Children in four provinces will be out of school for an extended period as health officials and governments across the country strive to slow the spread of coronavirus, a pandemic that has sparked a state of emergency in the U.S. and a spate of travel restrictions in countries around the world.
On Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addressed the nation from outside his home, where he is in self-isolation after his wife tested positive for COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus that was first identified in China. Trudeau said his government would be introducing a “significant” fiscal package in the days ahead.
“We do not want any Canadian to have to worry about whether or not they’re going to be able to pay their rent, whether or not they’re going to be able to buy groceries, or care for their kids or elderly family members.”
The prime minister’s remarks came ahead of a slew of announcements from his cabinet ministers, who offered details around what Canada will do on everything from international airline travel to a $10-billion credit facility for businesses dealing with the fallout from the virus and economic uncertainty.
The Bank of Canada also made a move Friday, announcing an emergency rate cut from 1.25 to 0.75 per cent. The cut is meant to be a “proactive measure taken in light of the negative shocks to Canada’s economy arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent sharp drop in oil prices,” the bank said in a statement.
The government also advised Canadians to avoid all international travel. Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, cautioned that people who do travel abroad could get caught up in a quarantine or travel bans imposed by the countries they visit.
Tam, who has reiterated throughout the outbreak the importance of protective measures like proper hand hygiene and staying home while sick, said Friday that people in Canada should take extra steps to stay safe, including measures like social distancing.
“This means avoiding crowded places and non-essential gatherings, considering shopping or taking public transport in off-peak hours and greeting one another with a wave or elbow instead of a handshake, kiss or hug.”
For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover from the new virus in a matter of weeks.
Here’s a look at what’s happening in provinces with COVID-19 cases
For full detail about what’s happening in every province — including those that do not yet have cases — visit your local site.
Ontario, which has reported the most cases in Canada to date, announced on Thursday that schools would be closed for two weeks in addition to the scheduled spring break. Cities across the province made their own plans, calling for the closure of non-essential services like rec centres. At the same time, there were moves to set up temporary, stand-alone screening centres for COVID-19, like this one in Ottawa. Read more about what’s happening in Ontario.
In B.C., officials have asked people who travel outside Canada to self-isolate for 14 days. Premier John Horgan said on Twitter that the province is doing “all we can to break the chain of transmission” of the novel coronavirus. The province has also directed organizers to cancel events of more than 250 people. Both Horgan and the province’s top doctor noted that doesn’t mean people need to avoid restaurants, or stop shopping or attending things like family events. Read more about what’s happening in B.C. here.
In Alberta, the premier announced a change to the labour codethat would allow people who need to self-isolate or care for someone else who is isolated to do that for two weeks without losing their jobs. The government, which had planned cuts to the province’s health service, also announced Friday that cuts to front-line workers wouldn’t be going forward during the coronavirus outbreak. Read more about what’s happening in Alberta here.
Quebec’s premier announced Friday that schools — from daycares right up through to college and university — would be closing for two weeks. “I understand that today’s announcement will have a significant effect on a lot of parents,” Premier François Legault said Friday. “But this is a measure we have to take.” Montreal moved to close nonessential services like libraries and sports centres, while hospitals in the city moved to restrict visitors — and in some cases, ban them entirely. Read more about what’s happening in Quebec here.
Health officials in Saskatchewan, which has two presumptive cases, have ordered events of 250 people or more to be cancelled as of Monday. “This does not include settings where people are distributed into multiple rooms or buildings, such as schools, universities or workplaces,” a statement from the government said. Read more about what’s happening in Saskatchewan here.
New Brunswick, which has reported one confirmed case, also moved to close schools for two weeks, with an exception for daycares. “I want to be proactive,” Premier Blaine Higgs said. Read more about what’s happening in New Brunswick.
As of late Friday night, Canada was reporting nearly 200 cases. To date, the death of a resident of a B.C. long-term care facility is the only known death linked to COVID-19 in Canada.
Here’s what’s happening in the U.S.
From The Associated Press, updated at 5 a.m. ET
The U.S. House approved legislation early Saturday to provide direct relief to Americans suffering physically, financially and emotionally from the coronavirus pandemic. President Donald Trump on Friday declared the outbreak a national emergency, freeing up money and resources to fight it, then threw his support behind the congressional aid package.
From the Rose Garden, Trump said, “I am officially declaring a national emergency,” unleashing as much as $50 billion US for state and local governments to respond to the crisis.
