A group of 13 countries including Canada, Britain, Brazil, Italy and Germany is calling for global co-operation to lessen the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
In a joint statement the group said it is committed to “work with all countries to co-ordinate on public health, travel, trade, economic and financial measures in order to minimize disruptions and recover stronger.”
The countries emphasized the need to maintain “air, land and marine transportation links” to ensure the continued flow of goods, including medical equipment and aid, and the return home of travellers.
The call comes as more than 2.23 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 151,657 have died, according to a Reuters tally. Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.
(CBC)
Canada had nearly 32,000 confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of Saturday morning.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will give an update on the issue today at 11:15 a.m. ET, a day after announcing that more than 100 Canadian Forces members with medical training will be sent to Quebec after the province asked for help at its long-term care homes struggling with growing COVID-19 outbreaks.
Trudeau announced several new funding initiatives Friday, including a plan to help the energy sector. He said that the federal government will keep working with Quebec to find ways to support the province, including working with the Red Cross and specialized volunteers who have signed up with Health Canada.
WATCH | Where are all the new cases coming from? Doctors answer your questions:
Doctors answer your questions about the coronavirus. 3:34
Several other provinces — including Ontario, B.C., and Alberta — have reported multiple outbreaks in long-term care facilities. While most cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, are mild to moderate, seniors and people with underlying health issues are more at risk of severe disease and death.
As of 7:00 a.m. ET on Saturday, Canada had 31,927 presumptive and confirmed coronavirus cases. The provinces and territories that provide data on recoveries listed 10,556 cases as recovered or resolved. A CBC News tally of deaths linked to COVID-19 based on provincial reports, regional public health information and CBC reporting listed 1,366 deaths in Canada. There have also been two reported coronavirus-related deaths of Canadians abroad.
For travellers, the federal government is rolling out new rules requiring that all air passengers wear face masks covering their noses and mouths while in transit.
Transport Minister Marc Garneau announced a package of new measures Friday that also will require people flying in Canada to wear masks at all Canadian screening checkpoints whenever maintaining two metres’ separation from others is not possible.
Separately, B.C. and New Brunswick have floated the idea of lifting some restrictions linked to the outbreak in May, citing a flattening in the curve of new cases.
PM announces $1.7B for orphan well cleanup
The outbreak — and the strict public health measures implemented in a bid to slow it — have hit businesses and families hard, as companies close their doors or cut back operations. The federal government has announced a range of programs to help families pay bills and companies stay afloat as the crisis unfolds, but Ottawa has faced criticism over delays and gaps in coverage.
Trudeau said Friday Ottawa will spend $1.7 billion to clean up abandoned oil and gas wells, a move that he said is good for the environment and will help maintain jobs in Alberta, Saskatchewan and B.C.
The energy sector has been hit not just by the coronavirus and shutdowns meant to fight the virus — the sector has also seen a major plunge in oil prices.
Tim McMillan, CEO of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, sent Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan a letter in late March asking Ottawa to freeze the carbon tax and delay new climate change regulations as the sector confronted a major drop in demand along with sinking prices.
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said the measures aimed at supporting the hard-hit energy sector should have come sooner.
WATCH | Trudeau announces aid for struggling energy sector:
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government will provide $1.7 billion to clean up orphan wells and to aid rural businesses and the cultural sector. 1:47
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said on Twitter that the funding for orphan well clean up “is critical to getting thousands of people in the energy sector back to work immediately.”
In a late afternoon news conference, he added the package has been in the works since last summer. “This is a really efficient way of getting good, blue-collar skilled labour back to work,” he said. “This is an important lifeline.”
The prime minister also announced hundreds of millions in spending on other initiatives outside the energy sector, saying the government would offer:
$962 million to regional development agencies and the Community Futures Network, which will focus on businesses and small employers — especially those in rural areas.
$270 million to Futurpreneur Canada and the Industrial Research Assistance Program, which support early-stage businesses.
