The latest developments on COVID-19 in Canada

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4 p.m.

Vancouver council has voted unanimously in favour of a motion to declare a state of emergency in the city.

Mayor Kennedy Stewart told councillors he decided to move forward with the motion after police identified “over 20” bars and restaurants that defied an order to close on St. Patrick’s Day.

The order was issued to prevent large gatherings and limit the spread of COVID-19.

Stewart says he has since learned of many more businesses that have flaunted orders against large gatherings and says the bylaw gives the city the power to take things “a step further” if violations continue.

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3:11p.m.

The Saskatchewan government says the province has four more presumptive cases of COVID-19, bringing the current total to 20.

The Ministry of Health says three out of the four new infections are related to travel, with the last being a close contact of a previously reported case.

It says no one has been admitted into hospital because of the virus, but one of the 20 cases is in hospital for an unrelated medical reason while everyone else is in self-isolation.

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2:20 p.m.

Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne has been tested for COVID-19 after experiencing flu-like symptoms following a trip.

Champagne tweeted today that the test is “out of an abundance of caution” and said he is self-isolating at home.

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2:17 p.m.

New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has declared a state of emergency to help the province stop the spread of COVID-19 because he says too few citizens were following orders to avoid public gatherings.

Higgs told a news conference today that all public schools, universities and colleges will remain closed until further notice and all non-essential retail businesses must cease admitting the public effective immediately.

The premier says grocery stores, pharmacies, liquor and cannabis stores operated by the province, post offices, gas stations and hardware stores can remain open, adding that restaurants can only offer take-out.

Higgs says his directives are no longer suggestions, and all citizens, under law, must comply.

1:43 p.m.

Quebec is reporting 121 confirmed COVID-19 cases today, up from 94 the day before, with seven people in hospital.

The government is asking people to stick close to home and not travel to other parts of the province unless necessary.

Premier Francois Legault says the province wants to limit travel as the province is monitoring the situation region by region.

The province’s health authorities say all regions of the province now have confirmed cases.

1:30 p.m.

Newfoundland and Labrador’s chief medical officer of health reported no new cases of COVID-19 today, but one of the three presumptive cases was confirmed positive.

Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says 684 people in the province have been tested and 681 have been confirmed negative.

She says public health is monitoring 276 people who are in self-isolation.

12:40 p.m.

A local public health unit is reporting Ontario’s second COVID-19-related death.

Halton Region Public Health says a man in his 50s died after receiving treatment at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital and Milton District Hospital.

The agency says he had an underlying health condition.

Ontario reported its first COVID-19-related death earlier in the week a 77-year-old man in the Muskoka region.

12:40 p.m.

PEI has its second confirmed case of COVID-19 in a man in his 40s.

Health officials say the man had been travelling in the United Kingdom and is now self-isolating at home.

12:15 p.m.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says all asylum seekers crossing into Canada from the U.S. at Roxham Road will be temporarily housed beginning tomorrow.

Freeland says this is to ensure they are all quarantined for 14 days just as everyone else coming into Canada from the U.S. and other countries should do.

Freeland says she spoke to Quebec Justice Minister Sonia LeBel, as well as all provincial premiers, about the issue.

12:10 p.m.

The body that handles transit in British Columbia outside the Lower Mainland is eliminating fares and altering boarding procedures in two major cities in order to slow the spread of COVID-19.

BC Transit says passengers in Nanaimo and Victoria will be asked to board by the rear doors and won’t have to pay fares for the next 30 days

The move, similar to those enacted in several other Canadian cities, creates a greater social distance between passengers and drivers, seniors and the disabled at the front of the bus.

TransLink, which operates buses, the SeaBus and SkyTrain across Metro Vancouver has not announced similar measures but said last week that it was stepping up cleaning and disinfection across its fleet.

11:20 a.m.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says experts are telling his government to expect social-distancing measures to remain in place here for several weeks or months.

He also says he spoke with leaders at Air Canada and WestJet on Wednesday about finding ways to help Canadians stranded overseas come home.

Trudeau says he also spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this morning about co-ordinating efforts to help Canadians in other countries and also plans to speak to Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven today.

He says the government is working with telecommunications companies to send text messages to Canadians abroad to let them known about consular services available.

11:15 a.m.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he expects the Canada-U.S. border to shut down for non-essential travellers sometime overnight between Friday and Saturday.

He says the federal government is still working out the details of the agreement with the United States.

11:15 a.m.

Nova Scotia is reporting two new cases of COVID-19 for a total of 14.

The total includes five confirmed cases and nine presumptive cases.

Health officials say the two new cases were identified on Wednesday and both are travel-related.

The 14 individuals affected range in age from early 30s to mid-70s.

10:50 a.m.

The government of Nunavut is asking students receiving financial assistance to study in southern institutions to stay there.

The territory is informing students it won’t be booking travel home for them until further notice in order to avoid unnecessary travel and slow the spread of COVID-19.

Students who receive funding will continue to receive it for as long as they are away from home.

10″36 a.m.

Ontario is reporting 43 new COVID-19 cases today.

That brings the total cases in the province to 257, including one death and five resolved cases.

One of the new patients, a man in his 80s in Durham Region, is hospitalized.

But information on whether people are self-isolating or hospitalized, their ages and regions, as well as how they were infected, is listed as “pending” for more than half of the new cases.

8:45 a.m.

British Columbia’s Municipal Affairs Ministry has cancelled three municipal byelections and a referendum in four communities around the province as part of efforts to avoid the spread of the new coronavirus.

A statement from the ministry says it has scrubbed byelections set for Victoria and Rossland on April 4, a referendum in Kamloops on the same day and a byelection slated for Lytton on April 25.

None of the votes have been rescheduled.

The ministry says public health and local government officials asked for the postponements to ensure voters don’t gather in polling stations, and to free up local resources to focus on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

7;45 a.m.

The Toronto Transit Commission says one of their employees has tested positive for COVID-19.

The agency says the employee worked at a TTC maintenance workshop for buses.

It says between 130 and 170 employees are in self-isolation as a result.

The TTC says the employee worked one shift on March 11 after returning from vacation.

by Canadian Press

The latest developments on COVID-19 in Canada

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