Trump also announced a range of executive actions, including a new public-private partnership to expand coronavirus testing capabilities with drive-through locations, as Washington tries to subdue the new virus whose spread is roiling markets, shuttering institutions and disrupting the lives of everyday Americans.
But he denied any responsibility for delays in making testing available as his administration has come under criticism for being too slow to respond. Trump said, “I don’t take responsibility at all” for the slow rollout of testing.
A tally maintained by Johns Hopkins University was reporting nearly 2,174 cases in the U.S. as of early Saturday.
WATCH: How scientists at Johns Hopkins University are tracking COVID-19
Scientists at Johns Hopkins University had predicted the COVID-19 outbreak and are now working to track the virus. 2:03
As the House prepared to vote late Friday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi trumpeted the hard-fought package that will provide free testing, sick pay for workers, enhanced unemployment benefits and bolstered food programs.
“We did what we said we were going to do: Put families first,” said Pelosi, flanked by Democratic lawmakers, including many freshmen. The House passed the bill after midnight on a bipartisan vote, 363-40. It now goes to the Senate.
Trump’s tweet of approval instilled fresh energy in the package, all but ensuring that wary Republicans would join with a robust vote. “I encourage all Republicans and Democrats to come together and VOTE YES!” Trump wrote, “Look forward to signing the final Bill, ASAP!”
The crush of late-day activity capped a tumultuous week in Washington as the fast-moving virus left ordinary Americans suddenly navigating self-quarantines, school closures and a changed way of life.
Here’s what’s happening in Europe
From The Associated Press, Reuters and CBC News, updated at 5 a.m. ET
Already cooped up most of the day in their homes under Italy’s nationwide lockdown to fight the coronavirus, millions of Italians woke up on Saturday to find themselves deprived of one of the few simple pleasures left: a walk in the park.
Mayors of many cities, including Rome and Milan, had decided by late Friday to close public playgrounds and parks. Local media say Italy has reported 1,266 deaths from the virus, which has caused major strain on the country — particularly in the north. To date, local media say the country has seen more than 17,660 cases, a tally that includes people who have recovered, the dead and people still living with the virus.
WATCH: How social distancing can limit the spread of COVID-19
Social distancing measures like working from home, school closures and cancelling sporting events could lead to a drop of new infections of coronavirus. 1:54
Spain’s Cabinet will meet Saturday to declare a two-week state of emergency and announce more measures to control the outbreak of the coronavirus, which has spiked sharply in recent days to over 4,000 infections in the country. The measure would allow the government to limit free movement, confiscate goods, and take over control of industries and private facilities, including private hospitals.
Here’s what’s happening in China, South Korea and Japan
From Reuters and The Associated Press, updated at 5 a.m. ET
While infections continue to climb around the world, in mainland China the number of new cases is falling. The number of new coronavirus cases imported into mainland China from overseas surpassed the number of locally transmitted new infections for the first time on Friday, data released by the National Health Commission showed on Saturday.
Medical staff participate in a training session as they prepare for the opening of the COVID-19 Assessment Centre at Brewer Park Arena in Ottawa, during a media tour on Friday. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
Mainland China had 11 new confirmed cases on Friday, up from eight cases a day earlier, but only four of those — all in the virus epicentre of Hubei province — were locally transmitted. Hubei has now seen new infections fall for nine straight days. All four of the new cases on Friday, down from five a day earlier, were in provincial capital Wuhan.
The flu-like virus has infected 80,824 people in mainland China, the commission said.
Workers wearing protective gears disinfect surfaces as a precaution against the new coronavirus at the subway station in Seoul on Friday. (Lee Jin-man/The Associated Press)
In South Korea, the prime minister the country’s war against the coronavirus is broadening despite a notable decline in new cases. He is urging vigilance after the emergence of infection clusters in areas including Seoul and warning of the possibility that the virus re-enters the country from abroad amid widening outbreaks in the West.
Chung Sye-kyun’s comments during a government meeting on Saturday came as infections continued to slow in the worst-hit city of Daegu, which has reported daily increases of 60 to 70 cases over the past three days after averaging around 500 new cases per day a week ago.
South Korea reported 117 new cases and five more fatalities, bringing its total numbers to 8,086 cases and 72 deaths. Officials said 204 people were released from hospitals, making Saturday the second consecutive day that recoveries outnumbered new infections.