$500 million to Heritage Canada, which will support workers in arts and culture, as well as the sports sector.
Read on for a look at what’s happening in Canada, the U.S. and around the world.
Here’s a look at what’s happening in the provinces and territories
The federal government is planning virtual Canada Day celebrations in place of the traditional gathering on Parliament Hill. It is working with Canadian artists to put together a program, and promises more details soon.
British Columbia is reporting 43 new COVID-19 cases, but no new deaths. A joint statement from Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says B.C. now has a total of 1,618 COVID-19 cases. The statement says 119 people are in hospital with 52 of those people in intensive care. Earlier Friday, Henry and Dix released modelling data showing B.C. is flattening the COVID-19 curve to the point where plans are underway to loosen some provincial restrictions. Read more about what’s happening in B.C.
Alberta reported no deaths over the past 24 hours but had 239 new cases on Friday, a spike Premier Jason Kenney said is the result of expanded testing. Alberta’s chief medical officer also confirmed hundreds of cases are linked to a meat packing plant in High River, accounting for 15 per cent of the province’s total. The plant run by Cargill is one of the two primary beef suppliers for McDonald’s Canada, raising questions about food safety. Read more about what’s happening in Alberta.
Manitoba celebrated a milestone on Friday: For the first time, the number of people who have recovered from COVID-19 surpassed the number of active cases. In addition, the province reported no new cases of infection on Friday. In Winnipeg, ER wait times are down amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a CBC analysis has found. Dr. Paul Doucet, an ER doctor at St. Boniface Hospital, said he thinks some people are avoiding the hospital because of concern over potential exposure to COVID-19. Read more about what’s happening in Manitoba, including an analysis of how the provincial government is handling the outbreak.
WATCH | Alberta town’s COVID-19 cases linked to outbreaks at meat packaging plant and long-term care homes:
High River, Alta., braces for a surge of COVID-19 cases after outbreaks at a meat packaging plant and in the long-term care system. 2:12
In Ontario, there is still no decision on when children will be back in classes, Education Minister Stephen Lecce said. At the same time, a coalition of child-care advocates say that without government relief, many centres will soon have to close, as they cannot pay their bills while the pandemic drags on. Read more about what’s happening in Ontario, which reported 564 new cases on Friday, for a reported total of 9,525.
In Quebec, Premier Legault said he took “full responsibility” for the “deteriorating” situation in the province’s long-term care homes. Such facilities are struggling with staffing as a number of workers have fallen ill, while the senior residents of those homes have been dying at an alarming rate. Read more about what’s happening in Quebec, including about one family who is suing a Quebec long-term care home for $2 million over the death of their relative.
A patient is brought into the emergency unit at Lasalle Hospital in Montreal on Friday. (Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has floated May 1 as a possible date for lifting some restrictions in the province —if new case numbers remain low and recovery rates stay high. Read more about what’s happening in N.B.
Newfoundland and Labrador reported four new COVID-19 cases on Friday. Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, the province’s chief medical officer of health, urged people to avoid peak hours if they need to shop for essentials. “If you are going to expose your family to something this weekend, let it be sunshine and fresh air, and not COVID-19.” Read more about what’s happening in N.L., including the story of a hotel offering free isolation rooms.
From Reuters, The Associated Press and CBC News, updated at 6:00 a.m. ET
The U.S. has more than 700,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 35,479 deaths, according to a Reuters tally published Saturday.
The figures come as at least two states took their first steps toward easing the restrictions.
In Florida, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said municipalities could reopen beaches and parks if they could do so safely. In Texas, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said stores could begin selling curbside, nonessential surgery could resume and state parks could reopen.
Sensitive about persistent questions about the capacity for testing, U.S. President Donald Trump had his health team lead a briefing Friday, saying adequate capacity exists to get states through the first phase of the guidelines for how they should reopen.
