Tracking COVID-19: Sept. 22

• Ottawa’s Medical Officer of Health has dropped the hammer on the city today. She has invoked a self-isolation order in the hope of dealing with spiking case numbers in community transmissions and “slow adherence” to public health orders. “We need to bend the curve down now,” Dr. Vera Etches said Tuesday.
• The Class Section 22 order under the Health Protection and Promotion Act requires that any person who “tests positive for COVID-19, has signs and symptoms of COVID-19, is a close contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, has been tested for COVID-19 and awaiting a test result or otherwise has reasonable grounds to believe they have COVID-19 must self-isolate without delay.”
• The order requires those people to remain in isolation for 14 days, unless COVID-19 is ruled out. Those who do not comply may be fined $5,000 per day. 
• Ottawa Public Health reported 93 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 today. That smashes the previous record of 76 recorded in April. The city has seen 3,772 cases since March. The death toll rose by three to 279. Eleven people are in hospital. Two people are in intensive care. There are 587 active cases and there have been 2,906 recoveries. There are 13 outbreaks in care homes.
• Ontario’s daily case count surged to 478, raising the total to 47,752. The death toll rose by three to 2,832. There are 82 people in hospital in the province with 11 in intensive care on a ventilator. There are 3,578 active cases in the province. There have been 41,342 recoveries, up 196. Ontario completed 34,201 tests for a total of 3,614,544. In Toronto there were 153 new confirmed cases, 95 in Peel Region and 93 in Ottawa.
• Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced a $70 million flu shot campaign today. The campaign will make about 5.1 million doses available in the next few weeks, The first shipment is expected next week and it will be distributed to long term care homes and other congregant living arrangements. This campaign is part of the province’s six-prong fall preparedness plan. More will be revealed in coming days.
• So far 116 schools in Ontario have reported a case of COVID-19, 30 in the Ottawa region including Pembroke and Kemptville. There have been 141 people with confirmed infections including at least 59 students. Two schools have been closed; one in Pembroke and one in Barrhaven. There have been 95 cases of COVID-19 in child care centres; 49 in children and 46 staff. Thirty centres have reported a case and eight are closed. There are 10 outbreaks in child-care centres in Ottawa, OPH says.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 93 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 today. That smashes the previous record of 76 recorded in April. The city has seen 3,772 cases since March. The death toll rose by three to 279. Eleven people are in hospital. Two people are in intensive care. There are 587 active cases and there have been 2,906 recoveries. There are 13 outbreaks in care homes.
• Ottawa’s east end will finally get a COVID-19 testing site next month at the Ray Friel Community Centre in Orléans. The clinic will be run by the Montfort Hospital.
• As COVID-19 cases rise, the University of Ottawa has notified students and faculty that its 2021 winter semester will be composed “primarily of remote learning, with only a few exceptions.”
• Quebec has now seen 68,617 confirmed cases, up by 489. The death toll rose by one to 5,806. The number of people in hospital rose by 20 to 168 with 28 in intensive care. The province completed 25,025 tests on Sept. 20 for a total of 2,115,208. A website maintained by a citizen says that 384 schools in the province have now seen at least one case of COVID-19. The province says 272 schools have reported a case and 401 students and 106 staff have tested positive.
• The Outaouais has seen 1,157 cases, up 11. The death toll remains at 34. The region is one of five regions in the province in the orange alert zone for COVID-19 infection. The other regions in orange are Chaudieres-Appalache, Montreal, Laval and parts of Quebec City.
• In contrast, Nova Scotia reported its first case since Sept. 7 today.
• The Ontario caucus of the federal Conservative Party made use of a COVID-19 serological test that has not yet been approved by Health Canada, according to Conservative MP Scot Davidson.
• Canada now has seen 146,407+ confirmed cases of COVID-19, 10,714+ are active. There have been 9,232+ deaths from the infection and 126,236+ recoveries.
• COVID consequences: On average, 60,000 Ontario public servants took one fewer sick day between March and July than they did in 2017, 2018, and 2019, according to Ontario’s Treasury Board. The drop is partly because they were working at home.
• New modelling from the federal government shows that the Rt rate of the virus in Canada is 1.4, which means 100 cases of the virus are infecting 140 other people. This signals that the virus is spreading in the country, Dr. Theresa Tam says.
• The same modelling shows that different parts of the country are experiencing different experiences with the virus and even within different parts of provinces.
• Young Canadians under 40 are the most infected cohort and have been since late June.
• While hospitalizations remain low, they are rising, Tam said, especially in Ontario and Quebec. Deaths from COVID-19 are also low, of less than 10 per week for several weeks, but Tam warned the numbers could start to rise with spread of the infection.
• The modelling predicts 9,220 to 9,300 deaths by Oct 2. Cases will reach between 150,780 to 155,795 by the same date. The modelling also shows the potential for an overwhelming surge of the pandemic without the application of physical distancing, mask-wearing and testing and contact tracing measures.
• As COVID-19 cases rise, the federal government has announced another deal to obtain 72 million doses of a vaccine candidate with the French multinational drug company Sanofi.
• Procurement Minister Anita Anand also said Tuesday Canada is working to secure up to 150,000 vials of Gilead Sciences and McKeeson Canada’s antiviral drug remdesivir, which has been found to be somewhat effective in treating the novel coronavirus.
• To date, Canada has allocated $1 billion to procure a minimum of 154 million doses of a future vaccine. Deals have already been signed with Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and Novavax.
• The federal Liberal government will spend $1 billion over the next six months so cities and housing providers can buy properties being sold because of the COVID-19 pandemic and use them to keep people from becoming homeless. CBC has more.
• Media reports say that the throne speech will signal an investment into EV batteries for electric cars. The investment will mostly go into Ontario. Premier Doug Ford signalled the investment yesterday.
• The Supreme Court of Canada has resumed in-person hearings today.
• Globally, there have now been 31,409,623+ confirmed cases with 966,574+ deaths and 21,543,874+ recoveries.
• The United States has now officially passed 200,000+ deaths from COVID-19. The U.S. has now seen 200,558+ deaths and 6,885,499+ cases.
• Time please: Britain has tightened restrictions to stem a surge of coronavirus cases, ordering pubs to close early and advising people go back to working from home to prevent a second national lockdown. Pubs, bars and restaurants were ordered to shut at 10:00 pm (2100 GMT) across England and Scotland, and new limits were announced on public gatherings such as weddings. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson also called a halt to the planned phased return of fans to live sporting events in England from Oct. 1, despite huge losses and fears some clubs could go under.

Sept. 21

• British Columbians will go to the polls on Oct. 24. After three years of minority government, NDP leader and premier, John Horgan, announced the country’s second provincial election during the pandemic this afternoon. He told reporters and the province that he called the election because he wanted to end speculation and “put the politics behind us.” He said he believed citizens can find ways to vote safely and pledged his campaign will follow public health guidelines.
• Ontario’s daily case count surged to 425, raising the total to 47,274. The death toll rose by two to 2,829. There are 63 people in hospital in the province with 10 in intensive care on a ventilator. There are 3,299 active cases in the province. There have been 41,146 recoveries, up 178. Ontario completed 31,753 tests for a total of 3,580,343.
• There were 175 new cases reported in Toronto, 84 in Peel Region and 60 in Ottawa.
• So far 75 schools in Ontario have reported a case of COVID-19, 18 in Ottawa. Ninety people have been infected including 33 students. Three schools have reported outbreaks and two have been closed; one in Pembroke and one in Barrhaven. There are 20 child care centres with at least one case of COVID-19; nine are in Ottawa. Four are closed. In total, 35 children and 41 staff in day care centres have been infected.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 60 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 today. The city has seen 3,679 cases since March. The death toll rose by two to 276. Ten people are in hospital. Two people are in intensive care. There are 523 active cases and there have been 2,880 recoveries. There are 25 outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• Eleven residents have now died from complications because of COVID-19 at West End Villa. The outbreak was declared on Aug. 30. So far, 92 residents and staff have contracted the virus. Extendicare, which operates the home on Elmira Drive, says there are 34 active cases of the virus among residents. Four additional residents are in hospital. Fifteen resident cases have been resolved. Twenty-four staffers have tested positive and are isolating at home. Four staff cases have been resolved. The union says staff do not have access to N95 respirators.
• Early data from Ottawa Public Health (OPH) shows that 66 per cent of people who’ve tested positive for COVID-19 in Ottawa are Black and others from non-white backgrounds. The term does not include people who identify as Indigenous.
• Airbnb says that a new crackdown on party houses includes the suspension of more than 40 listings across Ontario, including in Ottawa. The listings have received complaints or otherwise violated the short-term rental website’s policies on parties and events, Airbnb said in a press release Monday.
• Quebec has now seen 68,128 confirmed cases, up by 586. The death toll rose by three to 5,805. The number of people in hospital rose by 10 to 148 with 31 in intensive care. The province completed 23,126 tests on Sept. 19 for a total of 2,090,183. A website maintained by a citizen says that 356 schools in the province have now seen at least one case of COVID-19. The province says 272 schools have reported a case and 401 students and 106 staff have tested positive.
• The Outaouais has seen 1,146 cases, up 31. The death toll remains at 34. The region is one of seven in the province in the yellow alert zone for COVID-19 infection. Three regions: Chaudieres-Appalache, Montreal and parts of Quebec City are in an orange alert zone.
• Quebec’s chief medical officer, Horacio Arruda, told a media briefing that he believes Quebec is in the midst of a second wave of COVID-19 infection.
• Quebec police visited more than 2,000 bars and restaurants on the weekend and they issued about 1,500 warnings and 90 tickets for violations of COVID-19 regulations including Fines were issued for infractions including people not wearing masks, bars being too crowded, alcohol served after hours, people not distancing, and people drinking while standing up. The operation was carried out throughout the province, though particular attention was paid to regions in the yellow and orange zones.
• A Quebec City school has 25 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
• Montreal public health announced 219 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the city’s total since the start of the pandemic to 31,528. Officials said said 512 contact-tracing calls were made over the weekend and only a third of those calls were answered. Public health will attempt to call a person twice, and then will send a letter to the person’s home asking them to call back within 24 hours. 
• The federal government has appointed Iain Stewart as the new head of the Public Health of Canada Agency.
• New home prices recorded their sharpest one-month gain in three years with higher demand and rising costs for building materials. Prices rose 0.5 per cent in August, Statistics Canada said Monday in Ottawa. That’s the biggest increase since May 2017. Gains were recorded in most of the country’s big metropolitan centres.
• Meanwhile, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says there was some evidence of overvaluation in Canada’s housing market this spring especially in cities such as Victoria, Moncton and Halifax, where there was a widening gap between the selling price of houses and the price economists would expect, based on population growth, disposable income, mortgage rates and employment.
• Tuition fees for degree programs increased for both undergraduate and graduate students for the 2020/2021 academic year, Statistics Canada reports. While the fall 2020 term will see postsecondary institutions continue to offer online instruction in response to the pandemic, students will pay higher tuition fees on average compared with the previous academic year.
• Nationally, students in full-time undergraduate programs will pay, on average, $6,610 in 2020-21, up 1.8 per cent from the previous year. The average cost for graduate programs rose by 1.6 per cent to $7,304. 
• Canada now has seen 144,691+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,223+ deaths from the infection and 125,217+ recoveries.
• Globally, there have now been 31,120,980+ confirmed cases with 961,656+ deaths and 21,287,328+ recoveries.
• Britain will face an exponentially growing death rate from COVID-19 within weeks unless urgent action is taken to halt a rapidly spreading second wave of the outbreak, the country’s senior doctors said on Monday. The United Kingdom has the biggest official COVID-19 death toll in Europe — the fifth largest in the world — while it is borrowing record amounts in an attempt to pump emergency money through the damaged economy. New COVID-19 cases are rising by at least 6,000 per day in Britain, hospital admissions are doubling every eight days, and the testing system is overwhelmed. The U.K has seen 394,257+ confirmed cases with 41,777+ deaths.
• European countries are likely to impose more restrictions, analysts say as COVID-19 cases spike. France reported 10,569 new cases Sunday while Italy saw close to 1,000 new infections and Germany reported 1,345 new cases Sunday, and a further 922 cases Monday.
• Spain has already acted by telling some 850,000 people in the capital Madrid to stay at home. The restrictions on movement came into force Monday, with those affected only able to leave their neighbourhoods for work, going to the doctor or taking their children to school. Those in the affected areas represent 13 per cent of Madrid’s population, the local government said. They also account for roughly 24 per cent of the cases detected in the last week.
• It comes as the country’s total number of cases increased by more than 14,000 on Friday with Spain seeing the largest outbreak in Europe in recent weeks. Spain has seen 604,040+ confirmed cases along with 30,495+ deaths.

