Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world March 25
Canada to impose mandatory quarantine on returning international travellers
The latest:
- Health minister says all travellers returning to Canada will have to enter mandatory 14-day quarantine, with some exceptions for essential workers.
- House of Commons passes legislation for COVID-19 aid after night of tense talks.
- U.S. Senate passes $2 trillion coronavirus relief package.
- Impact of COVID-19 spreads across U.S., with much of population under stay-at-home orders.
- Prince Charles, 71, tests positive for coronavirus, shows mild symptoms.
- Organizers will "hold off indefinitely" on revealing Juno 2020 winners.
- Blood donations plummeted at start of pandemic, but donors answered the call — big time.
- INTERACTIVE / Tracking the spread of coronavirus in Canada and around the world.
The head of the World Health Organization urged the world not to "squander" the opportunity to suppress and control the coronavirus, as lawmakers in both Canada and the United States took steps to get money flowing to people affected by the economic turmoil caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I think we squandered the first window of opportunity, but we are saying today, in my message, I made it clear that this is a second opportunity which we should not squander," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday.
He said locking down populations is buying time and reducing pressure on health systems — but that this alone won't extinguish an epidemic.
"Before lifting any lockdowns, countries should use this time to train and expand the health workforce, ramp up testing and adapt facilities to treat patients," Tedros said.
WATCH | WHO chief urges world to suppress and control the coronavirus now:
"The last thing any country needs is to open schools and businesses, only to be forced to close them again because of a resurgence," he said.
In Canada, the government and opposition parties in Parliament passed a $107-billion economic aid package bill to help Canadians struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The legislation was passed early Wednesday morning after a late night of tense negotiations. It was reviewed by a group of 15 senators, scattered through the chamber to ensure there was enough physical distance between them, and then received royal assent in the afternoon.
It contains $52 billion in direct support payments and $55 billion in tax deferrals.
Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer told CBC's Power & Politics he refused to "sign over a blank cheque" to the Liberal government and secured many concessions, including limiting its ability to spend more money without parliamentary approval.
Speaking to senators Wednesday, Finance Minister Bill Morneau said Canada has "enormous job loss" right now, adding that the government hopes and expects those losses will be temporary.
- Furniture chain Leon's to lay off 3,900 workers, close 72 stores
- WestJet laying off 6,900 workers amid worsening COVID-19 crisis
- 1 in 3 Canadians worry they'll miss rent or mortgage payment: survey
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, speaking at a daily briefing outside Rideau Cottage, said nearly one million people applied for employment insurance last week. Trudeau said workers from different departments are being tapped to help process EI claims as the COVID-19 crisis continues.
"We need to make sure that we're getting that money out quickly, but also reliably to Canadians," he said.
WATCH | PM talks about program to help Canadians affected by pandemic:
Rebecca Zirk, who owns and operates a salon in Saskatoon, told CBC News Network that people like her need help — and soon — if they are going to have a business to come back to. She's also worried that money won't flow fast enough to those who need it as demand on the government's system surges.
"We need immediate support for entrepreneurs," said Zirk, who also suggested a universal benefit for all Canadians so that people don't have to be in a "constant panic" as they wait for relief funds to be disbursed.
WATCH | Saskatoon small business owner says people like her need help immediately:
In the U.S., Washington's municipal government ordered all non-essential businesses to close for a month starting, Wednesday night due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The order also "prohibits gatherings of 10 or more people," Mayor Muriel Bowser's office said in a statement.
Meanwile, the Senate continued to wrangle over a $2-trillion US aid package. The legislation, which would deliver aid for workers, businesses and the health-care system, came after days of arguing over how funding for large industries would be structured.
Prince Charles tests positive for coronavirus
In the U.K., which recently implemented tougher stay-at-home measures to try to combat the virus, there's another high-profile case: Prince Charles has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
A spokesperson for Clarence House said he has displayed mild symptoms but otherwise is in good health, and has been working from home. His wife Camilla has tested negative, the spokesperson said.
More than 450,000 people worldwide have been infected by the virus and some 20,000 have died, according to a Johns Hopkins University case tracker.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.
- Nearly half of reported COVID-19 cases in Canada now from community spread
- How sick Canadian travellers are masking symptoms to get through airport screening
It is the more severe cases — often requiring ventilators and specialized care — that threaten to overwhelm hospitals. Several countries are already running short of the critical equipment needed to treat patients and keep doctors and nurses safe. Doctors are dying in Italy, and Spain says 14 per cent of its infections are health-care workers.