People are seen at the beach after it was reopened in Jacksonville Beach, Fla., on Friday. (Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to see businesses reopen quickly and claimed earlier this week that he had total authority over the matter, even though the lockdowns and other physical-distancing measures have been imposed by state and local leaders, not Washington.
“We may be opening but we’re putting safety first,” Trump said.
On Thursday, he outlined a three-step set of guidelines for easing restrictions over a span of several weeks in places that have robust testing and are seeing a decrease in COVID-19 cases, assuring the governors: “You’re going to call your own shots.”
But governors of both parties suggested Friday that they would be cautious in returning to normal, with some warning that they can’t do it without help from Washington to expand testing.
“The federal government cannot wipe its hands of this and say, ‘Oh, the states are responsible for testing,”‘ said New York Gov. Cuomo, a Democrat. “We cannot do it without federal help.”
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, a Republican ally of Trump’s, said he would listen to medical experts in deciding how to move forward.
A patient is loaded into an ambulance by emergency medical workers in New York City on Friday. (John Minchillo/Associated Press)
“I am not going to do something that I feel in my heart is the wrong thing that’s going to endanger our people,” he said.
Even in largely rural states with small populations, such as Wyoming, Maine and South Dakota, governors said they were not anxious to quickly resume business as usual.
“Until we’ve got the testing up to speed — which has got to be part of the federal government stepping in and helping — we’re just not going to be there,” said Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, a Republican.
Workers test a person for COVID-19 at a drive-in testing centre in Shawnee, Kan., on Friday. (Charlie Riedel/Associated Press)
The shutdowns have inflicted heavy damage on economies around the world. In the U.S., the crisis has cost at least 22 million Americans their jobs, pushing the unemployment rate toward levels not seen since the Great Depression.
Many Americans, especially in rural areas and other parts of the country that have not seen major outbreaks, have urged governors to reopen their economies, with protests in some areas.
A banner of U.S. President Trump on an American flag is held above a crowd demanding the state’s stay-at-home order be lifted during a ‘Liberate Minnesota’ protest in St. Paul, Minn., on Friday. (Evan Frost/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
Here’s a look at what’s happening around the world
From The Associated Press and Reuters, updated at 7:00 a.m. ET
In the U.K., doctors and health workers criticized the British government on Saturday for suggesting that gowns used to protect them while treating coronavirus patients could be re-used, as supplies run low across the country.
Britain is at or near the peak of an outbreak of the coronavirus in which more than 14,000 people have already died — the fifth highest national death toll of a pandemic linked to at least 150,000 deaths worldwide.
Coronavirus infections in Russia began rising sharply this month, although it had reported far fewer infections than many western European countries in the outbreak’s early stages. The authorities on Saturday reported 4,785 new cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number to 36,793.
Like in many countries, health authorities in Russia are not carrying out mass testing. Private testing results in Moscow among people without symptoms suggest the virus has penetrated more deeply into its population than official data shows.
An worker disinfects a hall at the Kazan Station railway station in Moscow, Russia, on Friday. (Moscow News Agency photo via AP)
Australia and neighbouring New Zealand have shown early success in potentially stopping COVID-19 after closing their borders early and imposing strict curbs on public movement. The daily growth rate of new infections has steadied in the low percentage single digits in both countries, a fraction of what was seen a month ago. Australia recorded 36 new cases on Saturday and a total of 6,533 cases, according to the health ministry data.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Saturday that downloading a movement-tracking app, which would enable the government to detect potential new outbreaks and which has been criticized as invasion of privacy, would not be mandatory.
Government Services Minister Stuart Robert said there would there will be no surveillance involved with the app, which is to be ready within weeks.