Sept. 20

• Ontario’s daily case count surged to 365, raising the total to 46,849. The death toll rose by one to 2,827. There are 63 people in hospital in the province with 10 in intensive care on a ventilator. There are 3,054 active cases in the province. There have been 40,968 recoveries, up 191. Ontario completed a record 40,127 tests for a total of 3,548,590.
• So far 61 schools in Ontario have reported a case of COVID-19, 18 in Ottawa. One is closed. There are 20 child care centres with at least one case of COVID-19; nine are in Ottawa. In total, 35 children and 41 staff in day care centres have been infected.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 15 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 today. The city has seen 3,619 cases since March. The death toll remained at 274. Eleven people are in hospital. Two people are in intensive care. There are 485 active cases and there have been 2,860 recoveries. There are 25 outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• An Ottawa elementary school has become the first in Ontario to close due to COVID-19 concerns after two staff members and two students tested positive. Parents with children at Monsignor Paul Baxter Catholic School in Ottawa’s Barrhaven neighbourhood were notified about the closure on Saturday.
• More than 1,800 people were tested during a two-day drive-thru COVID-19 testing blitz at Canadian Tire Centre, as part of an effort to alleviate the long line-ups for novel coronavirus testing across Ottawa.
• Quebec has now seen 67,542 confirmed cases, up by 462. The death toll rose by two to 5,802. The number of people in hospital rose by seven to 138 with 31 in intensive care, up one. The province completed 28,725 tests on Sept. 18 for a total of 2,067,057. A website maintained by a citizen says that 338 schools in the province have now seen at least one case of COVID-19.
• The Outaouais has seen 1,115 cases, up 22. The death toll remains at 34. The region is one of six in the province in the yellow alert zone for COVID-19 infection. Three regions: Chaudieres-Appalache, Montreal and parts of Quebec City are in an orange alert zone. That means, Health Minister Christian Dubé announced Sunday that the regions face restrictions that start on Monday. In private homes, a maximum of six people is allowed — with an exception that more people can be present as long as they come from no more than two families, and that each family lives together in a home. In public settings, in orange zones, gatherings like barbecues and weddings are limited to 25 people, Dubé said. This includes houses of worship. At venues where people stay seated, such as movie theatres and music venues, the limit is still 250.
• Bars and restaurants will also face restrictions on capacity and operating hours in orange zones, Dubé said: at restaurants, there is a limit of six people per table, and bars’ last call will now be 11 p.m., with a closing time of midnight.
• The province is not restricting regional travel, but authorities are discouraging people living in orange zones from travelling to yellow or green zones.
• Canada now has seen 143,649+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,217+ deaths from the infection and 124,691+ recoveries.
• Globally, there have now been 30,859,069+ confirmed cases with 958,314+ deaths and 21,099,095+ recoveries.
• The United States is nearing a bitter milestone with 199,513+ deaths from COVID-19. The country that leads the world in coronavirus infections has tallied 6,812,232+ confirmed cases along with 3,705,509+ recoveries.

Sept. 19

• Ontario’s daily case count surged to 407, raising the total to 46,484. The death toll rose by one to 2,826. There are 64 people in hospital in the province with 10 in intensive care on a ventilator. There are 2,881 active cases in the province. There have been 40,777 recoveries, up 177. Ontario completed 38,940 tests for a total of 3,508,463.
• So far 61 schools in Ontario have reported a case of COVID-19, 18 in Ottawa. One is closed. There are 20 child care centres with at least one case of COVID-19; nine are in Ottawa. In total, 35 children and 41 staff in day care centres have been infected.
• Ontario Premier Doug Ford is urging Health Canada to focus on reviewing rapid COVID-19 antigen tests to help alleviate the surging testing demand in the province.
• Ontario Premier Doug Ford has expanded new social gathering restrictions across the entire province, saying that “alarm bells are ringing” as COVID-19 cases continue to surge. Ford said the province needs to take “decisive action” to stop the spread of the disease. Effective immediately, new gathering sizes will be capped at 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors for at least the next 28 days. The previous gathering limits were 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors.
• Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott said Saturday that eight assessment centres across Toronto, Peel Region, and Ottawa have increased capacity. Elliott said additionally, seven pop-up testing sites have launched in the regions and more are coming.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 55 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 today. The city has seen 3,604 cases since March. The death toll rose by one to 274. Eleven people are in hospital. Two people are in intensive care. There are 484 active cases and there have been 2,846 recoveries. There are 24 outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• A new drive-thru testing centre has set up at Canadian Tire Centre. In partnership with the Queensway Carleton Hospital, the Ottawa Senators and the Senators Community Foundation announced that two parking lots at the NHL arena in the west-end will serve at COVID-19 drive-thru testing centres this weekend. Times: Saturday: 12:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Quebec has now seen 67,080 confirmed cases, up by 427. The death toll rose by five to 5,797. The number of people in hospital fell to 131 with 31 in intensive care, up one. The province completed 29,079 tests on Sept. 17 for a total of 2,038,332. A website maintained by a citizen says that 327 schools in the province have now seen at least one case of COVID-19.
• The Outaouais has seen 1,093 cases, up 27. The death toll remains at 34. The region is one of eight in the province in the yellow alert zone for COVID-19 infection.
• Quebec Premier François Legault says he and his wife have tested negative for COVID-19 but will continue to self-isolate for two weeks, since they had contact with an infected person — federal Conservative leader Erin O’Toole.
• According to a statement from his office Erin O’Toole’s wife and children have tested negative, and O’Toole will remain in self-isolation, but is “feeling well.”
• O’Toole is the second federal opposition party leader to test positive on Friday. Both he and Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet entered self-isolation earlier this week after staffers in their offices tested positive for COVID-19. He met with Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister, and Alberta Premier Jason Kenney in Ottawa on Friday, along with Legault.
• Canada now has seen 141,911+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,205+ deaths from the infection and 123,723+ recoveries.
• Globally, there have now been 30,588,989+ confirmed cases with 953,482+ deaths and 20,832,830+ recoveries.

Sept. 18

• Canada’s top public health official, Dr. Theresa Tam, said it’s too soon to declare a second wave of the pandemic across Canada, but daily case counts are increasing at an alarming rate.
• Ontario’s daily case count surged to 401, raising the total to 46,077. The death toll remained at 2,825. There are 58 people in hospital in the province with 10 in intensive care on a ventilator. The province says 70 per cent of the new cases were found in people under 40. There are 2,652 active cases in the province. There have been 40,600 recoveries, up 176. Ontario completed 35,826 tests for a total of 3,469,523.
• So far 61 schools in Ontario have reported a case of COVID-19, 18 in Ottawa. One is closed. There are 16 child care centres with at least one case of COVID-19; nine are in Ottawa. In total, 35 children and 41 staff in day care centres have been infected.
• Premier Doug Ford says newly announced restrictions on social gatherings in three provincial virus hot spots will be expanded to other areas of Ontario. Ford says some mayors and regional medical officers of health have indicated they would also like to see the rules applied to their municipalities. Ford says he will be discussing the further tightening of the rules with his cabinet, but gave no further details about the plan.
• The Ontario government has introduced a bill to freeze residential rent in 2021 which means the majority of people will not see their rent increase between Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 of next year. He said the ban on commercial evictions would extend as far as Oct. 30.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 60 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 today. The city has seen 3,546 cases since March. The death toll remains at 273. Twelve people are in hospital. One person is in intensive care. There are 420 active cases and there have been 2,793 recoveries. There are 21 outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• Quebec has now seen 66,653 confirmed cases, up by 297. The death toll rose by one to 5,792. The number of people in hospital remains at 136 with 30 in intensive care, up one. The province completed 29,726 tests on Sept. 16 for a total of 2,009,253. A website maintained by a citizen says that 308 schools in the province have now seen at least one case of COVID-19.
• The Outaouais has seen 1,066 cases, up nine. The death toll remains at 34. The region is one of eight in the province in the yellow alert zone for COVID-19 infection.
• Quebec announced Friday it would send police officers to 1,000 bars across the province over the weekend, with particular focus on eight regions that have seen a marked rise in cases and could face further restrictions if the trend isn’t reversed.
• Canada’s premiers were meeting in Ottawa today to map out their demands ahead of next week’s throne speech from the federal government, including a push for more money to cover ballooning health-care costs. Quebec Premier François Legault, incoming chair of the Council of the Federation, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister and Alberta Premier Jason Kenney met in person, while the others joined virtually.
• The premiers said they want to see the federal share of health-care funding grow from 22 per cent to 35 per cent — about $70 billion. They also requested $10 billion for infrastructure.
• As Parliament prepares to return on Monday, Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet has tested positive for COVID-19. He will be in isolation at home with his partner who has also tested positive. So far, Blanchet says, he is”healthy.” Tory leader Erin O’Toole was tested earlier this week.
• Tina Namiesniowski, the president of the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), is stepping down only 18 months into the job. A spokesperson for Health Canada said the government expects to have a replacement for Namiesniowski by next week.
• Canada now has seen 141,625+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,201+ deaths from the infection and 123,516+ recoveries.
• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to pledge, in Monday’s Throne Speech, federal money for child care, and to tailor the employment insurance program to cover all Canadians, including the self-employed. He will also offer help to long-term care homes rocked by the pandemic, sources said on condition of anonymity.
• As well, the prime minister called two byelections in Toronto, just as case counts in the city are rising. The byelections are to fill Toronto Centre, vacated by former finance minister Bill Morneau and York Cente to replace Michael Levitt, who left his post to be the CEO of the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies. Broadcaster Marci Ien will run for the Liberals in Toronto Centre and Ya’ara Saks will contest York Centre.
• The COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF) is conducting a study to analyze blood samples from pregnant women across Canada for a picture of the impact of the first wave of COVID-19, and also to get an idea of when the novel coronavirus entered the country.
• Statistics Canada reports that retail sales rose 0.6 per cent to $52.9 billion in July, led by higher sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers and gasoline stations. Core retail sales, which exclude these two subsectors, declined 1.2 per cent on lower sales at building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers as well as at food and beverage stores. Overall, the recovery in total retail sales has been V-shaped, with sales in June and July, respectively, rebounding from the record low observed in April.
• British Columbia’s health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said researchers have developed a new method of testing for COVID-19 that’s non-invasive and can be done without the assistance of a health care professional. It will used in schools in the province, she said. Henry described the test as a “mouth rinse gargle.” and said it’s already available at COVID-19 testing centres across the province. “You put a little bit of normal saline – so sterile water – in your mouth, you swish it around a little bit and you spit it into a little tube, and that’s an easier way to collect it for young people,” Henry said.
• Globally, there have now been 30,290,791+ confirmed cases with 947,919+ deaths and 20,623,028+ recoveries.