In China, where the virus was first reported in late 2019, there were 67 new cases reported, up from 47 new cases the day before. Officials said they were all imported. Officials were loosening some restrictions in hard-hit Hubei province, which reported no new cases Wednesday. The lockdown of Hubei's capital Wuhan will be lifted on April 8, a milestone in China's war against the epidemic as Beijing shifts its focus toward stemming imported cases and rebooting the economy.
In India, meanwhile, people woke up to quiet streets after the government announced broad restrictions to try to stop the virus from spreading. India had gradually expanded stay-at-home orders, banned international and domestic flights and suspended passenger service on its extensive rail system until March 31.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement of a three-week countrywide lockdown covering nearly one-fifth of the world's population triggered panic buying on Tuesday night, but the situation eased after the government issued notices that essential services would be provided.
Read on for a look at what's happening in Canada, the U.S. and around the world.
Here's what's happening in Canada's provinces and territories
On Wednesday, Trudeau announced that Canada has accelerated its testing to 10,000 people per day and is ramping up production of emergency medical equipment and medication. More efforts — such as enforcing a mandatory 14-day quarantine for international travellers, which begins Wednesday at midnight — are also on their way as cases of COVID-19 increase.
As of 6:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, there were more than 3,400 confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 in Canada, with 36 deaths and 197 cases listed by provinces as recovered or resolved. (Not all provinces are listing details about people who have recovered.)
There has also been one COVID-19-related death of a Canadian reported abroad. Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada's top public health officer, said a passenger of the Diamond Princess cruise ship died in Japan.
Also on Wednesday, organizers of the 2020 Juno Awards announced they will "hold off indefinitely" on revealing this year's winners. Those awards, set to take place on March 15 in Saskatoon, Sask., were cancelled due to growing concerns over the pandemic.
For a look at what's happening in your province and territory, check out CBC's interactive case tracker.
In British Columbia, Premier John Horgan announced a supplemental payment of up to $500 dollars a month to renters struggling because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He also said the province is suspending current and future evictions with "some exceptions." There will also be a rent freeze in B.C., while other changes — such as landlords being disallowed from entering tenants' apartments — were announced. Read more about what's happening in B.C.
Alberta reported 61 new cases on Wednesday while law enforcement agencies in the province have been granted full authority to enforce public health orders and issue fines, Premier Jason Kenney announced at a news conference. "When life returns to normal, we will no longer require these kinds of extraordinary powers. But right now, we must use every tool available to ensure public safety," Kenney said. That news came shortly after the government opened applications for emergency payments to out-of-work Albertans —a one time payment of $1,146 to eligible recipients. Read more about what's happening in Alberta.
On Wednesday, Saskatchewan capped gatherings at 10 people, and flagged 14 Regina and Saskatoon flights with a confirmed COVID-19 case onboard. Also on Wednesday, a union representing thousands of Saskatchewan health-care workers blasted a leaked government plan estimating between 9,000 and 15,000 COVID-19 deaths as "deficient," and called for significant changes in how the pandemic is dealt with.
WATCH | All alone, together: Helping each other during COVID-19:
Manitoba reported 14 new cases on Wednesday, including a girl younger than 10. Also on Wednesday, a planned emergency shelter for vulnerable people to use during the COVID-19 pandemic was cancelled over safety concerns. Read more about what's happening in Manitoba.
Toronto is closing all city-owned playgrounds effective immediately, following 100 new cases reported in the province. The Ontario government also announced a reworked spending plan, including a health budget rise of $3.3 billion, an increase of 5.5 per cent from last year. Meanwhile, the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario called for more support for health-care workers, pointing out that there are already shortages of masks and other protective equipment at hospitals across the province. "We are in a war, and the enemy is the COVID-19 virus," the organization said in a statement. Read more about what's happening in Ontario.
- Here's what to expect from Ontario's not-quite-a-budget today
- Women's advocates in Ontario fear an uptick in domestic violence
- See photos from Ottawa, where streets are quiet as people stay home
There were two more deaths in Quebec on Wednesday, bringing the total to six. The province's confirmed cases include paramedics and health-care personnel, seniors and one homeless man in Montreal. After testing positive, that man turned up at a Montreal homeless shelter Monday seeking food, prompting advocates to question why he was left to wander the streets instead of receiving care. Read more about what's happening in Quebec.
New Brunswick is setting up screening checkpoints at provincial borders following Premier Blaine Higgs's announcement prohibiting unnecessary travel into the province. Officers stationed at the Quebec, P.E.I. and Nova Scotia borders will be authorized to turn people away, and will collect information on travellers allowed into the province. Read more about what's happening in New Brunswick.