A man reacts as a medical staffer tests shoppers who volunteered at a pop-up community COVID-19 testing station at a supermarket parking lot in Christchurch, New Zealand on Friday. New Zealand is into week four of a 28-day lockdown in a bid to stop the spread of the new coronavirus. (Mark Baker/The Associated Press)
Tokyo had 201 new cases of the coronavirus Friday, setting a new record for a daily rise, bringing the prefectural total to 2,796, with 56 deaths, according to Gov. Yuriko Koike. The Japanese capital has seen its new cases shoot up since late March, raising concerns about the infections becoming explosive.
Friday’s increase in cases comes 10 days after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a month-long state of emergency in Tokyo and six other urban prefectures, a measure he expanded to all of Japan on Thursday.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks during a news conference at the prime minister’s official residence in Tokyo on Friday as reporters are seen sitting far apart. (Kiyoshi Ota/Pool Photo via AP)
The city of Wuhan in China, where the novel coronavirus that has since spread around the world was first reported, said it had revised up its total death toll by 50 per cent, addressing incorrect reporting, delays and omissions of cases. That would take China’s total deaths to over 4,500.
The revision comes as U.S. and other officials question the accuracy of China’s tallies — but also as those countries hit hardest by the pandemic have widely varying methodologies for counting their dead. The World Health Organization in Geneva has so far not commented on the Chinese revision.
People wearing face masks sit on bicycles as they wait to cross an intersection in Beijing on Friday. (Mark Schiefelbein/Associated Press)
Some 940 of the 2,300-strong crew aboard France’s Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier group have tested positive for COVID-19, the French Senate said in a statement on Friday, citing the military’s chief medical officer.
Spain’s death toll from coronavirus rose by 565 on Saturday, the Health Ministry said, bringing the total to 20,043 deaths in one of the world’s hardest hit countries.
A funeral home worker wears a face mask at the Girona Cemetery in Girona, Spain, on Friday. (Felipe Dana/Associated Press)
Coronavirus outbreaks across the Middle East threaten to shatter the lives of millions of already destitute people in conflict zones, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said. Hard-hit Iran, which has like several other countries faced questions about how cases are identified and disclosed, reported a new case total of more than 80,000 on Saturday, with 5,031 deaths.
In Afghanistan, at least 20 officials working at President Ashraf Ghani’s palace have tested positive for coronavirus, prompting the 70-year-old leader to limit most of his contact with staff to digital communication, government sources said on Saturday. An official document delivered to the Presidential Palace in Kabul is thought to have infected staff, many of whom began feeling unwell and were tested earlier this month, according to a senior health official.
The African continent, which has some 400 million people living in poverty, also had weak health systems that were grossly inadequate to test for the COVID-19 respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus and manage those infected, she said.
A sign encouraging people to stay at home is displayed on a bus stop along Victoria Street in central London on Friday. (Tolga Akmen/AFP/Getty Images)
Nigeria’s finance minister said a debt relief agreement reached this week to help the world’s poorest countries deal with the coronavirus pandemic was a welcome first step but that middle-income countries with debt challenges also needed urgent help.
In remarks to be delivered at Friday’s meeting of the World Bank’s Development Committee, Zainab Ahmed said most countries in sub-Saharan Africa were particularly vulnerable to the pandemic because high rates of self-employment meant physical distancing could not be sustained for long.
Rwanda is using drones to keep residents of the capital Kigali informed of coronavirus lockdown measures — and to help catch those who abuse them. As police stop cars and pedestrians on streets to ask why they are out, two drones buzz above the city — one loudly broadcasting instructions and the other monitoring movements. “Drones are flying in areas where checkpoints are not mounted and where patrols could not be there,” a police spokesperson said. Among the culprits who have been caught is a pastor who pretended to be on her way to give a radio interview when, in fact, she was heading to church despite a ban on public gatherings.
