwhile, as the daily case count continues to grow in the GTA, daily growth has stayed relatively flat in the rest of the province.
4:55 p.m.: Ryan Meili, the leader of Saskatchewan’s NDP, says to help fight COVID-19 the doctor-turned-politician has renewed his medial licence.
He says it felt right to step up and help at a testing and assessment facility in Saskatoon.
2:42 p.m.: The Manitoba government is extending its emergency health orders for the COVID-19 pandemic until the end of May. Premier Brian Pallister says people must continue to follow the rules in order to keep the province’s numbers in check.
That means the closure of non-essential businesses and the ban on public gatherings of more than 10 people will continue for another month. The order for interprovincial travellers to self-isolate for 14 days is also being extended.
Provincial health officials are reporting one additional COVID-19 case, for a total of 254. Health officials are also reporting the death of a woman in her 80s from COVID-19, bringing the death toll in Manitoba to six.
2:20 p.m.: Federal spending on an emergency benefit to workers out of a job due to COVID-19 has almost reached $20 billion. Federal statistics posted today shows that $19.8 billion in payments has been paid out through the Canada Emergency Response Benefit.
The Liberals had previously budgeted $24 billion for the program, which kicked in earlier this month. So far, there have been 6.73 million unique applicants for the program, a figure that includes some two million people who previously applied for employment insurance benefits in March.
2 p.m.: Transit service across Metro Vancouver will see deep cuts over the coming weeks as the company that manages bus, SeaBus, SkyTrain and commuter rail services copes with monthly losses of $75 million.
A statement from TransLink says ridership is down 83 per cent due to COVID-19, forcing it to temporarily layoff 1,492 workers and suspend 18 bus routes this week and a further 47 by early May.
SkyTrain, SeaBus and the West Coast Express commuter rail line will see service reductions of up to 40 per cent, depending on day and time.
TransLink says the cost-saving measures come with a commitment from the province to ensure near-regular service can be restored by September.
1:50 p.m.: For the sixth time in 10 days, New Brunswick has reported no new cases of COVID-19. Chief medical officer Dr. Jennifer Russell said there have only been four new cases in the last week.
Ninety-eight of the 118 total cases in the province have recovered, and there are only 20 active cases. Russell said she is encouraged by the “trend” of fewer cases and more people recovering, but reiterated that New Brunswickers still need to respect provincial restrictions by staying home.
2 p.m.: Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he wants to “give people hope,” but stresses we “can’t jump ahead” of things over a few weeks. “Very, very concerned about flu season and the fall” with a second wave of COVID-19. “We can see a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel . . . because the vast majority of people cooperated,” Ford says. “But there’s absolutely no way this fight is over.”
1:45 p.m.: Quebec is delaying all non-urgent activities in hospitals for the next two weeks to allow more medical professionals to work full time in the province’s struggling long-term care homes.
Premier François Legault says the province is short 2,000 people to work in the homes, where the majority of the province’s COVID-19 deaths have originated.
The province reported 62 more deaths due to COVID-19 for a total of 939, and 962 more cases for a total of 19,319. Legault said 3,847 people have recovered from the illness.
1:41 p.m.: Ford will update reporters following the latest model projections in the province released by health officials. A livestream of the news conference will be available at thestar.com
12:58 p.m.: Nova Scotia is reporting no new deaths from COVID-19 after a weekend where five deaths occurred at a non-profit nursing home in Halifax. The province reported 46 new cases of the virus today for a provincial total of 721 confirmed cases.
Nine people have died of COVID-19 in Nova Scotia, a figure that includes the five weekend deaths at the Northwood long-term care facility.
12:50 p.m.: The wave of cases in long-term care homes will lead to “wave of mortalities” because of the age of the residents, officials say.
12:45 p.m.: The median age of COVID-19 deaths in Ontario is 85 years old.
12:45 p.m.: Newfoundland and Labrador says there are no new cases of COVID-19. Chief Medical Officer Janice Fitzgerald says the total number of cases remains at 257 for the province, with the majority coming from the Eastern health region.
Despite there being no new cases, Premier Dwight Ball says the province still won’t ease on any restrictions for the coronavirus.
12:41 p.m.: There are no new cases of COVID-19 in Prince Edward Island, leaving the country’s smallest province with just 26 cases. Twenty-three of those patients have recovered and there have been no deaths from the novel coronavirus in P.E.I.
The province’s chief public health officer, Dr. Heather Morrison, says Canadians will need to learn to live with COVID-19. She says a balance must be found between keeping people safe and returning to normal life.