Here’s a look at some other COVID-19 news from around the world, including hard-hit nations like Iran and Japan
From The Associated Press and CBC News, last updated at 5:30 a.m. ET
Saudi Arabia said Saturday that it would halt all international flights to the kingdom for two weeks in the latest effort to contain the spread of the new coronavirus. Gulf nations have been scrambling to contain the pandemic, which has spread to more than 100 countries and infected more than 130,000 people. Of special concern is nearby Iran, where one of the worst outbreaks has infected more than 11,000 and killed more than 500.
Japan’s Defence Ministry says one of its officials tested positive for the virus Friday after returning from Paris where he attended an international defence seminar. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is calling for continued vigilance, but says Japan doesn’t need to call a state of emergency at this time, saying there is “no explosive spread of infections” in the country. Japan is reporting more than 700 domestic cases, and nearly 700 from the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced what she says will be some of the toughest border restrictions in the world in an attempt to keep out the new coronavirus. From Monday, all incoming passengers, including New Zealand citizens, will be required to isolate themselves for 14 days. The only countries exempt from the restrictions are a handful of Pacific islands that haven’t yet had any cases of COVID-19.
Indonesia reported 27 more coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of confirmed infection to 96 in the Southeast Asian country, Achmad Yurianto, a health ministry official said on Saturday. The total number of deaths from coronavirus rose to five, Yurianto said.
Turkey says flights from nine European countries will halt Saturday as the country reports its fifth case of coronavirus.
Colombia’s president has ordered his nation’s border with Venezuela closed as a coronavirus containment measure.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Democrats who control both chambers of the Virginia legislature are hoping to make good on promises made on the campaign trail, including becoming the first Southern state to expand constitutional protections for abortion access.
The House Privileges and Elections Committee advanced three proposed constitutional amendments Wednesday, including a measure to protect reproductive rights. Its members also discussed measures to repeal a now-defunct state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and ways to revise Virginia’s process to restore voting rights for people who served time for felony crimes.
“This meeting was an important next step considering the moment in history we find ourselves in,” Democratic Del. Cia Price, the committee chair, said during a news conference. “We have urgent threats to our freedoms that could impact constituents in all of the districts we serve.”
The at-times raucous meeting will pave the way for the House and Senate to take up the resolutions early next year after lawmakers tabled the measures last January. Democrats previously said the move was standard practice, given that amendments are typically introduced in odd-numbered years. But Republican Minority Leader Todd Gilbert said Wednesday the committee should not have delved into the amendments before next year’s legislative session. He said the resolutions, particularly the abortion amendment, need further vetting.
“No one who is still serving remembers it being done in this way ever,” Gilbert said after the meeting. “Certainly not for something this important. This is as big and weighty an issue as it gets.”
The Democrats’ legislative lineup comes after Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin, to the dismay of voting-rights advocates, rolled back a process to restore people’s civil rights after they completed sentences for felonies. Virginia is the only state that permanently bans anyone convicted of a felony from voting unless a governor restores their rights.
“This amendment creates a process that is bounded by transparent rules and criteria that will apply to everybody — it’s not left to the discretion of a single individual,” Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, the patron of the voting rights resolution, which passed along party lines, said at the news conference.
Though Democrats have sparred with the governor over their legislative agenda, constitutional amendments put forth by lawmakers do not require his signature, allowing the Democrat-led House and Senate to bypass Youngkin’s blessing.
Instead, the General Assembly must pass proposed amendments twice in at least two years, with a legislative election sandwiched between each statehouse session. After that, the public can vote by referendum on the issues. The cumbersome process will likely hinge upon the success of all three amendments on Democrats’ ability to preserve their edge in the House and Senate, where they hold razor-thin majorities.
It’s not the first time lawmakers have attempted to champion the three amendments. Republicans in a House subcommittee killed a constitutional amendment to restore voting rights in 2022, a year after the measure passed in a Democrat-led House. The same subcommittee also struck down legislation supporting a constitutional amendment to repeal an amendment from 2006 banning marriage equality.
On Wednesday, a bipartisan group of lawmakers voted 16-5 in favor of legislation protecting same-sex marriage, with four Republicans supporting the resolution.
“To say the least, voters enacted this (amendment) in 2006, and we have had 100,000 voters a year become of voting age since then,” said Del. Mark Sickles, who sponsored the amendment as one of the first openly gay men serving in the General Assembly. “Many people have changed their opinions of this as the years have passed.”