In Nova Scotia, cases have been identified in all parts of the province. There were 17 more new cases confirmed on Wednesday, though chief medical officer of health Dr. Robert Strang said the current case numbers are where public health officials anticipated they would be. "We knew that we had large numbers of people travelling and would be coming back this week," he said. Read more about Nova Scotia.
On Wednesday, P.E.I.'s chief public health officer announced the deployment of an emergency mini-clinic ahead of an expected rise in the number of COVID-19 cases. So far, 539 tests have been conducted with five returning positive, 326 negative and 208 still awaiting results. Read more about what's happening on P.E.I.
Newfoundland police arrested a woman they say ignored orders to stay home after arriving from outside the province. The 53-year-old is facing a charge under the Public Health Protection and Promotion Act, which carries a maximum fine of $5,000. The total number of cases in the province jumped on Wednesday by 32, bringing their total to 67. Read more about what's happening in N.L.
Authorities are investigating after seven Hong Kong tourists who visited Yellowknife tested positive for COVID-19. In Nunavut, there's concern about what the COVID-19 closures mean for food security for children and the homeless, and Yukon's chief medical officer of health confirmed the third case in the territory on Wednesday. Read more about what's happening in Canada's North.
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Here's what's happening in the U.S.
From Reuters, The Associated Press and CBC News, updated at 5:30 p.m. ET.
The Senate late Wednesday passed an unparalleled $2.2-trillion US economic rescue package steering aid to businesses, workers and health care systems engulfed by the coronavirus pandemic.
- Get the latest on what's happening around the COVID-19 deal in the U.S.
- Impact spreads across U.S., much of population under stay-at-home orders
- G7 ministers spike joint statement on COVID-19 after U.S. demands it be called 'Wuhan virus'
The unanimous vote came despite misgivings on both sides about whether it goes too far or not far enough and capped days of difficult negotiations as Washington confronted a national challenge unlike it has ever faced.
The 880-page measure is the largest economic relief bill in U.S. history. Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell appeared sombre as he announced the vote — and he released senators from Washington until April 20, though he promised to recall them if needed.
The strain of the fast-spreading outbreak, meanwhile, has accelerated beyond the hot spots of New York, California and Washington state, with Louisiana and Iowa declaring federal disaster areas. The governors of at least 18 states, including New York, have issued stay-at-home directives affecting about half the U.S. population.
But New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whose state has more than half the cases in the country, expressed a note of optimism Wednesday, saying there were tentative signs the spread of the virus was slowing.
Cuomo said the state's total known cases now number 30,811, with 285 deaths.
"Our closeness makes us vulnerable," said Cuomo, who also announced additional "density-control" steps such as banning contact sports in parks and closing some public streets to vehicles and instead opening them to pedestrians to facilitate social distancing.
WATCH | U.S. could become coronavirus epicentre as Trump talks economy:
Medical professionals say social distancing needs to be stepped up, not relaxed, to slow the spread of infections. At a White House briefing Tuesday, public health authorities said it was particularly important for people in the hard-hit New York City metropolitan area to quarantine themselves for 14 days and for those who have recently left the city to do the same.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government's top infectious disease expert, said pointedly at the briefing: "No one is going to want to tone down anything when you see what is going on in a place like New York City."
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed that the Trump administration send thousands of ventilators to New York City — which needs 30,000 of them, he said — and demanded that Trump use wartime authority to force manufacturers to produce them.
WATCH: Drone footage from around the world shows the impact of anti-coronavirus measures
Here's what's happening in Europe
From Reuters and The Associated Press, updated at 6:30 p.m. ET
Spain registered an overnight jump of 738 deaths from coronavirus on Wednesday, pushing the death toll above that of China, where the disease originated, for the first time as the country struggles to cope with soaring numbers of infections.
With 3,434 fatalities, Spain now has the second-highest number of deaths globally after Italy's 6,820, in an outbreak that has seen a Madrid skating rink turned into a makeshift morgue and dozens dead in overwhelmed nursing homes across the country. As of late Wednesday, authorities had arrested 484 people in total since the start of quarantine, including 55 over the previous 24 hours for failing to comply with security measures, police said.
Fatalities in Italy surged again on Wednesday, growing by 683 to 7,503. At the same time, the hardest-hit northern region of Lombardy reported a sharp fall in the number of deaths compared with the day before, the lowest daily death toll in Lombardy since March 19. The region still remains in a critical situation, with a total of 4,474 deaths and 32,346 cases.