12:25 p.m.: Ontario Health CEO Matt Anderson says that “our public health measures are working.” Now looking at bringing elective procedures back on line. Thousands of surgeries were cancelled due to the pandemic. Updated provincial projections underscore that physical distancing and self-isolation are having a positive impact on containing the virus.
12:20 p.m.: Ontario modelling suggests the COVID-19 epidemic has peaked in broader community and “is coming under control,” but seems to be growing in long-term care and other congregate settings. The Star’s Kate Allen and Jennifer Yang wrote about the “two epidemics” in the province.
12:15 p.m.: Ontario has hit its predicted COVID-19 peak early thanks to stay-at-home and physical distancing measures expected to keep the total number of cases far below grim scenarios presented two weeks ago, according to new computer modelling released by the province.
“These actions are making a difference and people need to stay the course and stay strong in order to save live,” according to notes prepared for a briefing by health officials Monday.
The peak was not expected until May and is an important milestone because a reduction in cases should follow.
It’s likely Ontario will come out of the first wave of the outbreak with fewer than 20,000 cases, much lower than the 80,000 predicted two weeks ago when 300,000 was floated as a worst-case scenario, officials added.
12 p.m.: Eight staff and 60 inmates at a Brampton jail have tested positive for COVID-19 in by far the largest outbreak reported so far in an Ontario provincial correctional institution, according to the Ministry of the Solicitor-General. Read the story from the Star’s Alyshah Hasham.
11:45 a.m.: Ontario health officials will give an update to the model projections for the COVID-19 outbreak in the province. A livestream of the news conference will be available at thestar.com
11:45 a.m.: MPs are back in the House of Commons after the four main parties failed to reach consensus on keeping Parliament adjourned. Now, a motion put forward by the Liberal government to sit once a week in person, and virtually otherwise, is being debated.
The Liberals have the support of the NDP and Bloc Québécois for their proposal. But the Conservatives disagree, saying more in-person debate and discussion of the government’s COVID-19 response is necessary.
11:35 a.m.: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says it is “heartbreak on top of heartbreak” when families whose loved ones were killed in Nova Scotia on Sunday cannot gather to mourn because of the COVID-19 physical distancing rules.
Trudeau says it is the same heartbreak felt by thousands of other Canadians who have lost loved ones to the virus, or to cancer or other illnesses.
He says there will be a virtual vigil on Friday night for all of Canada to support the community
11:30 a.m.: When asked about the negotiations on the return of Parliament, Trudeau said he doesn’t want to get into arguments with anyone today and that discussions continue.
11:15 a.m. (updated): Trudeau sends condolences to the families of the victims in the mass shooting in Nova Scotia. Trudeau says the “senseless violence” in Nova Scotia has “jolted” a country already coping with a pandemic. Trudeau says 18 lives were lost. One of the victims was RCMP Const. Heidi Stevenson, a 23-year member of the national police force and a mother of two. It’s a tragic reminder of the risks first responders take every day, Trudeau says.
11:05 a.m.: Trudeau to address reporters at 11:15 a.m. Livestream of the news conference will be available at thestar.com
A big talking point will likely be the return of Parliament, which is set to reopen this morning with three of the four main parties expected to back a plan for a single weekly sitting, over the objections of the Opposition Conservatives who continue to say that’s not enough.
11:02 a.m. (updated): Ontario’s regional health units have reported another 647 cases of COVID-19 since this time Sunday in the province’s largest 24-hour growth in cases since the pandemic began, according to the Star’s count.
As of 11 a.m. Monday, the Star has counted a total of 12,150 confirmed or probable cases of the disease, including 634 deaths.
Despite the jump in raw case numbers, the percentage increase of the epidemic over the last 24 hours — 5.6 per cent — is in line with a trend of slowed growth relative to recent weeks. The first seven days of April averaged 12.7 per cent daily growth; the second seven days 6.8 per cent.
Cases have grown by an average of 5.5 per cent per day since, a rate that if sustained would double the province’s total about every 13 days.
The province has also seen another 41 deaths reported since 11 a.m. Sunday. That growth includes a very large increase of nine new deaths in Peel Region, up to 46. More than half of the province’s COVID-19 cases and deaths have come in the GTA.
The Star publishes two counts a day, at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. They are based on the public tallies and statements of the province’s regional health units, the local bodies that collect and publish this data often before reporting to the province through its central reporting system. As such, the Star’s count is more current than the data the province publishes each morning.
Earlier Monday, the province reported 802 patients are now hospitalized with COVID-19, including 247 in an intensive care unit, of whom 193 are on a ventilator — totals that are all down slightly from recent days. A total of 5,515 people have recovered after testing positive for the virus, according to the provincial data.
