The latest developments on COVID-19 in Canada

The change comes as governments across the country urge Canadians to engage in social distancing to slow the spread of the virus.

Restaurant Brands says if there are further instructions from public health officials it will take further steps.

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12:07 p.m.

Nova Scotia is reporting two new presumptive cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of presumptive positives in the province to five.

Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health says the two new cases are in Halifax Regional Municipality and are related.

The patients include a male and female, both in their 50’s, who were in close contact with individuals who had recently travelled outside the country

Two other individuals in the household are now in self-isolation and are being tested while the affected individuals are in self-isolation and recovering at home.

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11:49 a.m.

Health authorities say Quebec now has 41 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

The province updated it’s tally today, and it says 1,834 people remain under investigation.

Both new cases announced this morning are in the Montreal area.

Another 2,577 people’s tests have come back negative.

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11:34 a.m.

Ontario’s finance minister says he won’t be introducing a full budget on March 25 as planned, but he will instead give a scaled-back fiscal update.

Rod Phillips says it will be an economic and fiscal update based on the current best understanding of the COVID-19 situation.

He says it will provide a “realistic, one-year economic outlook” and will include increased resources for the health-care system.

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11:27 a.m.

The Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness says Canada needs to create more emergency shelter spaces to protect the homeless population from COVID-19.

President Tim Richter says people who sleep in shelters and outside are at a higher risk, because they often have underlying medical conditions and respiratory issues.

They also live in congregated communities where people come and go, making it difficult to self-isolate.

He says an outbreak in a major homeless shelter would have a serious impact on the health system.

The Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness estimates as many as 35,000 people are homeless on any given night in Canada.

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11:19 a.m.

Montreal health officials say civil security and public health workers will be at Montreal-Trudeau International Airport to remind travellers they must self-isolate upon returning to Canada.

Dr. Mylene Drouin, Montreal’s director of public health, said the measures are needed because travellers arriving in the province did not appear to be taking Quebec’s order requiring two weeks of isolation seriously.

She says the recently trained additional staff will be on the ground as of 1 p.m. today.

Drouin says travellers will pass by the employees before they leave the airport and be given an information sheet and asked to note their symptoms and take their temperature twice a day during the isolation period.

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10:43 a.m.

Ontario is reporting 32 new COVID-19 cases today.

That brings the total in Ontario to 177, including five that have been resolved.

The new cases are across the province, but largely in the Greater Toronto Area.

Other information, such as ages of the patients and how they became infected, is sparse.

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10:35 a.m.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will address the nation this afternoon as governments and businesses take drastic measures to stem the spread of COVID-19.

Trudeau is scheduled to speak to Canadians at 1 p.m. ET, to update new actions the government will take following a cabinet meeting in Ottawa yesterday.

The Prime Minister remains in self-isolation at his Ottawa home, after his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from a trip to London.

Trudeau chaired the cabinet meeting remotely.

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9:30 a.m.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is set to make an announcement this morning related to the province’s COVID-19 response.

An advisory says the announcement at 11:15 a.m. will be related to protecting workers, and will involve the health minister, finance minister and labour minister.

Meanwhile, following complaints of long wait times for Telehealth Ontario services, Health Minister Christine Elliott says the province is expanding resources.

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9:10 a.m.

An open letter from a group of Canada’s top executives urged other business leaders across the country to make slowing the spread of COVID-19 their “singular objective.”

The group of 30 executives, which includes the leadership of the country’s largest banks, resource companies and others, say they stand united in the shared fight against the virus.

In the letter published in The Globe and Mail, the group noted that while the fight will have a significant economic impact on businesses in the short term, it is critical to weathering this storm and will hasten the recovery.

The group says governments across the country have taken steps to slow the spread of the virus, but the measures will only be effective if employers do their part too.

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9:00 a.m.

The Canada Border Services Agency says it’s adding new screening questions for travellers arriving in Canada, asking whether they have symptoms of COVID-19.

The agency took heat all weekend for apparent disarray at entry points, especially airports.

The federal government wants people returning to Canada from abroad to stay in isolation for 14 days but travellers who knew that reported that customs officials weren’t routinely telling new arrivals that.

The border-services agency says automated questionnaires administered by touchscreens at entry points are now asking whether people have coughs, difficulty breathing or a feeling of feverishness.

And they’ll require arrivals to acknowledge that they’re being asked to self-isolate for two weeks to keep COVID-19 from spreading.

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9:00 a.m.

The city of Calgary says it has declared a state of local emergency to support the province’s efforts to halt the spread of COVID-19 through Alberta.

A statement from the city says the declaration gives it the power to ensure no more than 250 people attend events or facilities in Calgary.

The city has also closed its library system, all recreation centres and partner-operated facilities including YMCAs, but grocery stores, airports, shopping centres, pharmacies and casinos are open.

Alberta reported 17 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the province on Sunday to 56.

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8:59 a.m.

The British Columbia government is holding another news conference this morning to discuss the latest count of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the province and new testing facilities that are in the works.

Over the weekend several ski resorts in B-C, including Whistler, announced a pause in operations, 10 casinos have been shuttered and B-C Ferries reduced sailings because of reduced demand.

The cities of Delta, Surrey and West Vancouver announced closures of their recreational facilities, rinks, pools and libraries and the city of Vancouver has scheduled an announcement with library and park board officials for later today.

As of yesterday, British Columbia had 73 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

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8:20 a.m.

The Federal Court of Canada is cancelling all general sittings of the court until at least March 27.

Only urgent motions or requests will be heard as the court tries to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

Hearings, special sittings and case conferences already scheduled for teleconference will proceed.

If a shorter hearing was scheduled in person, a joint request by all parties to move it to a teleconference can be made.

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7:35 a.m.

Alcoholics Anonymous has cancelled its annual Ontario Regional Conference in downtown Toronto due to COVID-19 concerns.

It was scheduled to run from Friday through Sunday at the Sheraton Centre Hotel.

Other 12-step programs like Al Anon and Alateen were to participate in the conference as well.

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7:30 a.m.

Effective immediately, GoodLife and Fit4Less location across the country are being closed until further notice.

Goodlife says in a release that the action is being taken to help protect members and associates from the threat of COVID-19.

The company says it will reopen the clubs when it’s safe to do so, based on direction from local authorities.

Member payments are being suspended as of March 17 and paid-in-full memberships will be put on freeze until further notice.

Goodlife says that while many of its associates will be temporarily laid off, it has committed to paying them for two weeks to help lessen the financial burden.

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7 a.m.

The U.S. futures market pointed to another plunge on North American stock markets this morning as fears about the economic impact of COVID-19 gripped investors despite a move by the U.S. Federal Reserve to boost the economy.

The Fed chopped its interest rate by a full percentage point — to a range between zero and 0.25 per cent — and said it would stay there until it feels confident the economy can survive a near-shutdown of activity in the United States.

The Bank of Canada cut its key interest rate target on Friday by half a percentage point to 0.75 per cent as part of a co-ordinated plan by the federal government to help the economy here.

Economists have warned that the Canadian economy is headed for a recession later this year due to the economic impact of COVID-19 and a crash in oil prices.

The Canadian Press

Note to readers: This is a corrected version of an earlier story. The Bank of Canada’s target rate is 0.75 per cent, not 1.25.

by Canadian Press

The latest developments on COVID-19 in Canada

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