A constitutional amendment protecting abortion previously passed the Senate in 2023 but died in a Republican-led House. On Wednesday, the amendment passed on party lines.
If successful, the resolution proposed by House Majority Leader Charniele Herring would be part of a growing trend of reproductive rights-related ballot questions given to voters. Since 2022, 18 questions have gone before voters across the U.S., and they have sided with abortion rights advocates 14 times.
The voters have approved constitutional amendments ensuring the right to abortion until fetal viability in nine states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Ohio and Vermont. Voters also passed a right-to-abortion measure in Nevada in 2024, but it must be passed again in 2026 to be added to the state constitution.
As lawmakers debated the measure, roughly 18 members spoke. Mercedes Perkins, at 38 weeks pregnant, described the importance of women making decisions about their own bodies. Rhea Simon, another Virginia resident, anecdotally described how reproductive health care shaped her life.
Then all at once, more than 50 people lined up to speak against the abortion amendment.
“Let’s do the compassionate thing and care for mothers and all unborn children,” resident Sheila Furey said.
The audience gave a collective “Amen,” followed by a round of applause.
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Associated Press writer Geoff Mulvihill in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, contributed to this report.
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Olivia Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative.
Vancouver Canucks winger Dakota Joshua is set to make his season debut Thursday after missing time for cancer treatment.
Head coach Rick Tocchet says Joshua will slot into the lineup Thursday when Vancouver (8-3-3) hosts the New York Islanders.
The 28-year-old from Dearborn, Mich., was diagnosed with testicular cancer this summer and underwent surgery in early September.
He spoke earlier this month about his recovery, saying it had been “very hard to go through” and that he was thankful for support from his friends, family, teammates and fans.
“That was a scary time but I am very thankful and just happy to be in this position still and be able to go out there and play,,” Joshua said following Thursday’s morning skate.
The cancer diagnosis followed a career season where Joshua contributed 18 goals and 14 assists across 63 regular-season games, then added four goals and four assists in the playoffs.
Now, he’s ready to focus on contributing again.
“I expect to be good, I don’t expect a grace period. I’ve been putting the work in so I expect to come out there and make an impact as soon as possible,” he said.
“I don’t know if it’s going to be perfect right from the get-go, but it’s about putting your best foot forward and working your way to a point of perfection.”
The six-foot-three, 206-pound Joshua signed a four-year, US$13-million contract extension at the end of June.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2024.
NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump says he will nominate anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, putting him in charge of a massive agency that oversees everything from drug, vaccine and food safety to medical research and the social safety net programs Medicare and Medicaid.
“For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to Public Health,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social site announcing the appointment. Kennedy, he said, would “Make America Great and Healthy Again!”
Kennedy, a former Democrat who ran as an independent in this year’s presidential race, abandoned his bid after striking a deal to give Trump his endorsement with a promise to have a role in health policy in the administration.
He and Trump have since become good friends, with Kennedy frequently receiving loud applause at Trump’s rallies.
The expected appointment was first reported by Politico Thursday.
A longtime vaccine skeptic, Kennedy is an attorney who has built a loyal following over several decades of people who admire his lawsuits against major pesticide and pharmaceutical companies. He has pushed for tighter regulations around the ingredients in foods.
With the Trump campaign, he worked to shore up support among young mothers in particular, with his message of making food healthier in the U.S., promising to model regulations imposed in Europe. In a nod to Trump’s original campaign slogan, he named the effort “Make America Healthy Again.”
It remains unclear how that will square with Trump’s history of deregulation of big industries, including food. Trump pushed for fewer inspections of the meat industry, for example.
Kennedy’s stance on vaccines has also made him a controversial figure among Democrats and some Republicans, raising question about his ability to get confirmed, even in a GOP-controlled Senate. Kennedy has espoused misinformation around the safety of vaccines, including pushing a totally discredited theory that childhood vaccines cause autism.
He also has said he would recommend removing fluoride from drinking water. The addition of the material has been cited as leading to improved dental health.
HHS has more than 80,000 employees across the country. It houses the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Medicare and Medicaid programs and the National Institutes of Health.
Kennedy’s anti-vaccine nonprofit group, Children’s Health Defense, currently has a lawsuit pending against a number of news organizations, among them The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. Kennedy took leave from the group when he announced his run for president but is listed as one of its attorneys in the lawsuit.
