A man visits his mother-in-law on Mother's Day at the Altamont care home in Scarborough, Ont., on May 10, 2020. A new emergency order allows the Ontario government the control the management of long-term care homes hardest hit by COVID-19.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
Latest headlines:
- Second resident of Toronto homeless shelter dies of COVID-19
- Alberta to relaunch economy, but delays in Calgary and Brooks
- Excess deaths did not spike in first months of COVID-19, Statscan data show
- Canada-U.S. border expected to stay closed to non-essential travel to June 21
- Interferon emerges as potential treatment for COVID-19
- Over a million children, mothers in low-income countries could die over next six months from pandemic
- At least nine women and girls killed in domestic homicides in Canada during pandemic
Members of the Quebec National Assembly stand in a minute of silence to honour COVID-19 victims as the legislature resumes with limited attendance of members, Wednesday, May 13, 2020.SIMON CLARK/The Canadian Press
9:30 p.m. EDT
‘We are far from out of the woods’: Horgan cautions that COVID-19 is still here
Guidelines on health and safety for businesses and services in British Columbia to begin reopening will be available next week just as some restrictions are lifted in the province, says the premier.
John Horgan said at a news conference Wednesday that WorkSafe BC and public health officials have been working on guidelines following the COVID-19 pandemic for weeks.
“But I don’t want people to believe that on the 19th of May, all of a sudden, we are back to normal,” he cautioned.
Horgan said he respects and understands the anxiety people are feeling about returning to work, travelling or reopening of the economy.
“This is not the flick of a switch. We are beginning Phase 2 of the restart next week,” he said.
WorkSafe BC will have guidelines for regulated medical services, dentistry and others, he said adding practitioners can take some “fairly educated guesses” on how they can protect their patients and workers.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said B.C. had one more death from COVID-19 and 16 new cases in the past day. The total number of infected is 2,376 with 132 deaths.
– The Canadian Press
7:00 p.m. EDT
Second resident of Toronto homeless shelter dies of COVID-19
Toronto’s top public health official says a second man who uses the city’s homeless shelter system has died of COVID-19.
Dr. Eileen de Villa says the man in his 70s was a resident of the city’s largest homeless shelter, Seaton House.
She says he died in hospital on Monday.
Dr. De Villa says Seaton House has been experiencing an outbreak of COVID-19 since April 6.
She says all residents of the shelter have been tested for the virus, and the 28 people who tested positive were moved off-site.
A man in his 50s who lived at Dixon Hall Schoolhouse died of COVID-19 on May 5.
– The Canadian Press
6:50 p.m. EDT
Kenney delays part of relaunch in Calgary, Brooks as rest of province reopens
Restaurants, hair salons and churches in Calgary won’t be allowed to open on Thursday along with the rest of the province, after the Alberta government excluded the city from parts of its aggressive economic relaunch plan because of a disproportionately high number of COVID-19 infections.
Premier Jason Kenney put Calgary and Brooks, a city of about 15,000 people in a rural part of the province, on their own schedule for the first phase of the restart. Barbers in Calgary and Brooks, for example, will not be able to pull out their clippers until May 25, while hairstylists in the rest of the province can resume operations Thursday. Restaurants and pubs in the two cities will also have to wait until then before opening.
Retailers, daycares, museums and some non-essential medical procedures will be permitted to open in Calgary and Brooks on Thursday along with the rest of the province.
– Carrie Tait and Kelly Cryderman
6:45 p.m. EDT
Serological surveys to look for COVID-19 immunity in Canadian population
Canada’s top doctor says too little is known to consider using a newly approved serology test to identify individuals who could be immune to COVID-19 and allow those people to return to work or gather in public.
Instead, Theresa Tam said Wednesday that the new LIAISON test will be used more broadly to look for immunity in the Canadian population, noting questions persist about the prevalence of COVID-19 antibodies and what protections they offer.
Tam said an immunity task force had been formed to examine what protection from reinfection exists among those who have recovered from COVID-19.
“Now that you have the first test, we’re hoping to see rapid implementation of the actual population surveys, both general and those focusing on specific communities, geographies, (and) occupational groups,” said Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer.
“They’re working as fast as they can and hopefully this will be quite rapid in terms of its rollout.”
The comments came a day after Health Canada said it had authorized the first serological test to detect antibodies specific to the virus that causes COVID-19.
The federal agency said Tuesday that at least one million Canadian blood samples will be collected and tested over the next two years to track the virus in the general population and in specific groups at greater risk of having been infected, including health-care workers and seniors.
Even if a test has been authorized, Tam said Health Canada must monitor its ability to perform in real-life applications.
– The Canadian Press
1:45 p.m. EDT
Quebec says more than 700 new cases, 89 deaths
Quebec is reporting 89 new deaths related to COVID-19 today, bringing the toll to 3,220.
Premier Francois Legault says the province now has 39,931 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, an increase of 706 cases.
Mr. Legault says the province continues to miss its testing target of 14,000 tests per day, and is only able to administer 9,000 per day.
The premier is once again urging people to wear masks when they leave the house, but says the government won’t make wearing them mandatory for now.
– The Canadian Press
12:45 p.m. EDT
New fund to support businesses launches
The federal government is launching the regional relief recovery fund for businesses that don’t qualify for other federal relief programs during the COVID-19 crisis.
Several weeks ago, the government announced almost $1-billion is being delivered through regional development agencies.
The program is being administered by six regional development agencies across the country.
– The Canadian Press
11:00 a.m. EDT
Ontario reports 40 more deaths
Ontario is reporting 329 new cases of COVID-19 today, and 40 more deaths.
