The latest news on the COVID-19 global pandemic (all times Eastern):
12:45 p.m.
Prince Edward Island says it has recorded no new cases of COVID-19 compared with the prior day.
The province’s chief public health officer, Dr. Heather Morrison, said today the island’s confirmed number of cases remains at 22.
She says P.E.I. received 169 negative test results and a total of six people have recovered from the disease.
Morrison is urging Islanders not to become complacent and to continue staying home in order to prevent community transmission.
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12:30 p.m.
Nova Scotia is reporting 29 new cases of COVID-19.
That brings the province’s total to 236 confirmed cases.
Health officials say most cases in Nova Scotia have been linked to travel or a known case, but there is clear evidence that infections are now being spread within the community.
As a result, the province is ramping up its testing. Processing at the QEII Health Sciences Centre in Halifax will now move to a 24-7 operation as of Monday.
Four individuals are currently in hospital and 50 others have now recovered.
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12:25 p.m.
Two more residents of Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon, Ont., have died due to COVID-19.
A total of 22 residents at the seniors home and the wife of one have now died from the virus, one of the worst outbreaks of the novel coronavirus in the province.
Staff at the seniors residence in Ontario’s cottage country have moved all residents with symptoms of the virus into one wing of the building.
At least 24 staff members at the facility have also tested positive for COVID-19.
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12:20 p.m.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he plans to talk to U.S. President Donald Trump about White House orders to Minnesota-based 3M to stop exporting its surgical-grade face masks.
Trudeau says he is not looking at measures that are retaliatory or punitive.
Rather, he says the countries can come up with a diplomatic solution.
Much of the pulp for the masks that protect against COVID-19 spread comes from a mill in Nanaimo, B.C.
He says his message to Trump in the coming days will be that working together benefits both countries.
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12:15 p.m.
Health officials in New Brunswick are confirming three new cases of COVID-19.
That brings the province’s total to 98 confirmed cases, which includes 28 individuals who have recovered.
Officials say most of the cases are related to travel or close contacts of confirmed cases, but four cases are from community transmission and six cases remain under investigation.
Meanwhile, four patients remain in hospital, with one in the intensive care unit.
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11:30 a.m.
The Canadian government is giving more financial support aimed at helping the most vulnerable survive the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced $40 million will go to Women and Gender Equality Canada, with up to $30 million to address immediate needs of shelters and sexual assault centres.
Another $10 million will go to Indigenous Services Canada’s network of 46 emergency shelters.
The government also says $157.5 million will address the needs of Canadians experiencing homelessness.
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11:05 a.m.
Toronto Mayor John Tory says Ontario should ban evictions for small business tenants the same way it has done for residential tenants.
Tory says being able to pay rent is the biggest concern he hears from small businesses in the city.
He is imploring landlords to sit down with their tenants so they can work out a way to help businesses make their rent payments at a later date.
The Ontario government banned evictions for residential tenants in March by cancelling all Landlord and Tenant Board hearings.
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10:50 a.m.
Ontario is reporting 27 more deaths from COVID-19.
The provincial total is now 94 deaths.
Ontario also reports another 375 cases of COVID-19 for a new total of 3,630.
The province lists 1,219 cases as resolved.
The Canadian Press