The province says its data is accurate to 4 p.m. the previous day. The province also cautions its latest count of deaths — 584 — may be incomplete or out of date due to delays in the reporting system, saying that in the event of a discrepancy, “data reported by (the health units) should be considered the most up to date.”
The Star’s count, includes some patients reported as “probable” COVID-19 cases, meaning they have symptoms and contacts or travel history that indicate they very likely have the disease, but have not yet received a positive lab test.
10:35 a.m.: The Salvation Army Meighen Health Centre reports that 18 residents have now died of COVID-19, an increase of eight from last Friday.
The long-term-care home in midtown Toronto said 50 residents and 14 staff members have tested positive for the virus as of Monday.
“Our deepest sympathies, thoughts and prayers are with the family members who have lost their loved ones,” said Salvation Army public relations Maj. Rob Kerr.
The home on Millwood Road, near Yonge Street and Davisville Avenue, is the latest seniors facility in the city to report a serious outbreak of COVID-19.
10:17 a.m.: Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer says Parliament will reopen this morning. He is blaming the NDP and Bloc Québécois for siding with the Liberals in trying to limit debate and discussion around the government’s COVID-19 response.
All three parties have agreed to a single in-person sitting per week that can eventually be supplemented with virtual sittings. But Scheer says that’s not enough, and it is possible for Parliament to safely meet more often. Without a unanimous agreement, Parliament simply resumes as normal though not all 338 MPs have to be present.
10:15 a.m.: A Japanese professor of infectious disease says he is “very pessimistic” the postponed Tokyo Olympics can open in 15 months.
“To be honest with you, I don’t think the Olympics is likely to be held next year,” Kentaro Iwata, a professor of infectious disease at Kobe University, said Monday speaking in English on a teleconference. “Holding the Olympics needs two conditions; one, controlling COVID-19 in Japan, and controlling COVID-19 everywhere.”
10:05 a.m.: They are fearful, concerned, admonishing at times, but also full of pride for the job they are doing on the front line of Canada’s health-care response to the COVID-19 pandemic. From the trenches, and in their own words, nurses share their stories with the Toronto Star.
9:44 a.m.: NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he has not changed his position on a tentative deal struck with the Liberals and Bloc Québécois about the conditions under which the House of Commons should resume sitting.
The three parties reached an agreement that would see a reduced number of parliamentarians gather once per week, as well as two virtual committees of the whole per week. But Conservatives have insisted on more in-person sittings.
Without a consensus by late Monday morning, the House of Commons is set to resume business as usual by default.
8:33 a.m.: Iran on Monday began opening intercity highways and major shopping centres to stimulate its sanctions-choked economy, gambling that it has brought under control its coronavirus outbreak — one of the worst in the world — even as some fear it could lead to a second wave of infections.
8:05 a.m. The cuts in the oilpatch are continuing as companies adjust to lower oil prices in the wake of the pandemic.
Cathedral Energy Services Ltd. and McCoy Global Inc. both announced job cuts, reductions to executive pay and lower capital spending plans.
Oil prices have plunged due to the drop in demand due the outbreak of COVID-19, even with an agreement by OPEC and other producers to cut output starting in May.
7:20 a.m. (updated): Ontario health officials are set to release updated COVID-19 modelling today at noon.
The associate chief medical officer of health, Dr. Barbara Yaffe, has said the forecasts are “generally looking better,” but the province is not out of the woods yet.
The last modelling was released April 3, when projections showed that 1,600 Ontarians could die and 80,000 could be infected under the current restrictions at the time.
That same day, Premier Doug Ford ordered more businesses closed.
The latest data from the province shows that there have been 10,578 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ontario, including 553 deaths.
Previous modelling also showed that by today, under the “best case scenario,” more than 1,200 people confirmed to have COVID-19 would be in intensive care units, but currently that number is at 247.
Ford is expected to address reporters at 1:30 p.m.
7 a.m.: Spanish authorities have gone into damage control mode after a high ranking police official said in an apparent gaffe that one of the goals of fighting misinformation was to rein in negative coverage of the government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis.
During a daily press conference Sunday, the chief of the Civil Guard police force Gen. José Manuel Santiago said that in addition to avoid the “social stress” created by false information related to the COVID-19 pandemic, law enforcement was also fighting to “minimize that climate contrarian to the government’s management of the crisis.”
The Civil Guard later issued a statement saying that battling disinformation was being conducted respecting the freedom to criticism. Late on Sunday, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska also told La Sexta television that the general’s remarks were “erroneous.”
Grande-Marlaska also accused the conservative leading opposition PP party and the far-right Vox of being “disloyal” to the government. The two parties, together with the centre-right Citizens party, want the interior minister to answer questions in Parliament regarding the government’s handling of the state of emergency, now on its sixth week.