Sept. 17

• Dr. Theresa Tam is warning that Canada is on the verge of losing control of the current surge in cases of COVID-19.
• Ontario’s daily case count surged again to 293, raising the total to 45,676. The death toll rose by three to 2,825; 85 new cases were found in Toronto, with 63 in Peel and 39 in Ottawa. There are 53 people in hospital in the province with 12 in intensive care on a ventilator. The province says 70 per cent of the new cases were found in people under 40.There are 2,427 active cases in the province. There have been 40,424 recoveries, up 179. Ontario completed 35,134 tests for a total of 3,433,697.
• So far 51 schools in Ontario have reported a case of COVID-19, 15 in Ottawa. There are 12 child care centres with at least one case of COVID-19. In total, 34 children in day care have been infected.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 39 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 today, 32 are in people under 40. The city has seen 3,486 cases since March. The death toll remains at 273. Twelve people are in hospital. One person is in intensive care. There are 420 active cases and there have been 2,793 recoveries. There are 21 outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• The Somerset West Community Health Centre says a community strategy to address the high risks faced by racialized communities in Ottawa during the COVID-19 pandemic must go beyond priority testing. During a technical briefing with City of Ottawa officials, SWCHC Executive Director Naini Cloutier said that early reports show 66 per cent of the COVID-19 cases in Ottawa are from racialized communities. In Toronto, 83 per cent of COVID-19 cases are from racialized communities. CTV has more.
• The Ontario government has scaled back the size of social gatherings at private settings in Ottawa, Toronto and Peel Region to 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors. People who host gatherings in their homes face a fine of up to $10,000. People who attend such gatherings face a $750 fine. The new limits do not apply to events or gatherings held in “staffed businesses” or facilities such as movie theatres, banquet halls, gyms or convention centres. Those facilities can still have 50 people indoors as long as people maintain proper physical distance from anyone outside their 10-person social circle. The new rules also do not apply to places of worship or wedding ceremonies. Large receptions in homes, backyards or parks fall under the new limits.
• Fellowes High School in Pembroke, ON, has been shut down after a third staff member tested positive for COVID-19. The school is closed indefinitely.
• Western University in London, Ont., says at least 28 of its students have tested positive for the coronavirus. In an update Thursday afternoon, the university said the majority of cases involve students who live off campus, though one student “is in residence and now in isolation.”
• Public health officials can’t trace how roughly half of Ontario’s latest COVID-19 cases got infected, even as Premier Doug Ford announces fresh measures to try to slow the pace of spread. CBC has more.
• Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson told CBC that he wants to stop partygoers from chartering buses and heading across the river to Gatineau, where restrictions on large gatherings are looser. “Individuals [are] renting buses, cancelling banquet hall reservations in Ottawa, which have a maximum capacity of 100, and going to Gatineau,” Watson said Wednesday. 
• Quebec has now seen 66,356 confirmed cases, up by 251. The death toll rose by three to 5,791. The number of people in hospital is 136 with 29 in intensive care, up three. The province completed 24,112 tests on Sept. 15 for a total of 1,979,527. A website maintained by a citizen says that 297 schools in the province have now seen at least one case of COVID-19.
• The Outaouais has seen 1,057 cases, up 18. The death toll remains at 34. The region is one of eight in the province in the yellow alert zone for COVID-19 infection.
• Quebec’s health minister has forbidden alcohol consumption after midnight in any establishment that serves alcohol including restaurants and microbreweries.
• Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole and his family were turned away from an Ottawa test site on Wednesday. O’Toole, his wife and their two children were tested this morning at a site in Gatineau, Que., which offers priority testing for MPs and their families. He is in self-isolation after being exposed to the virus; one of his staff members has tested positive for COVID-19. O’Toole had been travelling with this person in Quebec over the weekend and on Monday.
• The City of Ottawa is getting three more COVID-19 test sites Friday to deal with intense demand, Nepean Conservative MPP Lisa MacLeod tweeted Thursday.
• British Columbia has seen 165 new cases and one death from COVID-19 today. There are now 1,705 active cases of the coronavirus in B.C. Since the pandemic began, there have been 7,663 total cases of COVID-19 in B.C. and 220 deaths, while 5,719 people have recovered.
• Alberta has seen 146 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday. Infections decreased slightly to 1,483. Edmonton saw its cases spike to 672, while Calgary’s cases declined from 447 to 416. There were no new COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday, keeping the count at 254. Alberta has reported 16,274 cases of COVID-19 since March.
• As a result of an ongoing forensic analysis, the CRA has identified suspicious activities occurring between early July and Aug. 15 on 48,500 of the more than 14 million CRA user accounts, the Office of the Chief Information Officer in a statement Thursday. Initially it was thought about 5,500 accounts had been hacked.
• COVID consequences: A Statistics Canada survey released Thursday found that 28 per cent of Canadians surveyed reported they had experienced some form of discrimination since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• StatsCan also said that the Consumer Price Index rose 0.1 per cent on a year-over-year basis in August, matching the 0.1 per cent increase in July. Excluding gasoline, the inflation rate rose 0.6 per cent in August, following a 0.7per cent increase in July. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.1% in August
• Canada now has seen 140,539+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,199+ deaths from the infection and 122,836+ recoveries.
• Globally, there have now been 29,960,718+ confirmed cases with 941,381+ deaths and 20,362,794+ recoveries.
• The World Health Organization is urging that scientific disagreements over COVID-19 interventions shouldn’t be treated as a ‘political football.’ Dr. Michael Ryan added “it is important that we have consistent messaging from all levels.”Are you listening Donald Trump?
• Authorities in Pakistan have closed 22 schools over after detecting violations of physical distancing regulations amid a steady decline in COVID-19 cases. The action comes only two days after authorities allowed schools to reopen.
• The Czech Republic is seeing a surge in cases with 2,139 cases recorded Wednesday. That/s a record for the country.
• India has reported 97,894 cases in the past 24 hours, another record. The nation has confirmed total is more than 5.1 million since the pandemic began. Officials say 1,132 more people died in the past 24 hours, for a total of 83,198.

Sept. 16

• Ontario’s daily case count surged again to 315, raising the total to 45,383. The death toll rose by two to 2,822. There are 44 people in hospital with 12 in intensive care on a ventilator. There are 2,316 active cases in the province. There have been 40,245 recoveries, up 154. Ontario completed 28,761 tests for a total of 3,398,563. Toronto, Ottawa and Peel continue to record the highest number of daily case counts with 77, 60 and 54 cases respectively. York Region also reported 37 cases today, while Durham Region reported 24.
• So far 35 schools in Ontario have reported a case of COVID-19, 10 in Ottawa. There are 14 child care centres with at least one case of COVID-19. In total, 33 children in day care have been infected.
• Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the province wasn’t “caught off guard” with the recent increase in demand for COVID-19 tests. He said the province wants to reach a daily testing target of 50,000 per day. Currently between 25,000 to 30,000 tests are processed each day.
• Ford said the province is “working out a few details with the private sector” to make testing available at various retailers including pharmacies. Ford said there will be “a couple thousand” such sites, specifically to test people without symptoms. Those with symptoms should still go to traditional testing centres.” When? He said soon.
• Ford also said the province will consult with mayors in hard hot regions before imposing what he called severe, severe fines” for those who choose not to follow the guidelines, he said. He added details could come as soon as Thursday. He is to be in Ottawa Friday.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 60 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 today. The city has seen 3,447 cases since March. The death toll rose by one to 273. Eleven people are in hospital. One person is in intensive care. There are 401 active cases and there have been 2,773 recoveries. There are 19 outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• Health officials in Ottawa are urging people who don’t have symptoms or have not been referred to stop clogging up its test sites. Officials say most people coming for testing don’t need to be there, which is causing a backlog. “Most simply [get tested] if you have symptoms or you’ve been referred by public health,” said Vera Etches, Ottawa’s medical officer of health, in a news conference Tuesday. 
• Dr. Vera Etches also said contact tracing data shows transmission of the virus is primarily taking place at private social gatherings including family get-togethers, after-work drinks and larger parties.
• Quebec has now seen 65,857 confirmed cases, up by 303. The death toll rose by three to 5,788. The number of people in hospital is 130, down three, with 26 in intensive care, up three. The province completed 22,568  tests on Sept. 14 for a total of 1,955,415. A website maintained by a citizen says that 328 schools in the province have now seen at least one case of COVID-19.
• The Outaouais has seen 1,039 cases, up 25. The death toll remains at 34. The region is one of eight in the province in the yellow alert zone for COVID-19 infection.
• Quebec Premier Francois Legault does not plan to get tested for COVID-19 despite having met with federal Conservative leader Erin O’Toole Monday. O’Toole and his family are getting tested for COVID-19 after a member of his staff tested positive.
• Legault says Quebec’s Public Security Department and prosecutors are looking at ways the government can enforce public health directives during private gatherings, which are bing blamed for spreading COVID-19, despite a law preventing police from entering a home without a warrant.
• Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé suggested a lack of nurses is causing a massive backlog in surgeries in the province. There are 92,000 people awaiting surgery, 20,000 more than three months ago. Half of Montreal hospitals exceeded the 28-day standard for oncology surgeries last May. In Gatineau, the Gatineau Hospital closed its intensive care unit on the weekend because of a nurses shortage.An Ottawa company, DNA Genotek, has developed a saliva-based test. In Canada, the kit is still in the experimental stage and approved for research only but Health Canada is reviewing it for use by the public.
• The test follows research by Dr. Stephanie Johnson-Obaseki with the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute says testing for the research was done at the COVID-19 assessment centre at Brewer Park Arena. Patients first did a nose swab, then the spit test. “Swab testing picked up more positives than the saliva,” she said. Dr. Johnson-Obaseki added that, in some cases, the saliva test did pick up positives, which the swab test missed. The test is already being used in some parts of the U.S. and Europe, according to company vice-president of innovation, Rafal Iwasiow.
• The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says there is no evidence that food or food packaging can transmit SARS-CoV2. It says that there have been no reported cases of food or packaging being associated with transmission of the virus.
• Canada now has seen 139,241+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,193+ deaths from the infection and 121,994+ recoveries.
• COVID consequence: In the last six months, there has been a shift in where rodents are being spotted, says Orkin Canada. This is as a result of the decrease in restaurant and business waste because of COVID-19. In turn, rodents have migrated to a greater degree to residential neighbourhoods because there has been higher-than-usual waste from people working and studying from home.
• The Canada-U.S. border will remain closed until at least Oct. 21, federal officials say. The U.S. continues to lead the world in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases (6,606,998+) and COVID-19 deaths (195,962+) and daily case counts are about 35,000.
• Globally, there have now been 29,656,504+ confirmed cases with 936,905+ deaths and 20,146,388+ recoveries.