That brings the province to a total of 21,236 cases, including 1,765 deaths and 15,845 cases that have been resolved.
The new cases represent an increase of 1.6 per cent over the previous day.
– The Canadian Press
10:30 a.m. EDT
COVID-19 distancing on display as Quebec legislature resumes sitting
Quebec’s legislature is back up and running today, with physical distancing on full display amid COVID-19 health measures.
The national assembly has not seen an in-person sitting since March 17, but resumed Wednesday with just 37 members taking part.
The coronavirus pandemic has forced the institution to change a number of its usual practices, including how many people can attend a sitting at any one time.
The hearing also marks the first for new Quebec Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade, who was acclaimed to the post this week.
The vast majority of questions to Premier Francois Legault and his Coalition Avenir Quebec members were related to the pandemic and the government’s response.
The flag on the legislature building is flying at half-mast, in memory of those who’ve died due to COVID-19 in the province.
-The Canadian Press
9:45 a.m. EDT
Ontario to monitor inflammatory illness in children with COVID-19
Ontario’s Health Minister says the province is going to better monitor children after reports of a rare inflammatory illness in kids diagnosed with COVID-19.
Christine Elliott says the province’s case definition of COVID-19 will now include multisystem inflammatory vasculitis, which may appear in children.
She says that although the connection between this inflammatory illness and COVID-19 is not confirmed at this time, the province is taking immediate action “to protect Ontario’s children.”
Elliott says recent data in the country indicate the majority of COVID-19 infections in children are mild and do not require hospitalization.
Some of the symptoms of multisystem inflammatory vasculitis include persistent fever, abdominal pain, gastrointestinal symptoms, including nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, as well as rash.
She says parents should contact their health care providers immediately if their children are having these symptoms.
-The Canadian Press
8:30 a.m. EDT
Emergency order allows Ontario to control management of long-term care homes
A new emergency order allows the Ontario government the control the management of long-term care homes hardest hit by COVID-19.
Premier Doug Ford says the move will help ensure the spread of the virus in care homes is contained.
The order allows the province to step in if a facility has a high number of infections or deaths, or if it’s facing a staffing shortage.
The province says the appointed manager could be any person, including a corporation or hospital.
Last week, the government asked facilities with outbreaks to come up with a plan to stabilize the virus’s spread within their walls.
More than 1,200 long-term care residents have died of COVID-19 in the province, and 180 homes have outbreaks of the virus.
-The Canadian Press
7:55 a.m. EDT
Toronto woman charged with mischief after allegedly spitting on bank machine
Toronto police say they’ve arrested a woman for allegedly spitting, coughing and wiping her saliva on a bank machine.
Police say the incident happened just after 5:30 a.m. on April 30 when the woman first entered the bank.
Investigators say staff found out about the incident at 9 a.m. and provided police with surveillance images.
They say a 32-year-old woman was identified last week.
Officers arrested the woman on Tuesday.
Police say she’s facing a charge of mischief and is scheduled to appear in court today.
-The Canadian Press
4:30 a.m. EDT
Ottawa to unveil details of $1-billion in regional aid for small businesses
The federal government will disclose details today of nearly $1-billion in emergency aid to be doled out to small businesses through its six regional economic development agencies.
The government announced several weeks ago the creation of a new Regional Relief and Recovery Fund but did not reveal much in the way of detail, apart from the overall amount of $962-million.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Economic Development Minister Melanie Joly are expected to fill in some of the blanks today, including how much money each of the six regional agencies — for the West, North, Atlantic, Quebec and northern and southern Ontario — are to receive and what each plans to do with it.
Each agency is expected to take a somewhat different approach to its share of the fund, targeting small businesses most in need in each region.
Overall, the fund is to commit $675-million to support regional economies, businesses, organizations and communities and another $287-million to support the national network of community futures development corporations, which are to specifically target small businesses and rural communities across the country.
The fund is intended to cushion the financial blow experienced by businesses and organizations to allow them to continue their operations, including paying their employees, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is also intended to support projects by businesses, organizations and communities to prepare for a successful recovery.
The money, to flow through the regional development agencies, is on top of other measures the federal government has announced to help small businesses weather the pandemic, which has shut down non-essential businesses for almost two months.
Other measures include the 75 per cent wage subsidy, 75 per cent commercial rent relief, loan guarantees and interest-free loans of up to $40,000.
Trudeau has faced opposition criticism that the various measures still leave out many businesses that don’t meet the eligibility rules.
He is likely to face more of that criticism today when a several dozen MPs gather for the once-a-week in-person sitting of the House of Commons.
Following a lengthy question and answer session, the Commons is expected to debate and quickly approve legislation that will authorize the Dairy Commission of Canada to increase its borrowing capacity by $200-million.
The commission’s additional borrowing power is intended to help it support the cost of storing butter and cheese while the market for such products is severely reduced due to the pandemic, which has closed restaurants, hotels and other institutions that typically purchase large volumes of dairy products.
-The Canadian Press
2:30 a.m. EDT
Ottawa to spend billions on pandemic-resistant infrastructure
The federal government is preparing to spend more than $3-billion in infrastructure money on projects to make facilities more pandemic-resistant and encourage outdoor activities.
Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna said in an interview yesterday that her department has been doubling its effort to review and approve infrastructure projects submitted by provinces and territories for federal funding.
Hundreds of applications have been greenlit in recent weeks, though the specific announcements have yet to be made.
Projects will include things such as retrofitting health-care facilities and schools, particularly with a view to allowing for more physical distancing and making it easier to practise good hygiene like handwashing.
Projects to help people find ways to get outside safely will also be a priority, such as new or better paths, bike lanes, and nature trails.
-The Canadian Press
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