The latest news on the COVID-19 global pandemic (all times Eastern):
4:45 p.m.
British Columbia has recorded 63 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 48 hours, bringing the total number of infections to 1,266.
Dr. Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer, says a man in his 40s has also died.
Thirty-nine people have died in the province since the pandemic began.
Henry says 783 people have recovered.
She says there is an outbreak of the virus at the federal prison in Mission, where two inmates have tested positive.
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3:55 p.m.
Saskatchewan is reporting four new cases of COVID-19.
The province now has a total of 253 cases.
It says four people are in hospital, with two of those patients in intensive care.
To date, 81 people have recovered from the illness.
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2:45 p.m.
The COVID-19 pandemic has reached Ontario’s remote First Nations.
A statement from the Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority says a positive case has surfaced in Eabametoong First Nation.
The community is about 300 kilometres north of Thunder Bay.
The health authority says the arrival of the virus will put a strain on a social and health-care system poorly equipped to handle the added stress.
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2:30 p.m.
Ontario’s first responders will be told before they come into contact with anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19.
Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott says the alerts will ensure the health of those working on the front lines.
The information disclosed will be limited to the person’s name, address, date of birth and whether the individual has had a positive test result.
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2:15 p.m.
Manitoba health officials are reporting one new case of COVID-19, bringing the province’s total to 190 confirmed and 14 presumptive cases.
The death toll remains unchanged at two.
Eleven people are in hospital, seven of whom are in intensive care.
Seventeen people have recovered.
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2:10 p.m.
New Brunswick is reporting two new cases of COVID-19, raising the province’s total to 103.
Chief medical officer Dr. Jennifer Russell says both new cases are in the Moncton area and are close contacts of previous cases.
Meanwhile, the New Brunswick government says it has implemented a pandemic task force.
Health Minister Hugh Flemming says the task force has a military-like command structure that will allow for a faster response to the pandemic.
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2 p.m.
An advocacy group is urging governments to help it add housing to let non-violent female inmates leave jails before the COVID-19 pandemic moves into Atlantic institutions.
The executive director of the Elizabeth Fry Society of Mainland Nova Scotia is asking Correctional Service Canada for funding to help rapidly set up housing.
The organization says it’s crucial for non-violent offenders to be shifted to the community during the pandemic.
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1:40 p.m.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says recent restrictions on shipments at the U.S. border have left the province with just one week’s worth of personal protective equipment for health-care workers.
Ford says a shipment of medical masks was held up by U.S. officials over the weekend, but 500,000 have since been released.
The premier says Ontario is ramping up its production of personal protective equipment, but most of those supplies are weeks away from being ready.
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1:38 p.m.
Canadians are leaving the Coral Princess cruise ship, which reached Florida late last week.
There were 97 Canadian passengers aboard the ship, which left Santiago, Chile, on March 5 and docked in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Friday.
Passengers say some travellers have been allowed to leave and were on a bus headed for the airport.
The federal government says Canadians on the Coral Princess who don’t have COVID-19 symptoms will be able to return home on a charter aircraft.
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1:35 p.m.
Prince Edward Island is reporting no new cases of COVID-19.
The provincial total remains at 22.
Chief medical officer Dr. Heather Morrison says eight of the province’s cases are considered recovered.
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1:30 p.m.
Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister says he has received unanimous support from other premiers for a federal credit agency to help provinces deal with the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pallister says the premiers have written to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asking for financial help.
The premier says he wants Ottawa to borrow on behalf of the provinces because the federal government gets a lower interest rate.
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1:20 p.m.
VIA Rail is extending the suspension of its passenger rail service from Toronto to British Columbia.
In a note on the company’s website, VIA says its route between Toronto and Vancouver, and its run from Prince Rupert on B.C.’s north coast, through Prince George to Jasper are suspended until June 1.
The cancellations includes the planned westbound train due to leave Toronto on May 31 and the eastbound service leaving Vancouver on June 1, as well as all the stops in between.
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1:10 p.m.
Quebec Premier Francois Legault says an additional 27 people have died from COVID-19 in the province, bringing the death toll to 121.
The total number of cases in Quebec is 8,580, an increase of 636 from the previous day.
Of those cases, 533 require hospitalization, and 164 are in intensive care.