On Monday, without referring to his previous statement, Gen. Santiago said that during four decades of career he had prioritized the well being of people and had not been at any time moved by ideology.
7 a.m.: A Dutch privacy watchdog says it can’t evaluate if seven smartphone coronavirus apps the government tested over the weekend sufficiently protect users’ personal data.
The Dutch Data Protection Agency said Monday that terms given to developers were so unclear that it is not possible to work out if apps under consideration will work while safeguarding users’ data.
The announcement is a setback for the government, which wants to use a contact-tracking app to safeguard the public when coronavirus restrictions are gradually eased.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte is set to announce Tuesday evening whether restrictions he calls an “intelligent lockdown” will be partially lifted.
6:07 a.m. The president of the German soccer federation says resuming league play will not mean taking resources away from health care workers amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Fritz Keller writes in Kicker magazine “we guarantee that resuming play . . . will not cause a burden for the health care system.”
He adds that “there will be no use by sportspeople of testing capacity which would be missed elsewhere.”
No top league games have been played since March 11.
The German league has been more bullish than other major European competitions about the chances of resuming in May or June with widespread coronavirus tests for players. That push is partly driven by fears that several clubs face financial collapse without TV and sponsorship money.
5:33 a.m.: Some shops are reopening in much of Germany as Europe’s biggest economy takes its first tentative step toward restarting public life after a four-week shutdown.
Shops with a surface area of up to 800 square meters (8,600 square feet) are being allowed to reopen on Monday, along with auto showrooms, bike shops and bookshops of any size, under an agreement reached last week between the federal and state governments.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief of staff, Helge Braun, told n-tv television that big shops “draw large numbers of people into the city centre, they have high customer numbers and that isn’t possible in the first step.”
5:20 a.m.: Singapore’s virus infections shot up to nearly 8,000 after a record 1,426 cases were reported Monday.
The tiny city-state now has the highest number of cases in Southeast Asia at 7,984, a massive surge from just 200 on March 15. Authorities say most of the new cases were again linked to foreign workers, who account for over a million of Singapore’s workforce.
4 a.m.: The latest numbers of confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 4 a.m. on April 20, 2020:
There are 35,056 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada.
- Quebec: 18,357 confirmed (including 877 deaths, 3,555 resolved)
- Ontario: 10,578 confirmed (including 553 deaths, 5,209 resolved)
- Alberta: 2,803 confirmed (including 55 deaths, 1,198 resolved)
- British Columbia: 1,647 confirmed (including 81 deaths, 987 resolved)
- Nova Scotia: 675 confirmed (including 9 deaths, 200 resolved)
- Saskatchewan: 314 confirmed (including 4 deaths, 234 resolved), 1 presumptive
- Newfoundland and Labrador: 257 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 191 resolved)
- Manitoba: 245 confirmed (including 5 deaths, 143 resolved), 8 presumptive
- New Brunswick: 118 confirmed (including 92 resolved)
- Prince Edward Island: 26 confirmed (including 23 resolved)
- Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed
- Yukon: 9 confirmed (including 8 resolved)
- Northwest Territories: 5 confirmed (including 3 resolved)
- Nunavut: No confirmed cases
Total: 35,056 (9 presumptive, 35,047 confirmed including 1,587 deaths, 11,843 resolved)
Sunday 10:05 p.m.: At least 40 staff members in Afghanistan’s presidential palace have tested positive for the coronavirus, Afghan officials said Sunday, forcing President Ashraf Ghani to isolate himself and manage the country’s response to the virus — amid a raging war — largely via video conference.
5:30 p.m.: As of Sunday at 5 p.m., Ontario’s regional health units were reporting a total of 11,866 cases of COVID-19 and 610 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
The epidemic’s growth has slowed overall in the province this week, a trend continued in the last 24 hours. Since 5 p.m. Saturday, total cases have grown by 561 patients, or five per cent, which is slower daily growth than in recent weeks. The first seven days of April averaged 12.7 per cent daily growth; the second seven days averaged 6.8 per cent.
Among 37 new deaths reported were nine in Toronto, four each in York Region and Durham Region, and a single fatal case in Peel Region.
Since April 1, the case count has continued to rise day over day in the Greater Toronto Area, while staying relatively flat in the rest of the province.
The Star’s count is based on the public tallies and statements of the province’s regional health units, the local bodies that collect and publish this data often before reporting to the province through its central reporting system. Therefore, the Star’s count is more current than the data the province publishes each morning.
Earlier Sunday, the province reported that testing labs had processed 9,643 samples in the largest single day of testing since Ontario quietly changed how it reports that data.
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