Sept. 15

• Ontario’s daily case count surged again by 251, raising the total to 45,068. The death toll rose by four to 2,820. There are 47 people in hospital with 11 in intensive care on a ventilator. There are 2,157 active cases in the province. There have been 40,091 recoveries, up 117. Ontario completed 27,664 tests for a total of 3,369,802.
• So far 27 schools in Ontario have reported a case of COVID-19. Locally, there are three new cases in schools at the Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est (CECCE) and two new cases in the Conseil des écoles publiques de l’est de l’Ontario (CEPEO). In addition, the Ottawa Catholic School Board (OCSB) is reporting two new cases.
• Premier Doug Ford said the province will soon announce measures to help slow the spread of COVID-19 in Toronto, Ottawa and Brampton.
• Western University in London, ON, has doubled its COVID-19 testing capacity after turning away hundreds of students on Monday. London’s two assessment centres saw hours-long line-ups as fears about a community outbreak of coronavirus continued to grow. The Middlesex London Health Unit declared an outbreak because several Western students tested positive for coronavirus after visiting popular student bars and restaurants downtown. 
• Ottawa Public Health reported 52 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 today, that’s the highest since March. The city has seen 3,387 cases since March. The death toll rose by four to 272. Nine people are in hospital. No one is in intensive care. There are 362 active cases and there have been 2,753 recoveries. There are 19 outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• The company that manages the West End Villa long-term care home says five of its residents have died from COVID-19 complications. CTV has more.
• The COVID-19 assessment centre at the Brewer Arena in Ottawa South may soon have extended hours to deal with increased demand for testing. But the Ottawa Hospital says a shortage of available medical personnel is causing delays.
• A member of the Parliamentary Protective Service (PPS), which safeguards Parliament Hill, has tested positive for COVID-19 after going to work while awaiting results. The PPS member worked on the main floor of a building in the Parliamentary precinct that many senators’ offices are in, but also visited a series of other spaces on Parliament Hill over the course of several days before reporting a positive diagnosis.
• Quebec has now seen 65,554 confirmed cases, up by 292. The death toll rose by five at 5,785. The number of people in hospital is 133 with 23 in intensive care. The province completed 21,500 tests on Sept. 13 for a total of 1,932,847. A website maintained by a citizen says that 307 schools in the province have seen at least one case of COVID-19.
• The Outaouais has seen 1,014 cases, up 16. The death toll remains at 34. The region is one of four in the province in the yellow alert zone for COVID-19 infection.
• Quebec Premier François Legault told the province that people should avoid social gatherings “as much as possible” to avoid having to close down schools and businesses. “The situation is critical. It’s worrisome and we must act now,” he said at a news conference Tuesday. “There is a real risk of a second wave.” The province has a seven-day moving average of 28 cases per million inhabitants, beyond the 20 cases per million public health had set as a threshold last month.
• Legault announced that four regions — Montreal, the Montérégie, Lower Saint-Lawrence and Chaudière-Appalaches — moved from green to yellow under the province’s regional alert system. Quebec City, the Eastern Townships, the Outaouais region and Laval are already designated yellow. Under that alert level, activities are still allowed in compliance with health rules, with added enforcement and potential fines to make sure they are followed.
• Quebec City and the Lower Saint-Lawrence are being watched closely, and could move to the orange — or “moderate alert” — level next week.
• Canada now has seen 138,555+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,188+ deaths from the infection and 121,550+ recoveries. The Public Health Agency of Canada said in its latest weekly report on Sept. 11 that the effective reproductive number is 1.05, which means there is some community spread of the infection. A number under 1.0 is preferred.
• The federal health minister said Tuesday she could not rule out another full lockdown if needed amid a surge in new COVID-19 cases, but added the government Ottawa was significantly more prepared to manage the virus than during the first wave. Patty Hajdu said late Monday she would take a “surgical approach” to outbreaks. Canada reported 1,351 new cases on Sept. 14, the highest single daily addition since May 1.
• The Outaouais public health unit says the Gatineau Hospital is training additional nurses in intensive care duties after a staffing shortage forced a shut down of the ICU this weekend.
• Twenty-three students of a Gatineau elementary school are isolating at home after being considered at risk of exposure to COVID-19. The Centre de service scolaire des Draveurs says one student at École Oiseau-bleu tested positive for the infection, prompting the local health unit to isolate the student’s classmates.
• COVID consequences: CTV reports that Canada has experienced a lower than average number of wildfires this year thanks in part to COVID-19 restrictions, CTV reports. As well, the season has been helped by cooler temperatures and wetter conditions compared to the United States. According to federal government data, Canada has had 3,621 wildfires that burned 235,124 hectares so far this year. This compares to the 10-year average (to date) of 5,639 wildfires burning nearly 2.9 million hectares. The government says 2020 has been one of Canada’s quietest wildfire seasons since the 1990s, 
• Globally, there have now been 29,386,463+ confirmed cases with 930,589+ deaths and 19,943,453+ recoveries.

Sept. 14

• Ontario’s daily case count surged to 313, raising the total to 44,817. About 78 per cent of the new cases in the province are in Toronto, Peel Region and Ottawa. The death toll rose by one to 2,816. There are 39 people in hospital with nine in intensive care on a ventilator. There are 2,027 active cases in the province. There have been 39,974 recoveries, up 133. Ontario completed 29,540 tests for a total of 3,342,138. Fifteen schools in total have reported a case of COVID-19.
• As the legislature resumes sitting, a senior provincial official told CBC News that there is “a growing sense of concern” in the government and among public health leaders over the rise in Ontario’s COVID-19 numbers. If the trend continues, the official said the province would consider measures targeted at the specific locations and activities that are contributing to the infection rate. Toronto, Ottawa and Peel Region, which includes the cities of Brampton and Mississauga, account for the bulk of the province’s new cases. 
• Ottawa Public Health reported 61 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 today, that’s the highest since March. The city has seen 3,334 cases since March. The death toll rose by one to 268. Eleven people are in hospital with one in intensive care. There are 281 active cases and there have been 2,726 recoveries. There are 19 outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• The Ottawa Student Transportation Authority (OSTA) says 2,360 students will have no bus to school Monday when the city’s English-language boards resume classes.
• Carleton University says a student in its residence has tested positive for COVID-19. The individual is self-isolating.
• In a statement to CTV News on Saturday, Chris Smith, Administrator at Extendicare Laurier Manor, said 11 residents and four staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 since the outbreak began on Sept. 1. This is one of 10 outbreaks at care homes.
• Quebec has now seen 65,262 confirmed cases, up by 276. The death toll remains at 5,780. The number of people in hospital is 124 with 19 in intensive care. The province completed 20,639 tests on Sept. 12 for a total of 1,911,347. A website maintained by a citizen says that 262 schools in the province have seen at least one case of COVID-19.
• The Outaouais has seen 998 cases, up 20. The death toll remains at 34. The region is one of four in the province in the yellow alert zone for COVID-19 infection.
• In Gatineau, the intensive care unit at the Gatineau Hospital will remain shut until at least Monday night due to a shortage of nurses, according to the local health authority.
• New Brunswickers carefully went to the polls today in a provincial election, the first in Canada under the pandemic, and re-elected Blaine Higgs and the Conservatives to a majority. About 133,000 people voted in advance.
• British Columbia announced 317 new coronavirus cases since Friday. Across the province, 7,279 people have now tested positive, with 1,594 cases still active. 3,047 people are currently self-isolating after exposure to the virus. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said 137 cases were confirmed Saturday, 119 came Sunday and 61 Monday. A total of 17,125 COVID-19 tests were conducted over the weekend. Across B.C., 58 people are in hospital with the virus, 16 in ICU. Six new deaths were announced Monday, five were seniors in long-term care. A total of 219 people have now been killed by the virus in B.C.
• Alberta has recorded 418 new cases of COVID-19 and one additional death due to the disease over the past three days. Since the beginning of the pandemic 15,833 cases of COVID-19 and 254 deaths related to the disease have been identified.
• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his cabinet is focused on getting the country through what’s shaping up to be a COVID-19 resurgence. The resurgence of COVID-19 is putting Liberal plans to pivot to the next phase of COVID-19 recovery on the backburner. Trudeau also urged Canadians to “remain vigilant” and keep up public health measures, including physical distancing, hand washing and mask wearing.
• The leader of the Bloc Quebecois, Yves-Francois Blanchet, and the party’s entire caucus are in self-isolation after a staff member tested positive for the novel coronavirus. 
• Canada now has seen 137,592+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,178+ deaths from the infection and 120,728+ recoveries.
• Globally, there have now been 29,114,477+ confirmed cases with 925,596+ deaths and 19,673,071+ recoveries.

Sept. 13

• Ontario’s daily case count total stands at 44,504, up sharply by 204. The death toll rose by one to 2,815. There are 39 people in hospital with nine in intensive care on a ventilator. There were 1,848 active cases in the province. There have been 39,841 recoveries, up 124. Ontario completed 31,143 tests for a total of 3,312,598.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 47 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 today. The city has seen 3,274 cases since March. The death toll remains at 267. Eleven people are in hospital with one in intensive care. There are 281 active cases and there have been 2,726 recoveries. There are 19 outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• Quebec has now seen 64,986 confirmed cases, up by 279. The death toll remains at 5,780. The number of people in hospital is 124 with 19 in intensive care. The province completed 21,132 tests on Sept. 11 for a total of  1,890,708.
• The Outaouais has seen 978 cases, up 15. The death toll remains at 34. The region is one of four in the province in the yellow alert zone for COVID-19 infection.
• As the resumption of Parliament nears, a guaranteed basic income for Canadians is the top policy choice of Liberal MPs, the Canadian Press reports.
• Canada now has 136,624+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,171+ deaths from the infection and 120,075+ recoveries.
• Globally, there have now been 28,830,715+ confirmed cases with 921,323+ deaths and 19,491,050+ recoveries.

Sept. 12

• Ontario’s daily case count total stands at 44,300, up sharply by 232. The death toll rose by one to 2,814. There are 43 people in hospital with eight in intensive care on a ventilator. There were 1,769 active cases in the province. There have been 39,717 recoveries, up 119. Ontario completed 35,618 tests for a total of 3,281,455.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 27 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 today. The city has seen 3,227 cases since March. The death toll remains at 267. Ten people are in hospital with two in intensive care. There are 268 active cases and there have been 2,692 recoveries. There are 20 outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• Employees at the Peter D. Clark Centre and Centre d’accueil Champlain have tested positive for COVID-19. The two individuals are in self-isolation, and outbreaks have been declared at both LTC homes.
• Harmony House, an Ottawa women’s shelter, has created a learning pod for children to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. CBC has more. 
• The Ottawa Student Transportation Authority has released a list of cancelled school bus routes.
• Quebec has now seen 64,707 confirmed cases, up by 244. The death toll is now 5,780, up six. The number of people in hospital is 125 with 16 in intensive care. The province completed 25,962 tests on Sept. 10 for a total of  1,869,576.
• The Outaouais has seen 963 cases, up eight. The death toll remains at 34. The region is one of four in the province in the yellow alert zone for COVID-19 infection.
• The western Quebec health authority says it will be temporarily suspending intensive care services at the Gatineau Hospital as of midnight Saturday night due to a shortage of nurses. Patients requiring intensive care will have access to the “necessary care in other hospital settings in the region,” the Centre intégré de Santé et de Services sociaux de l’Outaouais (CISSSO) said in a French-language news release late Saturday afternoon. The decision comes after intensive care and emergency nurses held a sit-in Friday morning at the hospital to draw attention to the staff shortages.
• Thousands of people marched through downtown Montreal to protest mandatory mask rules in Quebec. Quebecers who break COVID-19 public health rules, including mask regulations, face fines up to $6,000.
• Canada now has 136,624+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,171+ deaths from the infection and 120,413+ recoveries.
• Globally, there have now been 28,830,715+ confirmed cases with 921,323+ deaths and 19,288,172+ recoveries.

Sept. 11

• Ontario’s daily case count total stands at 44,068, up sharply by 213. The death toll declined by one to 2,813. There are 49 people in hospital with nine in intensive care on a ventilator. There were 1,657 active cases in the province. There have been 39,598 recoveries, up 124. Ontario completed 32,501 tests for a total of 3,245,837.
• Ontario launched a webpage dedicated to tracking COVID-19 cases in schools and child-care centres. Of the 13 schools on initial report Friday, six are in Ottawa — five in the French Catholic board, and one in the French public board.
• The federal government delivers $13.9 million in funding for a voluntary self-isolation centre in Toronto
• The City of Toronto says curbside bars and restaurants will be allowed to use portable heaters to extend the outdoor dining season
• Ottawa Public Health reported 37 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 today. The city has seen 3,200 cases since March. The death toll remains at 267. Twelve people are in hospital with one in intensive care. There are 226 active cases and there have been 2,670 recoveries. There are 15 outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• Nine local child care centres or home child-care agencies have one or more active cases of COVID-19. A new outbreak was reported at Global Child Care Services’ Trillium Site, involving one case in a child.
• The consortium that provides school buses serving 45 Ottawa schools confirms it was short by more than 100 drivers, resulting in the cancellation of 30 routes, affecting about 2,500 students, until further notice.
• Ottawa councillors are calling for more testing as demand grows in the community and people face long waits.
• Quebec has now seen 64,463 confirmed cases, up by 219. The death toll is now 5,774, up one. The number of people in hospital is 123 with 12 in intensive care. The province completed 26,252 tests on Sept. 9 for a total of 1,843,614.
• The Outaouais has seen 955 cases, up 18. The death toll remains at 34. The region is one of four in the province in the yellow alert zone for COVID-19 infection.
• The Quebec government is now suspending its daily updates on the number of schools in the province with COVID-19 cases.
• In a written notice on its main COVID-19 update page, the province wrote that its system for coming up with the daily tabulations — which has been criticized this week for inconsistencies and time lags — will be retooled.
• On Tuesday, the province found 70 schools, with another 50 pending confirmation. By the next day, a list compiled by a Montreal father, Olivier Drouin had 192. By today, Drouin has counted 218 schools that have seen at least one case of COVID-19. CTV has more.
• As Quebec orders a crackdown on those who re breaking the emergency rules on mask wearing and other pandemic measures, Gatineau police are urging tipsters to call 819-246-0222 and not 911.
• Canada now has 135,626+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,163+ deaths from the infection and 119,674+ recoveries.
• Globally, there have now been 28,268,970+ confirmed cases with 911,282+ deaths and 19,048,042+ recoveries.