France's death toll is much higher than the official tally, which only accounts for those dying in hospitals and does not include those dying at home or in retirement homes, the head of the hospitals federation said. France's Scientific Council has recommended that France's home confinement, which began one week ago, should last at least six weeks in total. The recommendation was voiced to French President Emmanuel Macron during a special expert meeting on Tuesday.
The British government has ordered 10,000 medical ventilators designed at breakneck speed by vacuum cleaner-maker Dyson. The government, in anticipation of cases peaking in Britain in coming weeks, had made an urgent appeal to manufacturers to supply the National Health Service and said it would also use devices from private hospitals and other sources. Authorities announced 28 COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday, bringing the total number in the U.K. to 465.
In contrast to other European countries, Germany offered some hope that it has flattened the exponential spread of the virus, which has infected some 30,000 people. The German lower house on Wednesday suspended the country's constitutionally enshrined debt brake, approving a massive stimulus package by Chancellor Angela Merkel's government to weather the economic fallout from the outbreak.
Russia's prime minister ordered provincial governors Wednesday to move more quickly to ready hospital beds for coronavirus patients as the outbreak has spread across the vast country. The government reported 658 cases of COVID-19 in Russia, up from 495 a day before. That marked a significantly bigger daily increase compared to the previous day, when the number of infections increased by several dozen.
The warning to governors came a day after the mayor of Moscow told Russian President Vladimir Putin that the Russian regions weren't acting energetically enough to prepare for the outbreak.
WATCH | See why how you wash your hands matters:
Here's what's happening elsewhere, including hard-hit Iran and South Korea
From The Associated Press and Reuters, updated at 9:30 p.m. ET
In Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday blasted as criminals the governors and mayors of Brazil's largest states and cities for imposing lockdowns to slow the coronavirus outbreak. The death toll rose to 57 from 46 while confirmed cases rose to 2,433 from 2,201 the day before. Bolsonaro has aligned himself with U.S. President Donald Trump in prioritizing the economy over the shutdowns favoured by public health experts.
Iran is battling the worst outbreak in the region, with more than 27,000 confirmed cases and a death toll of at least 2,077. Authorities have advised people to stay at home but have not imposed the kinds of lockdowns seen elsewhere. State television aired footage of people thronging the streets Monday night, ignoring social-distancing warnings. President Hassan Rouhani imposed new restrictions on parks, saying he was left with "no other choice."
Mexico so far has more than 400 cases and five deaths but is bracing for a fast rise in infections in coming weeks. Still, life appeared to go on largely as normal in Mexico City on Wednesday even as the government implemented social distancing measures to help control the coronavirus outbreak. Sidewalks, metro stations and buses were crowded as people went about their business. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has been criticized for an allegedly cavalier approach to the virus, encouraging people to go out to restaurants, for example, despite more stringent measures recommended by his government.
WATCH | Mexico City seemingly unconcerned by COVID-19 warnings
Saudi Arabia expanded its curfew hours in the cities of Mecca and Medina, home to Islam's holiest sites, as well as the capital, Riyadh. Residents now must remain inside their homes from 3 p.m. to 6 a.m. The kingdom also banned travel in or out of the three governorates. Saudi Arabia has reported 676 cases.
South Korea said it plans to provide coronavirus testing materials to the United States in response to President Donald Trump's request for help. Jeong Eun-kyeong, director of South Korea's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the country is willing to send chemical reagents used to extract genetic material during COVID-19 tests, but at a level that doesn't affect its own testing capacity.She didn't provide a detailed estimate on the size of supplies that could be shipped to the United States.
South Korea is pushing an aggressive test-and-quarantine program that some experts say possibly contributed to its lower death toll in comparison with mainland China and hard-hit European nations. On Thursday morning, South Korea reported 104 new cases of the disease. It has tested around 358,000 people while reporting 9,241 infections and 131 deaths, an increase of five from the day before.
Cases across Africa are now well above 2,400. With Mali, Libya and Guinea-Bissau announcing their first, 46 of the continent's 54 countries now have the virus. The Portuguese news agency Lusa reported the Guinea-Bissau cases, citing the presidency. Public hospital doctors and nurses in Zimbabwe, which recorded its first COVID-19 death this week, went on strike Wednesday over a lack of protective gear. The move came as neighbouring South Africa's coronavirus cases jumped to 709, its health minister said, as the country prepared to go into lockdown Friday.
WATCH | Respirologist talks about community transmission:
With files from The Associated Press, Reuters and The Canadian Press