Congregants practice social distancing as they celebrate Orthodox Good Friday at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Friday. (Mulugeta Ayene/Associated Press)
Mexico’s president said the country was looking to return to normal beginning June 1, with schools and businesses reopening provided people comply with anti-coronavirus health measures until then. The Mexican government will inject around $2.5 billion US into the economy in May, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Friday, as the country gears up to weather economic shocks from the coronavirus.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday called for the reopening of his country’s borders, as he pushes to restart South America’s largest economy. But he conceded he may be blamed if the new coronavirus outbreak worsens as a result.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
CALGARY – Mired in their first four-game losing skid in 20 years, the Calgary Stampeders are going back to Jake Maier at quarterback on Saturday after he was benched for a game.
It won’t be an easy assignment.
Visiting McMahon Stadium are the Eastern Conference-leading Montreal Alouettes (10-2) who own the CFL’s best record. The Stampeders (4-8) have fallen to last in the Western Conference.
“Six games is plenty of time, but also it is just six games,” said Maier. “We’ve got to be able to get on the right track.”
Calgary is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
“I do still believe in this team,” said Stampeders’ head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson. “I want to see improvement, though. I want to see guys on a weekly basis elevating their game, and we haven’t been doing that.”
Maier is one of the guys under the microscope. Two weeks ago, the second-year starter threw four interceptions in a 35-20 home loss to the Edmonton Elks.
After his replacement, rookie Logan Bonner, threw five picks in last week’s 37-16 loss to the Elks in Edmonton, the football is back in Maier’s hands.
“Any time you fail or something doesn’t go your way in life, does it stink in the moment? Yeah. But then the days go on and you learn things about yourself and you learn how to prepare a little bit better,” said Maier. “It makes you mentally tougher.”
Dickenson wants to see his quarterback making better decisions with the football.
“Things are going to happen, interceptions will happen, but try to take calculated risks, rather than just putting the ball up there and hoping that we catch it,” said Dickenson.
A former quarterback himself, he knows the importance of that vital position.
“You cannot win without good quarterback play,” Dickenson said. “You’ve got to be able to make some plays — off-schedule plays, move-around plays, plays that break down, plays that aren’t designed perfectly, but somehow you found the right guy, and then those big throws where you’re taking that hit.”
But it’s going to take a team effort, and that includes the club’s receiving corp.
“We always have to band together because we need everything to go right for our receivers to get the ball,” said Nik Lewis, the Stampeders’ receivers coach. “The running back has to pick up the blitz, the o-line has to block, the quarterback has to make the right reads, and then give us a catchable ball.”
Lewis brings a unique perspective to this season’s frustrations as he was a 22-year-old rookie in Calgary in 2004 when the Stamps went 4-14 under coach Matt Dunigan. They turned it around the next season and haven’t missed the playoffs since.”
“Thinking back and just looking at it, there’s just got to be an ultimate belief that you can get it done. Look at Montreal, they were 6-7 last year and they’ve gone 18-2 since then,” said Lewis.
Montreal is also looking to rebound from a 37-23 loss to the B.C. Lions last week. But for head coach Jason Maas, he says his team’s mindset doesn’t change, regardless of what happened the previous week.
“Last year when we went through a four-game losing streak, you couldn’t tell if we were on a four-game winning streak or a four-game losing streak by the way the guys were in the building, the way we prepared, the type of work ethic we have,” said Maas. “All our standards are set, so that’s all we focus on.”
While they may have already clinched a playoff spot, Alouettes’ quarterback Cody Fajardo says this closing stretch remains critical because they want to finish the season strong, just like last year when they won their final five regular-season games before ultimately winning the Grey Cup.
“It doesn’t matter about what you do at the beginning of the year,” said Fajardo. “All that matters is how you end the year and how well you’re playing going into the playoffs so that’s what these games are about.”
The Alouettes’ are kicking off a three-game road stretch, one Fajardo looks forward to.
“You understand what kind of team you have when you play on the road because it’s us versus the world mentality and you can feel everybody against you,” said Fajardo. “Plus, I always tend to find more joy in silencing thousands of people than bringing thousands of people to their feet.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