Sept. 10

• Ontario’s daily case count total stands at 43,855 cases, up 170. The death toll rose by one to 2,814. There are 54 people in hospital with nine in intensive care on a ventilator. There were 1,567 active cases in the province. There have been 39,474 recoveries, up 132. Ontario completed 24,669 tests for a total of 3,213,336.
• Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the quarantine system is “broken” because federal health officers are not charging people ignoring self-isolation orders for COVID-19. Between March 25 and Sept. 3, police have been asked to check on the whereabouts of 87,338 people ordered to quarantine. Data provided by the Public Health Agency of Canada lists zero arrests for ignoring a quarantine order, one summons to appear in court, and 42 police-issued tickets. However, Ford says Ontario police checks have uncovered 622 quarantine-order scofflaws and is frustrated about the lack of federal charges. The National Post has more.
• The premier also cautioned people against Halloween trick or treating as it might pose a risk of exposure to COVID-19.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 12 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 today. The city has seen 3,163 cases since March. The death toll remains at 267. Twelve people are in hospital with one in intensive care. There are 226 active cases and there have been 2,670 recoveries. There are 15 outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• Quebec has now seen 64,244 confirmed cases, up by 188. The death toll is now 5,773, up two. The number of people in hospital is 119 with 12 in intensive care. The province completed 17,739 tests on Sept. 8 for a total of 1,817,362.
• The Outaouais has seen 937 cases, up 13. The death toll remains at 34. The region is one of four in the province in the yellow alert zone for COVID-19 infection.
• Quebec Premier Francois Legault says Quebecers who fail to wear a mask on public transit or indoor spaces, or break other pandemic emergency restrictions, will now face fines. Police will be cracking down with a focus on four public health regions in the yellow stage of COVID-19 infection. Along with the Outaouais, the regions are Quebec City, Laval and Estrie. The province has banned karaoke in bars. The new enforcement measures go into effect Saturday
• Students in British Columbia are returning to school today in the midst of rising cases of COVID-19 in the province’s lower mainland. On the same day, the province reported 139 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection, a single day record.
• In neighbouring Alberta, there were 113 new cases and five deaths, along with infections at three schools.
• Canada is “aggressively negotiating” with drugmakers on delivery schedules for potential COVID-19 vaccines and shipments would begin early in 2021 under existing deals, Canada’s minister of public services and procurement told Reuters on Thursday.
• The Canadian government has announced four vaccine purchase deals and is negotiating more, while also funding local projects that are less advanced, and building new vaccine manufacturing capacity at a facility in Montreal.
• The governor of the Bank of Canada warns the slower rebound facing women, youth and low-wage workers could pose a threat to a broader economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. 
• Tiff Macklem says uneven recessions that affect some workers and sectors more than others tend to be longer and leave a larger mark on the labour market. CBC has more.
• Canada now has 134,666+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,158+ deaths from the infection and 118,681+ recoveries.
• Globally, there have now been 27,933,388+ confirmed cases with 905,181+ deaths and 18,819,388+ recoveries.

Sept. 9

• Ontario’s daily case count total stands at 43,685 cases, up 149. The death toll remains at 2,813. There are 55 people in hospital with eight in intensive care on a ventilator. There were 1,540 active cases in the province. There have been 39,332 recoveries, up 136. Ontario completed 17,605 tests for a total of 3,188,667.
• A new report from the non-profit research institute ICES finds immigrants, refugees and other newcomers accounted for nearly 44 per cent of Ontario’s COVID-19 cases in the first half of the year.
• Ontario Premier Doug Ford says his government will publicly report all cases of COVID-19 infection in the province’s schools. Under current provincial guidelines, schools are required to report COVID-19 cases to parents online or with a letter home. Ford says the province will report school figures much as it shares case numbers in the province’s long-term care homes.
• Ford met with Quebec Premier Francois Legault today to discuss a co-ordinated economic recovery strategy along with an on-going COVID-19 response. After the meeting the premiers urged the federal government to increase health care funding without strings.
• Ford said after the meeting that he wouldn’t stand in the way of local officials in the province rolling back the limits on indoor and outdoor gatherings amid the recent rise in COVID-19 infections. “I don’t mean to call Toronto or Ottawa or Brampton out; it is just that is where the cases are and if they want to roll them back from 100 they have the authority to do that,” Ford said, noting that all 34 of the province’s public health units can make their own decision on gathering limits. 
• The comment came hours after Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown called the Ford government’s decision to allow up to 100 people to gather outdoors amid a global pandemic “a head scratcher.”
• Ontario teachers are posting photos on social media of their crowded classrooms in an effort to prove that schools in the province are not ready for a safe reopening. CTV has more.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 17 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 today. The city has seen 3,151 cases since March. The death toll remains at 267. Eleven people are in hospital with one in intensive care. There are 225 active cases and there have been 2,659 recoveries. There are 17 outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• The City of Ottawa will waive monthly permit fees for restaurants operating patios on sidewalks and streets until March 31 and let them set up more café-style tables than usually allowed.
• Retailers can keep setting up pop-up shops and restaurants can keep operating patios on private parking lots, even near residential areas, through Dec. 31. The city estimates more than 60 operators have set up those outside, private patios this season.
• The Ottawa Student Transportation Authority (OSTA) says it doesn’t have enough drivers to transport all students returning to school this fall. Some students in grades 7-12 will have to take public transit, and some school buses will be delayed or cancelled.
• Ottawa’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Vera Etches told city council Wednesday that the rate of COVID-19 infection in the city remains stable despite alarmingly high numbers of new cases in recent days.
• Etches pointed to a specific case in which one person, who developed symptoms of COVID-19 while at a cottage with 10 other people, ended up spreading the virus, leading to 40 infections.
• “You have a group of 10 friends who were all attending a party at a cottage. There was one person who developed cold-like symptoms while at the cottage party and then tested positive on their return home,” she said. “Subsequently, seven of those friends tested positive for COVID-19.”
• Twenty-eight residents and three employees have now tested positive for COVID-19 at Extendicare West End Villa on Elmira Drive in Ottawa.
• The Ottawa Hospital is working to fix an apparent glitch that’s preventing some people from booking a COVID-19 test at the city’s newest drive-thru site on Coventry Road. CBC has more.
• About 4,000 of the 6,500 elementary school students who opted out of in-person learning at the Ottawa-Carleton School Board were supposed to begin online classes Tuesday between 8:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. but technical difficulties hampered most students having a class. CBC has more.
• Quebec has now seen 64,056 confirmed cases, up by 180. The death toll is now 5,771. The number of people in hospital is 113 with 14 in intensive care. The province completed 16,368 tests on Sept. 7 for a total of 1,799,623.
• The Outaouais has seen 924 cases, up 17. The death toll remains at 34. The region is one of four in the province in the yellow alert zone for COVID-19 infection.
• The Bank of Canada is committing to keeping its benchmark interest rate at 0.25 per cent while the economy recovers. “The bank continues to expect this strong reopening phase to be followed by a protracted and uneven recuperation phase, which will be heavily reliant on policy support,” the bank said. “Monetary policy is working to support household spending and business investment by making borrowing more affordable.”
• WE Charity is selling off its assets and winding down operations in Canada months after becoming embroiled in a political scandal that has triggered investigations by the federal ethics watchdog, CTV News has learned.
• B.C. will spend $1.6 billion and hire 7,000 health-care workers in a bid to prevent a combination of COVID-19 and influenza from straining its health-care system this fall and winter. It will also conduct a major vaccination campaign against influenza, with the goal of vaccinating nearly two million people, compared to the yearly average of around 1.4 million. B.C. reported another 100 new cases of COVID-19 bringing the total number of active cases to 1,378. The province has seen 6,691 cases in all.
• Canada now has 133,748+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,153+ deaths from the infection and 117,565+ recoveries.
• Globally, there have now been 27,605,560+ confirmed cases with 898,269+ deaths and 18,565,072+ recoveries.
• The United States has now seen 190,478+ deaths from COVID-19. The new total came the same day the news broke that U.S. President Donald Trump told Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward in a recorded interview that despite knowing how “deadly” and serious the coronavirus pandemic would be for Americans and the world, he watned to “play it down” and wanted to continue to do so. “I wanted to always play it down,” Trump said to Woodward on March 19, according to the news outlets that have received an advance copy of the book called Rage. “I still like playing it down, because I don’t want to create a panic,” he added.

Sept. 8

• Ontario’s daily case count total stands at 43,536 cases, up 190 on Monday and 185 today. The death toll remains at 2,813. There are 54 people in hospital with seven in intensive care on a ventilator. There were 1,527 active cases in the province. There have been 39,196 recoveries. Ontario has now completed 3,171,062, 23,725 were reported Sept. 7 and 20,929 today.
• The province has put a four-week pause on loosening restrictions of social bubble size and community gatherings among other restrictions because of community transmission concerns that are happening as schools reopen. Premier Doug Ford says there are three areas of concern about spread: Toronto, Peel Region, specifically Brampton, and Ottawa. Ford urged people to not hold or attend large parties.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 36 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 today. The city has seen 3,134 cases since March. The death toll remains at 267. Twelve people are in hospital with one in intensive care. There are 242 active cases and there have been 2,625 recoveries. There are 16 outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• As schools start to reopen in earnest in Ontario today, five French schools in Ottawa have reported COVID-19 cases to Ottawa Public Health after opening last week. About 200 staff and students are in isolation. It is believed the infections may have occurred on school buses. The schools are Collège catholique Franco-Ouest in Nepean, École élémentaire catholique Roger-Saint-Denis in Kanata, École élémentaire catholique Laurier-Carrière in Nepean, École élémentaire catholique Sainte-Anne in Lowertown and École élémentaire catholique Saint-François-d’Assise in Hintonburg.
• Quebec has now seen 63,876 confirmed cases, up by 163. The death toll remains at 5,770. The number of people in hospital is 105 with 15 in intensive care. The province completed 11,388 tests on Sept. 6 for a total of 1,783,255.
• The Outaouais has seen 907 cases, up six. The death toll remains at 34.
• The mayor of Longueuil on Montreal’s South Shore has COVID-19. She was at a news conference  recently with Quebec’s Transport Minister François Bonnardel and junior transport minister Chantal Rouleau, along with Laval Mayor Marc Demers. The following day, she attended a news conference with Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette, Vachon MNA Ian Lafrenière and Catherine Fournier, MNA for Marie-Victorin. All six are in isolation as they await their results.
• Quebec has unveiled a novel coronavirus alert and intervention system aimed at curbing the spread of infection. The colour-coded system developed by public health has four progressive levels for each region: green, yellow, orange and red. Green calls for vigilance while red, the highest level, means that maximum restrictions will be applied in that part of the province. The levels are based on three criteria: the epidemiological situation, the control of transmission and the state of the health-care system. The majority of regions remain in the green zone, including Montreal. However, Quebec City, Laval, Estrie and the Outaouais are in yellow level.
• British Columbia’s Chief Medical Officer of Health has closed all night clubs and banquet halls until further notice, effective immediately.
• “Despite weeks of effort by public health teams, these venues are creating a significant risk to everyone in B.C., and making it more challenging to protect those who are most vulnerable to serious illness,” Dr. Bonnie Henry said today.
• Alcohol must also not be served after 10 pm in bars, pubs, or restaurants, which must close at 11 unless providing a full meal service. Music and television in restaurants must also be no louder than the volume of regular conversation.
• B.C. has seen 429 new cases of COVID-19 since Friday for a total of 6591. Across the province, 1386 cases are considered active, and more than 3,000 are under active health monitoring due to exposure to a known case. Thirty-two are in hospital with 12 in intensive care. Two carehome residents died raising the total in B.C. to 213.
• Canada now has 133,680+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,146+ deaths from the infection and 116,693+ recoveries.
• Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu has ordered a review following reports that the federal pandemic early warning system was shut down last year, and that the officials working on it were silenced.
• As the world continues to grapple with the rapid spread of the coronavirus pandemic, there have been repeated questions about how the virus — which originated in China — was able to spread so quickly and whether earlier detection could have limited the contagion.
• Canada’s chief public health doctor says a slow but steady increase in the number of people testing positive for COVID-19 is concerning. Dr. Theresa Tam said Monday that the average daily number of people testing positive over the last week is 545 — a 25 per cent increase over the previous week which saw a daily average of 435, and 390 a week before that. In the last week, 3,955 people tested positive across Canada, and 28 people died of COVID-19.
• As schools start to reopen in earnest in Ontario today, five French schools in Ottawa have reported COVID-19 cases to Ottawa Public Health after opening last week. The schools are Collège catholique Franco-Ouest in Nepean, École élémentaire catholique Roger-Saint-Denis in Kanata, École élémentaire catholique Laurier-Carrière in Nepean, École élémentaire catholique Sainte-Anne in Lowertown and École élémentaire catholique Saint-François-d’Assise in Hintonburg.
• Schools are also reopening today in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Quebec, Newfoundland and Alberta resumed classes last week. British Columbia students start returning Sept. 10.
• The Verger Residence retirement home in St-Jerome, Quebec has seen one death and 19 infections, health officials say.
• Porter Airlines is extending its flight suspension until mid-November because of the continued COVID-19 travel restrictions in place.
• In a release, the government says the one-month extension of its commercial rent-relief program is a “final extension” for the program. The government says officials are looking at other options to help small businesses. The rent-relief program provides forgivable loans that cover half of rent for eligible small businesses, and also requires landlords to waive a further one-quarter of what they’d otherwise be owed.
• Globally, there have now been 27,351,624+ confirmed cases with 892,880+ deaths and 18,348,357+ recoveries.
• The heads of nine biopharmaceutical companies issued a letter early Tuesday pledging to fully vet their COVID-19 candidate vaccines before asking for federal approval to market them. 
• The statement comes amid concern among public health officials, scientists and doctors that the White House might bring significant political pressure to bear on the Food and Drug Administration to get a vaccine before the Nov. 3 presidential election.
• The companies are: AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna Inc., Novavax Inc., Merck, Sanofi, GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer Inc, which is developing a vaccine with BioNTech, another signatory. Pfizer’s CEO has said he expects to have results from a phase three trial of his firm’s vaccine by October.
• AstraZeneca Plc has put a hold on the late-stage trial of its highly-anticipated COVID-19 vaccine candidate after a suspected serious adverse reaction in a study participant. The health news website Stat News quoted a company spokesperson as saying in a statement that the “standard review process triggered a pause to vaccination to allow review of safety data.”
• India has reported 1,133 deaths from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, its highest single-day total. The country has now seen 72,775+ deaths and 4,280,422+ confirmed cases.

