Latest headlines
- Canada will make sure Chinese masks meet quality standards to protect from coronavirus: Trudeau
- Canada has 5,866 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 63 deaths
- Ottawa giving funds to Kids Help Phone, United Way
- U.S. could face 200,000 coronavirus deaths, millions of cases, Dr. Anthony Fauci warns
- Ontario reports 211 new cases of coronavirus and two additional deaths
- Sophie Grégoire Trudeau given all clear from health officials after contracting coronavirus
The latest: How many coronavirus cases are there in Canada, by province, and worldwide?
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Explainer: What you need to know about COVID-19 and its toll around the world
4:30 p.m. EDT
New York state nears 1,000 coronavirus deaths
New York state’s coronavirus death toll is nearing 1,000. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. The state accounts for more than 40% of coronavirus deaths in the U.S.
The number of disease-related deaths in the state jumped Sunday to 965 from 728 the day before, Cuomo said. The vast majority have been in New York City.
Figures released Sunday morning showed 678 coronavirus deaths in the city, which continues to be the epicenter of the pandemic in the U.S.
- The Associated Press
3:18 p.m. EDT
Canada will make sure Chinese masks meet quality standards to protect from coronavirus: Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says federal health authorities will not cut any corners when it comes to ensuring masks provided by China meet the necessary standards for protecting Canadian health-care workers from COVID-19.
The comment follows reports the Dutch government is recalling about 600,000 defective masks that were recently shipped from China and had been distributed to various hospitals in the Netherlands.
The Chinese Embassy in Ottawa tweeted Saturday that China was sending 30,000 medical masks along with gowns, gloves and goggles to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, prompting a message of thanks from Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne.
There have been reports of Canadian hospitals rationing masks and other protective gear as they wait for fresh supplies to arrive amid what has become a global shortage of such equipment.
2:11 p.m. EDT
Canada tallies 5,866 COVID-19 cases, 63 deaths
Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam said Sunday the most up to date national numbers show 5,866 positive cases of COVID-19, and 63 deaths. She said about three per cent of Canadians who have been tested for the illness actually have it, but warned not to get complacent because the test results lag behind the actual spread of the illness.
Tam said she is cautiously optimistic about signs in British Columbia that the spread of the disease has slowed, but said the next seven days will be critical for getting a true understanding of what kind of impact social distancing is having on Canada’s case load.
- The Canadian Press
12:50 p.m, EDT
Ottawa giving funds to Kids Help Phone, United Way
At his daily press briefing today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the government is trying to help charities that are providing critical services to vulnerable Canadians with a $7.5-million investment in Kids Help Phone and $9-million to United Way Canada to help seniors who need assistance.
He says more aid for Canada’s charitable sector is coming but also urges those Canadians who can to donate to charities or offer to volunteer right now.
Trudeau also told the press he will remain in isolation at his home for almost two more weeks even though his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau recently announced she has recovered from COVID-19.
Trudeau says the couple took steps to remain apart, but staying at home for another two weeks is prudent because he was sharing a roof with someone who was ill.
Trudeau says his wife has now taken their three kids to the prime minister’s cottage residence in Quebec while he remains at their Ottawa home.
- The Canadian Press
11:38 a.m. EDT
Ontario reports 211 new cases of coronavirus and two additional deaths
Ontario reported another 211 cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, bringing the total number of cases to 1,355.
It’s the largest single-day spike in cases so far.
The province says two more people died from the virus, bringing the death toll to 21.
Two of the deaths have not been confirmed by a lab to be from COVID-19.
- The Canadian Press
9:30 a.m EDT
U.S. could face 200,000 coronavirus deaths, millions of cases, Dr. Anthony Fauci warns
The coronavirus outbreak could kill 100,000 to 200,000 Americans, the U.S. government’s top infectious-disease expert warned on Sunday as smouldering hot spots in nursing homes and a growing list of stricken cities heightened the sense of dread across the country.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, made the dire prediction of fatalities on CNN’s “State of the Union,” adding that millions in the U.S. could become infected.
By midday, the U.S. had about 125,000 infections and 2,200 deaths, according to the running tally kept by Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases is thought to be considerably higher because of testing shortages and mild illnesses that have gone unrecognized or unreported.
Worldwide, the count approached 700,000 infections, and deaths topped 32,000. World Health Organization figures showed the daily increase in new infections was eclipsing 70,000, up from about 50,000 earlier in the week, and more than six times what it was two weeks ago.
- The Associated Press
8:40 a.m. EDT
Sophie Grégoire Trudeau given all clear from health officials after contracting coronavirus
Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, wife of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has been given the all clear from health officials and says she is feeling much better after contracting COVID-19.
She said in a statement on social media Saturday that she is feeling so much better and that she received clearance from her doctor and Ottawa Public Health.
Trudeau’s office announced on March 12 that she tested positive after she fell ill upon returning from a trip to London.
The prime minister and his family have been in self isolation at home ever since. He and his three children never showed symptoms.