Legault says the small increase in the number of patients hospitalized, just eight more than Sunday, is encouraging news that could suggest there is “light at the end of the tunnel.”
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12:35 p.m.
There has been a second death in Newfoundland and Labrador as a result of COVID-19.
Chief medical officer of health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says the latest death is a 61-year-old woman who was admitted to hospital from home.
Premier Dwight Ball calls it an extremely sad day.
Fitzgerald reports nine new cases of COVID-19 in the province, increasing the provincial total to 226, and says there are eight people in hospital, including two in intensive care.
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12;20 p.m.
Canada’s top public-health doctor says masks are a way for people who might have COVID-19 without realizing it to keep from spreading the illness.
Dr. Theresa Tam says the change from previous advice is due to increasing evidence that people with the virus can spread it without knowing they’re sick.
She says masks worn this way protect others more than they protect the people wearing them, and she stresses that medical masks still need to be preserved for front-line health workers.
She adds that wearing a mask doesn’t exempt people from other measures they should take against COVID-19, including physical distancing and regular handwashing.
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12:15 p.m.
Three more residents of a nursing home in central Ontario have died of COVID-19, bringing the total number of deaths at the facility up to 26.
The wife of a resident at Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon, Ont., has also died from the novel coronavirus.
The outbreak at the seniors’ residence in Ontario’s cottage country is considered one of the worst in the country.
At least 24 staff members at the facility have also tested positive for COVID-19.
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11:55 a.m.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he’s confident shipments of personal protective medical gear from the U.S. will continue to arrive in Canada.
He was responding to reports U.S. President Donald Trump is trying to keep U.S.-made medical equipment on American soil.
Trudeau says talks between the two countries are ongoing and have proven to be productive.
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11:30 a.m.
Politicians in southeastern British Columbia are calling on the provincial health officer to close the B.C.-Alberta border to non-essential travel.
A statement on the Regional District of East Kootenay website says people are not heeding the message from health officials in both B.C. and Alberta urging everyone to stay home.
The regional district also wants all non-resident property owners to stay away and it is seeking closure of all private campgrounds, overnight and backcountry camping.
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11:24 a.m.
Nova Scotia is reporting 31 new cases of COVID-19.
The province’s total has now grown to 293 confirmed cases 64 of which have been resolved.
While most cases in Nova Scotia have been connected to travel or a known case, the province has confirmed cases are now being linked to community spread.
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11:22 a.m.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says 240,000 people successfully applied for emergency relief in the first few hours after Ottawa opened the process.
Only people with birthdays in the first three months of the year can apply for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit today.
The benefit offers $500-a-week payments for workers who have lost all of their income.
Trudeau says changes to the program will come soon to offer help for people whose hours have been slashed but who are still working a little.
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10:50 a.m.
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer is calling on the government to increase the charitable donation tax credit.
He says this would help increase charitable contributions to hospitals, churches, food banks, women’s shelters and other worthy organizations.
Scheer also wants the government to immediately remove the capital gains tax on charitable donations of private company shares and real estate.
He says although many businesses are struggling, some are still thriving and should be encouraged to support the charitable sector.
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10:40 a.m.
Ontario is reporting 309 new COVID-19 cases, including 13 additional deaths.
There have now been a total of 4,347 cases in the province, including 1,624 resolved cases.
The new cases represent a 7.7 per cent increase in the past 24 hours, but the number of resolved cases jumped by more than 37 per cent.
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10;38 a.m.
Halifax police say they issued 39 tickets on the weekend for violations of the province’s Health Protection Act and the Emergency Management Act.
That means Halifax Regional Police have handed out a total to 47 tickets since the province declared a state of emergency on March 22.
The majority of the fines were handed to people in prohibited areas under the Emergency Management Act.
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7 a.m.
Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says Canadian passengers on the Coral Princess cruise ship will be headed home today, after undergoing a health screening.
Champagne says in a tweet that Canadians who don’t show any symptoms of COVID-19 will be allowed to disembark the ship in Florida and get on a flight chartered by Holland America.
The minister says they’ll be screened again upon arrival and subject to a mandatory 14-day self-isolation period.
Some passengers were allowed off the ship yesterday but Canadians weren’t among them, due to new guidelines by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control guidelines.
Those guidelines said cruise passengers shouldn’t board commercial flights, meaning only those with chartered flights were able to disembark.
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(The Canadian Press)