Sept. 7

• Ontario’s daily case count total stands at 43,161 cases. The death toll is 2,813. As of Sept. 6, there were 52 people in hospital with nine in intensive care on a ventilator. There were 1,390 active cases in the province. There have been 38,958 recoveries so far. Ontario reported Sept. 6 that it completed 28,955 tests in the previous 24 hours. There have been 3,126,408 completed tests.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 25 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Monday. The city has seen 3,098 cases since March. The death toll remains at 267. Ten people are in hospital with one in intensive care. There are 211 active cases and there have been 2,620 recoveries. There are 16 outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• Ottawa Public Health is looking for artists who can depict the highs and lows of the past six months in a series of murals.
• Quebec has now seen 63,713 confirmed cases, up by 216, the second day over 200 cases. The death toll rose by one to 5,770. The number of people in hospital is 105 with 18 in intensive care. The province completed 12,737 tests on Sept. 5 for a total of 1,771,867.
• The Outaouais has seen 901 cases, up 15. The death toll rose by one to 34.
• The Public Health Agency of Canada expects higher demand for influenza vaccines this fall. It recommends that provinces and territories consider alternate ways to deliver immunization programs this season. PHAC has ordered 13 million doses of the flu vaccine compared with 11.2 million last year.
• Canada now has 132,111+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,142+ deaths from the infection and 116,357+ recoveries.
• Globally, there have now been 26,961,795+ confirmed cases with 880,955+ deaths and 18,021,000+ recoveries.
• India has taken second place to the United States in the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 with more than 90,000 cases recorded Monday. The country with a population of 1.3 billion now has seen 4,204,613+ infections along with 71,642+ deaths.
• The United States has seen 6,289,964+ cases along with 189,069+ deaths.

Sept. 6

• Ontario’s daily case count continues over 100 with 158 new cases. This raises the total to 43,161 cases. The death toll rose by two to 2,813. There are now 52 people in hospital with nine in intensive care on a ventilator. There are now 1,390 active cases in the province. There have been 38,958 recoveries, up 111. Ontario reported it completed 28,955 tests in the past 24 hours. There have now been 3,126,408 completed tests.
• York Region Public Health is advising those who attended wedding celebrations at four locations in Toronto, Markham, and Whitchurch-Stouffville last weekend that they may have been exposed to COVID-19. In a news release, the local public health unit said 23 people who tested positive for the coronavirus could be traced back to the four wedding events that occurred between Aug. 28 and Aug. 29.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 21 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city now has seen 3,073 cases since March. The death toll remains at 267. Nine people are in hospital with one in intensive care. There are 211 active cases and there have been 2,595 recoveries. There are 18 outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• Quebec has seen 63,497 confirmed cases, up by 205. The death toll remains at 5,769. The number of people in hospital is 102 with 18 in intensive care. The province completed 17,479 tests on Sept. 4 for a total of 1,759,130..
• The Outaouais has seen 886 cases. The death toll remains at 33.
• Canada now has 131,895+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,145+ deaths from the infection and 116,357+ recoveries.
• Globally, there have now been 26,961,795+ confirmed cases with 880,955+ deaths and 18,021,000+ recoveries.

Sept. 5

• Ontario’s daily case count continues over 100 with 169 new cases. This raises the total to 43,003 cases. The death toll remains at 2,811. There are now 66 people in hospital with eight in intensive care on a ventilator. There are now 1,345 active cases in the province. There have been 38,847 recoveries, up 106. Ontario reported it completed 28,672 tests in the past 24 hours. There have now been 3,097,453 completed tests.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 30 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city now has seen 3,052 cases since March. The death toll remains at 267. Eight people are in hospital with one in intensive care. There are 200 active cases and there have been 2,585 recoveries. There are 19 outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• Quebec has seen 63,292 confirmed cases, up by 175. The death toll rose to 5,769, up two. The number of people in hospital is 94 with 17 in intensive care. The province completed 20,408 tests on Sept. 3 for a total of 1,741,651.
• The Outaouais has seen 886 cases, up nine. The death toll remains at 33.
• So far 46 out of 3,100 in Quebec have at least one case of COVID-19, according to government figures released Friday. In most of the 46 cases, the staff or student was infected outside of school. None had turned into outbreaks, with widespread transmission within a school.
• The list includes public and private schools that had cases between Aug. 26 and Sept. 3. 
• Montreal is the most-affected region, with 14 schools reporting at least one case. Montérégie has eight schools, Capitale-Nationale has seven, and Laval has six. The Eastern Townships, Outaouais and Abitibi-Témiscamingue regions have three cases each. The Lanaudière region and the Laurentians have one each.
• Canada now has 131,124+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,142+ deaths from the infection and 115,926+ recoveries.
• Globally, there have now been 26,622,706+ confirmed cases with 874,708+ deaths and 17,717,911+ recoveries.

Sept. 4

• With the final long weekend of the summer season upon us, Canada’s chief public health official, Dr. Theresa Tam, told a media brieifing that Canadians need to consider their own risk factors and the details of plans for any in-person gatherings with friends and family on the long weekend and into the fall. And they should be asking themselves some important questions, she said. “Are you at high risk of developing serious complications if you become infected?” Tam asked rhetorically. “Or if you would have to self-isolate, would this seriously disrupt your upcoming plans?”
• An average of 525 COVID-19 cases a day have been reported in Canada the past week, a noticeable uptick from earlier in the summer/ This comes as schools are reopening across the country. Tam said contagion in private settings is a major concern now, but at the same time local health authorities will order fresh closures and reductions in public activities if they’re needed to suppress new outbreaks. Those shouldn’t be needed if people follow public health advice, she said.
• Employment rose by 246,000 or 1.4 per cent in August, compared with 419,000 (2.4 per cent) in July. Combined with gains of 1.2 million in May and June, this brought employment to within 1.1 million of its pre-COVID February level, Statistics Canada says. The unemployment rate was 10.2 per cent in August. The number of Canadians who were employed but worked less than half their usual hours fell by 259,000 in August. This left COVID-related absences from work at 713,000 (88..3 per cent) above February levels.
• As of the week of Aug. 9 to 15, the number of Canadian workers affected by the COVID-19 economic shutdown stood at 1.8 million. In April, this number reached a peak of 5.5 million. In April, at the height of the COVID-19 economic shutdown, 3.4 million Canadians who worked their usual hours had adjusted to public health restrictions by beginning to work from home. This number has fallen each month since May, when the gradual easing of public health restrictions began, and reached 2.5 million in August.
• Ontario’s daily case count continues over 100 with 148 new cases. This raises the total to 42,834 cases. The death toll is now 2,811. There are now 66 people in hospital with eight in intensive care on a ventilator. There are now 1,282 active cases in the province. There have been 38,741 recoveries, up 116. Ontario reported it completed 28,591 tests in the past 24 hours. There have now been 3,068,781 completed tests.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 13 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city now has seen 3,022 cases since March. The death toll remains at 267. Seven people are in hospital with one in intensive care. There are 187 active cases and there have been 2,568 recoveries. There are 19 outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• Ottawa Public Health (OPH) has hired 45 new nurses, almost doubling the number assigned to monitor the city’s schools.
• Ottawa’s newest drive-thru COVID-19 assessment centre is opening today. The testing site is located at 300 Coventry Rd. in the parking lot of RCGT Park. It will begin seeing patients at 11:30 a.m.
• Quebec has seen 63,117 confirmed cases, up by 184. The death toll remains at 5,767. The number of people in hospital is 102 with 18 in intensive care. The province completed 19,128 tests on Sept. 2 for a total of 1,721,243.
• The Outaouais has seen 877 cases, up 13. The death toll remains at 33.
• COVID consequences: In a written statement, Dr. Theresa Tam suggested that people should consider using a mask that covers the nose and mouth while engaging in sexual activity.
• According to the Canadian Border Services Agency, which tracks numbers on a weekly basis, more than 4.4 million Canadians and foreigners have entered Canada by land or air since March 23, CBC reports. The numbers are a drop in the bucket compared to pre-pandemic travel. For example, during the last week of August, 185,866 travellers entered Canada by land — a decline of 88 per cent compared to the same period in 2019. 
• Canada now has 130,825+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,140+ deaths from the infection and 115,560+ recoveries.
• Globally, there have now been 26,398,466+ confirmed cases with 870,477+ deaths and 17,565,712+ recoveries.

Sept. 3

• Ontario’s daily case count continues over 100 with 132 new cases. This raises the total to 42,686 cases. The death toll remains at 2,812. There are now 60 people in hospital with nine in intensive care on a ventilator. There are now 1,249 active cases in the province. There have been 38,625 recoveries, up 256. Ontario reported it completed 26,298 tests in the past 24 hours. There have now been 3,040,190 completed tests.
• Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health Eileen de Villa is warning that an anticipated resurgence in new cases has begun ahead of the Labour Day long weekend. Toronto Public Health officials confirmed a spike new infections, with 48 reported Wednesday. There have been a total of 123 new cases this week. “This is concerning for all of us,” de Villa said. “As I shared in my last update, it isn’t a matter of if we’ll see more COVID-19 activity in our city, it’s a matter of when. I’m concerned because this is now what we’re starting to see.”
• Ottawa Public Health reported 22 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city now has seen 3,009 cases since March. The death toll remains at 267. Eleven people are in hospital with one in intensive care. There are 199 active cases and there have been 2,543 recoveries. There are 18 outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• A Cineplex theatre on Carling Avenue near Bayshore Drive-in in Ottawa is closed for cleaning after an employee tested positive for COVID-19.
• Ottawa’s colleges and universities are urging students attending fall classes to abide by all the COVID-19 rules — both on campus and out in the community. Representatives from the University of Ottawa, Carleton University, Algonquin College and Collège La Cité all took part in an online news conference Wednesday, sharing guidance for new and returning students while also reminding them what could happen if they don’t act appropriately. CBC has more.
• The Canadian Museum of History and the Canadian War Museum are open but patrons can’t touch the exhibits. The new normal includes hand sanitizing stations and physical distancing signs that greet visitors at the entrances and throughout the exhibition spaces. 
• Essential caregivers will be allowed to visit long term care homes in Ontario, including during COVID-19 outbreaks, subject to direction from the local health unit. The updated policy comes into effect Sept. 9. The changes mean a resident can designate two caregivers who can visit without time limits. 
• Ottawa Bylaw issued four verbal warnings to landlords and property owners during the first week face masks were mandatory in the common areas of condo and apartment buildings. CTV has more.
• Ottawa Police and Ottawa Bylaw will be keeping an eye on students at Algonquin College, La Cite Collegiale, Carleton University and the University of Ottawa when schools open next week to help limit the spread of COVID-19.
• An Ottawa resident tested positive for COVID-19 after being alerted to a close contact with a confirmed case through the COVID Alert App, the city’s Medical Officer of Health Dr. Vera Etches says.
• Quebec has seen 62,933 confirmed cases, up by 187. The death toll rose by three to 5,767. The number of people in hospital is 100 with 20 in intensive care. The province completed 15,277 tests on Sept. 1 for a total of 1,702,115.
• The Outaouais has seen 864 cases, up 11. The death toll remains at 33.
• In Quebec, a group of parents, concerned about the threat of COVID-19 in provincial schools, will try to convince a judge today to order the province to loosen its rules on who can take classes online. The parents, represented by lawyer Julius Grey, are seeking an injunction that would allow them to keep their children home from school and learning remotely, even though they don’t qualify for a medical exemption.
• There have been complaints about seeming delays in honouring Canada Emergency Response Benefit claims on social media this week. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)’s service standard is to issue these payments within three to five business days – meaning a payment is not considered late if it arrives within one week of the application. The CRA says most CERB payments should be made by the weekend.
• Manitoba reported 20 new cases of COVID-19 in the province were reported Thursday, for a total of 1,264, along with two new deaths. There have been 16 deaths in all.
• Health officials in Saskatchewan said there were 10 new cases in the daily update on Thursday, with the total for the province growing to 1,634.
• Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says the federal COVID-19 app will be available in the province.
• Alberta’s COVID-19 case count continued to climb on Thursday, with 130 new cases, bringing the total to 1,415.
• Health officials in British Columbia have announced 89 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of known cases in the province to 6,041.
• There have been complaints about seeming delays in honouring Canada Emergency Response Benefit claims on social media this week. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)’s service standard is to issue these payments within three to five business days – meaning a payment is not considered late if it arrives within one week of the application. The CRA says most CERB payments should be made by the weekend.
• Manitoba reported 20 new cases of COVID-19 in the province were reported Thursday, for a total of 1,264, along with two new deaths. There have been 16 deaths in all.
• Health officials in Saskatchewan said there were 10 new cases in the daily update on Thursday, with the total for the province growing to 1,634.
• Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says the federal COVID-19 app will be available in the province.
• Alberta’s COVID-19 case count continued to climb on Thursday, with 130 new cases, bringing the total to 1,415.
• Health officials in British Columbia have announced 89 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of known cases in the province to 6,041.
• Canada now has 130,404+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,140+ deaths from the infection and 115,405+ recoveries.
• Globally, there have now been 26,074,609+ confirmed cases with 864,153+ deaths and 17,337,374+ recoveries.

Sept. 2

• Ontario’s daily case count continues over 100 with 133 new cases. This raises the total to 42,554 cases. The death toll remains at 2,812. There are now 65 people in hospital with five in intensive care on a ventilator. There are now 1,236 active cases in the province. There have been 38,369 recoveries. Ontario reported it completed 24,004 tests in the past 24 hours. There have now been 3,013,892 completed tests.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 12 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city now has seen 2,987 cases since March. The death toll remains at 267. Eleven people are in hospital with one in intensive care. There are 206 active cases and there have been 2,514 recoveries. There are 17 outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• Quebec has seen 62,746 confirmed cases, up by 132. The death toll rose by two to 5,764. The number of people in hospital is 109 with 20 in intensive care. The province completed 12,925 tests on Aug. 31 for a total of 1,686,838.
• The Outaouais has seen 853 cases, up nine. The death toll remains at 33.
• Quebec City’s director of public health is encouraging all those who frequented bars in the city’s Saint-Sauveur neighbourhood to get tested for COVID-19 after a recent outbreak that began in a karaoke bar spread into at least three schools in the region.
• Dr. Jacques Girard pointed to the Bar Kirouac as the source of a recent outbreak that has been responsible for at least 40 new positive cases, with the number climbing quickly — it’s up from 30 reported yesterday.
• The Public Health Agency of Canada says only 110 people who tested positive for COVID-19, of the 2.2 million who have downloaded the COVID-19 tracking app, entered the information into the app to notify others of a possible exposure. CTV has more.
• Newfoundland and Labrador will be the first province in Atlantic Canada to adopt Canada’s COVID Alert app which provides up-to-date information and alerts in case of a COVID-19 outbreak. A news release says N.L. Premier Andrew Furey will join Digital Government Minister Sarah Stoodley and top doctor Janice Fitzgerald on Thursday morning to talk about the app launch.
• Canada now has 129,691+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,134+ deaths from the infection and 114,818+ recoveries.
• Globally, there have now been 25,835,301+ confirmed cases with 858,661+ deaths and 17,122,192+ recoveries.

Sept. 1

• Ontario’s daily case count continues over 100 with 112 new cases. This raises the total to 42,421 cases. One new death was recorded raising the total to 2,812. There are now 65 people in hospital with five in intensive care on a ventilator. There are now 1,240 active cases in the province. There have been 38,369 recoveries, up 92. Ontario reported it completed 23,545 tests in the past 24 hours. There have now been 2,989,888 completed tests.
• Ottawa Public Health reported eight new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city now has seen 2,975 cases since March. One new death was reported raising the death toll to 267. Ten people are in hospital with one in intensive care. There are 219 active cases and there have been 2,489 recoveries. There are 16 outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• Elementary students are now scheduled to return to class on Sept. 14, 15 and 16, an email to parents at the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board said on Monday. Parents can learn more about elementary schedules by start date or by searching the school name, the board says. Secondary students start returning Sept. 8.
• Quebec has seen 62,614 confirmed cases, up by 122. The death toll rose by two to 5,762. The number of people in hospital is 110 with 20 in intensive care. The province completed 10,510 tests on Aug. 30 for a total of 1,673,913.
• The Outaouais has seen 844 cases, up 12. The death toll remains at 33.
• Alberta students are heading back to school today. So far two schools have closed because of cases of COVID-19 infection. The province is seeing a spike in cases and on Tuesday it reported 164 cases. The province has seen 14,066+ confirmed cases along with 241+ deaths and 12,427 recoveries.
• Canada now has 129,425+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,132+ deaths from the infection and 114,607+ recoveries.
• Health Canada is willing to consider approving home COVID-19 tests to screen for the virus, a spokesperson for the minister of health told Reuters, in a win for public health experts and doctors who have argued that frequent and inexpensive testing could beat back the pandemic. Reuters has more.
• Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam on Tuesday said, based on what has been seen in some countries such as Sweden that adopted a herd immunity strategy to combat COVID-19, it is an “extremely difficulty strategy.” She told a media briefing that the virus has the ability to take off “exponentially” and countries need to be careful as a transmission increase can hit a high risk population “pretty fast.”
• Air Canada has announced that it will offer Canadian travellers COVID-19-based medical insurance at no extra cost on flights to southern destinations.
• Globally, there have now been 25,650,801+ confirmed cases with 854,596+ deaths and 16,669,974+ recoveries.
• The United States continues to lead the world in case numbers and COVID deaths with 6,072,871+ cases and 184,629+ deaths, along with 3,218,319+ recoveries.

Aug. 31

• Ontario’s daily case count continues over 100 with 114 new cases. This raises the total to 42,309 cases. One new death was recorded raising the total to 2,811. There are now 49 people in hospital with nine in intensive care on a ventilator. There are now 1,221 active cases in the province. There have been 38,277 recoveries, up 73. Ontario reported it completed 25,098 tests in the past 24 hours. There have now been 2,966,343 completed tests.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 21 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city now has seen 2,967 cases since March. The death toll remains at 266. Eleven people are in hospital with one in intensive care. There are 218 active cases and there have been 2,483 recoveries. There are 14 outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• Ontario’s four teacher unions are filing challenges with the provincial labour board over the province’s back-to-school plans, saying the government has failed to “adequately respond” to health and safety concerns.
• OC Transpo will begin increasing the frequency of bus and LRT service next week and expanding trips to local schools, universities and colleges.The transit agency will begin its fall service on Monday after a summer schedule that saw reduced trips due to low ridership since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
• The City of Ottawa has put the brakes on a major study of how people move around the National Capital Region because the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted normal travel patterns. CBC has more.
• Quebec has seen 62,492 confirmed cases, up by 140. The death toll rose by two to 5,760. The number of people in hospital is 112 with 18 in intensive care. The province completed 10,679 tests on Aug. 29 for a total of 1,663,403.
• The Outaouais has seen 832 cases, up 11. The death toll remains at 33.
• Quebec Premier Francois Legault is expressing concern about rising numbers of COVID-19 cases. Health Minister Christian Dube warned that the province could crack down on gatherings that exceed the numbers set down to maintain proper physical distancing.
• As of Monday, 20 cases of COVID-19 have been linked to Bar Kirouak in Quebec City – and health officials are expecting more test results to come in over the next 24 hours that are connected to the karaoke establishment.
• Four Quebec teachers have tested positive for COVID-19. About 20 teachers from a Quebec high school north of Montreal are currently in quarantine. And some 80 students across the province are now in isolation.
• Schools with Quebec’s largest English school board are now open. The English Montreal School Board (EMSB) said it will follow public health guidelines related to COVID-19 extremely closely as it welcomes back students.
• Two more people have died in Alberta and 426 additional cases of COVID-19 were reported in over the weekend, the province’s top doctor said Monday. There were 133 new cases Friday, 184 on Saturday and 109 on Sunday, Dr. Deena Hinshaw said.
• Four more people are dead of COVID-19 in British Columbia after a weekend that saw active cases of the virus surpass 1,000 for the first time. Health officials announced 294 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday. There are now 1,107 active cases of the virus in B.C., another record high for the province.
• Canada now has 128,948+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,126+ deaths from the infection and 114,227+ recoveries.
• The Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) program will cost just under $1 billion this fiscal year, the parliamentary budget officer says. The program expires today. The program offers unsecured, forgivable loans to eligible commercial property owners to cover a minimum of 50 per cent of their tenants’ rent. In exchange, a landlord had to reduce the rent charged to small business tenant by at least 75 per cent. 
• The government says it is extending the Canada Emergency Business Account to Oct. 31. CEBA is intended to support businesses by providing financing for their expenses that cannot be avoided or deferred as they take steps to safely navigate a period of shutdown, thereby helping to position businesses for successful relaunch when the economy reopens. The $55 billion program provides interest-free loans of up to $40,000 to small businesses and not-for-profits. Repaying the balance of the loan on or before Dec. 31, 2022 will result in loan forgiveness of 25 per cent (up to $10,000).
• A proposed class-action lawsuit has been launched against the federal government on behalf of Canadians who applied online for COVID-19 emergency aid — only to have their personal and financial information stolen by hackers.
• Novavax Inc. said on Monday it has reached an agreement in principle with Canada to supply up to 76 million doses of its experimental coronavirus vaccine. The company said it expects to finalize an advance purchase agreement to supply doses of the vaccine beginning as early as the second quarter of next year.
• The federal government has also signed an agreement with Johnson & Johnson which also has a vaccine candidate. Canada now has four agreements for vaccines that are expected to bring access to 88 million doses.
• Globally, there have now been 25,334,339+ confirmed cases with 848,084+ deaths and 16,669,974+ recoveries.
• Researchers have identified someone in the United States who was reinfected with the novel coronavirus, according to a study that has not yet been reviewed by outside experts.

Aug. 30

• Ontario’s daily case count continues over 100 with 112 new cases. This raises the total to 42,195 cases. One new death was recorded raising the total to 2,810. There are now 51 people in hospital with 10 in intensive care on a ventilator. There are now 1,181 active cases in the province. There have been 38,204, up 78. Ontario reported it completed 24,970 tests in the past 24 hours. There have now been 2,941,245 completed tests.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 16 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city now has seen 2,946 cases since March. The death toll remains at 266. Eleven people are in hospital with two in intensive care. There are 200 active cases and there have been 2,480 recoveries. There are 11 outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• The union representing Ottawa’s public elementary teachers says it’s members are “anxious” about returning to class during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ottawa-Carleton Elementary Teachers Federation President Susan Gardiner warns not all teachers will be ready for the first day of classes on Sept. 8. CTV has more.
• Quebec has seen 62,352 confirmed cases, up by 120. The death toll rose by three to 5,758. The number of people in hospital is 116 with 16 in intensive care. The province completed 13,543 tests on Aug. 28 for a total of 1,652,724.
• The Outaouais has seen 821 cases, up eleven. The death toll remains at 33.
• In a statement on Facebook. Shaker Cuisine and Mixologie on Maloney Boulevard says five employees tested positive for COVID-19 and are now in isolation for 10 days. Shaker says the five employees have not been in the restaurant since Monday, Aug. 24.
• Canada now has 127,950+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,117+ deaths from the infection and 113,664+ recoveries.
• Globally, there have now been 25,051,178+ confirmed cases with 843,586+ deaths and 16,451,018+ recoveries.
• The United States continues to lead the world in case numbers and COVID deaths with 5,993,668+ cases and 183,034+ deaths, along with 3,164,376+ recoveries.

Aug. 29

• Ontario’s daily case count jumped well 100 with 148 new cases. This raises the total to 42,083 cases. No deaths were recorded leaving the total at 2,809. There are now 51 people in hospital with five in intensive care on a ventilator. There are now 1,148 active cases in the province. There have been 38,126, up 103. Ontario reported it completed 32,106 tests in the past 24 hours. There have now been 2,916,275 completed tests.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 20 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city now has seen 2,930 cases since March. The death toll remains at 266. Thirteen people are in hospital with two in intensive care. There are 209 active cases and there have been 2,451 recoveries. There are six outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• The Keg Steakhouse and Bar in the ByWard Market is closed for sanitation after two employees tested positive for COVID-19, CTV News has learned. It is unknown when the employees were last at work or whether they were symptomatic at work. CTV News has reached out to The Keg management for comment. CTV has more.
• Quebec has seen 61,232 confirmed cases, up sharply by 156. The death toll rose by five to 5,755. The number of people in hospital is 117 with 17 in intensive care. The province completed 16,912 tests on Aug. 27 for a total of 1,639,181.
• The Outaouais has seen 810 cases, up five. The death toll remains at 33.
• Canada now has 127,358+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,113+ deaths from the infection and 113,337+ recoveries.
• Globally, there have now been 24,776,988+ confirmed cases with 837,979+ deaths and 16,227,851+ recoveries.

Aug. 28

• Ontario’s daily case count continues above 100 with 122 new cases. This raises the total to 41,935 cases. Six people died from the infection in the past 24 hours raising the total to 2,809. There are now 61 people in hospital with 12 in intensive care on a ventilator. There are now 1,130 active cases in the province. There have been 38,023, up 160. Ontario reported it completed 31,823 tests in the past 24 hours. There have now been 2,884,169 completed tests.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 17 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city now has seen 2,910 cases since March. The death toll remains at 266. Thirteen people are in hospital with two in intensive care. There are 193 active cases and there have been 2,451 recoveries. There are six outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• Medical Officer of Health Dr. Vera Etches says she fears the city is in the midst of another uptick in COVID-19 cases, CTV reports. Ottawa Public Health reported 22 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, the fourth straight day with a double-digit increase in cases.
• Long-term care residents in Ontario are now permitted to leave their homes for short-stays and temporary absences, the province announced Friday, provided the facilities meet certain requirements. Short-stays do not include being away from the home overnight and typically include visiting family or running errands. Homes are expected to provide the residents with a medical mask they must wear at all times during their absence. Long-term care homes must also actively screen residents when they return, but they don’t have to be tested or to self-isolate. 
• Residents are also allowed to leave their quarters for multiple nights at the discretion of the home.
• The University of Ottawa says it will be the first Ontario university to open its own COVID-19 Assessment Centre dedicated to its on-campus community next month. About 5,000 students, researchers and a small number of faculty members and staff will return to campus in September. The centre will run for six months, Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The uOttawa COVID-19 Assessment Centre is a collaboration with the Ottawa Hospital and Ottawa Public Health. Appointments are required.
• The culinary program at Algonquin College has invited students affected by the COVID-19 lockdown in March to complete the projects they need to finish for their first semester before heading into their second semester this September. CTV explains.
• The Ottawa Carleton District School Board has passed a $1 billion budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year.
• Canada’s Gross Domestic Product fell at a record annualized rate of 38.7 per cent for the three-month period from April to June. The second quarter slide reflects the impact of the first wave of COVID-19 closures, Statistics Canada said.
• Quebec has seen 62,124 confirmed cases, up 98. The death toll remains at 5,750. The number of people in hospital is 117 with 17 in intensive care. The province completed 15,711 tests on Aug. 26 for a total of 1,622,269.
• The Outaouais has seen 805 cases, up eight. The death toll remains at 33.
• Canada now has 127,358+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,108+ deaths from the infection and 113,234+ recoveries.
• The federal government is extending travel restrictions by one month to limit the spread of COVID-19. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said Friday on Twitter that existing restrictions on international travel to Canada would be extended to Sept. 30.
• Globally, there have now been 24,637,544+ confirmed cases with 835,045+ deaths and 16,107,859+ recoveries.

Aug. 27

• Canada now has 126,848+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,102+ deaths from the infection and 112,834+ recoveries.
• Alberta’s deficit is forecast to be $24.2 billion for 2020-21, the largest in the province’s history. This is early $16.8 billion more than originally estimated in Budget 2020. Alberta’s debt is projected to reach $99.6 billion.
• “These numbers are incredibly sobering to all of us,” said Finance Minister Travis Toews in a statement. “We are facing the most significant economic challenge of our generation.”
• Elections Canada says the commissioner plans, in September, to recommend to Parliament a limited number of legislative measures that would amend parts of the Canada Elections Act in the event of a fall election during the COVID-19 pandemic. Under consideration would be a two-day weekend polling period (Saturday and Sunday) instead of the usual single polling day (Monday). This would facilitate distancing of voters, give access to a range of polling locations such as schools that would otherwise be unavailable and help to recruit poll workers. The changes could provide returning officers with greater flexibility to safely serve electors in long-term care facilities by increasing the number of voting days and working with each facility to tailor the approach to their situation. Finally mail-in ballots sent before the deadline could continue to be accepted until the day following the two-day week-end polling period.
• As back-to-school in Ontario looms, the rhetoric is heating up. The largest education unions in the province say the government’s plan is unsafe and underfunded. They have also denounced the sidelining of unions by the Doug Ford government in consulting on the plan.
• Premier Doug Ford during a media appearance at Algonquin College Thursday: “I can tell you, my patience is running very low with the teachers’ unions. I’ll always support our great frontline teachers, they’re incredible, they put their heart into it, and the teachers’ unions have to get with the program right now and do what everyone else is doing across the country, all pulling in the same direction.”
• Ontario teachers “will not be at risk” of catching COVID-19 in the classroom as long as students and educators adhere to infection prevention protocols, according to Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health.
• Ontario’s daily case count was 118, raising the total to 41,813 cases. The death toll is now at 2,803 with one new death reported. There are 48 people in hospital with 10 in intensive care on a ventilator. There are now 1,070 active cases in the province. There have been 37,863 recoveries, up 77. Ontario reported it completed 28,625 tests in the past 24 hours. There have now been 2,852,346 completed tests.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 22 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city now has seen 2,893 cases since March. The death toll remains at 266. Twelve people are in hospital. There are 174 active cases and there have been 2,431 recoveries. There are seven outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• The City of Ottawa is no longer projecting a $192-million shortfall this year. There has been $124 million committed to the city so far from a federal-provincial funding agreement to help backfill municipal budgets. The provincial government is accepting applications for a second phase of funding and the city hopes it will receive money to fully cover the projected deficit.
• City manager Steve Kanellakos said cost-saving measures, like freezes on hiring and discretionary spending, will help relieve the financial pressure. As an extra bonus, the city’s investments are in better shape than expected and overtime and sick leave costs are down.
• Kanellakos said management will prepare options in October to address budget challenges, which are expected to endure into 2021.
• Ottawa’s Medical Officer of Health says Ottawa Public Health has found no COVID-19 outbreaks linked to restaurants, bars, gyms and riding on OC Transpo buses and trains. Dr. Vera Etches told Ottawa City Council that close household contacts with confirmed cases of COVID-19 is the biggest risk factor for COVID-19 transmission in August.
• OPH does report that a pharmacy worker at Walmart’s Baseline Road location has tested positive for COVID-19, and was serving the public during the period when they were considered to be contagious.
• Anyone who spent 15 or more minutes receiving service at the Walmart pharmacy at 1375 Baseline Rd. between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Aug. 15 or Aug. 16 is being asked to immediately self-isolate and call Ottawa Public Health at 613-580-6744.
• Customers who didn’t use the pharmacy or who did so outside the specified hours “are not considered at higher risk of exposure from this occurrence.”
• Quebec has seen 62,056 confirmed cases, up 111, with 5,750 deaths, up three. The number of people in hospital is 115 with 15 in intensive care. The province completed 16,020 tests on Aug. 25 for a total of 1,606,558.
• The Outaouais has seen 797 cases, up seven. The death toll remains at 33.
• CanSino Biologics Inc.’s partnership with Canada’s National Research Council on a COVID-19 vaccine has ended because of the company’s failure to ship the vaccine to Canada. The Chinese company had reportedly agreed to bring its vaccine candidate to Canada in May through the NRC for testing.
• China said on Thursday that the end to a partnership on a coronavirus vaccine between Chinese firm CanSino Biologics and Canada is unrelated to diplomatic relations between the countries.
• Canada’s Foreign Affairs minister says the end to a partnership on a coronavirus vaccine between Chinese firm CanSino Biologics and the National Research Council was not “necessarily” tied to diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
• Globally, there have now been 24,288,572+ confirmed cases with 828,070+ deaths and 15,856,795+ recoveries.
• COVID consequences: As President Donald Trump addresses the Republican National Convention from the lawn of the White House, he will speak as reports show the U.S. economy shrank at an alarming annual rate of 31.7 per cent during the April-June quarter as it struggled under the weight of the viral pandemic, the government has estimated. It was the sharpest quarterly drop on record.
• As well, the United States continues to lead the world as the country with the most cases of COVID-19 infection with 5,825,810+ infections and 179,770+ deaths.

Aug. 26

• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced an additional $2 billion in federal funding for provinces and territories to cover the extra costs of ensuring that students are safe when the school year begins. The money will be distributed based on the number of students in each region and premiers will be able to determine where best to spend it. An additional $112 million will be earmarked for First Nations schools.
• Ontario getting $381 million for its schools. For example: The education minister has set aside $100 million to be used at the discretion of school boards. About $70 million will go towards adding teachers. About $25.5 million will go towards safety on buses by reducing the number of students on each bus. About $36 million will buttress remote learning and $30 million will go to securing personal protective equipment.
• The province also released its protocols for ensuring health and safety during the return to school as well as dealing with a positive case of COVID-19 in a school.
• Canada now has 126,228+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,094+ deaths from the infection and 112,285+ recoveries.
• Ontario’s daily case count was 88, raising the total to 41,695 cases. The death toll is now at 2,802 with two new deaths reported. There are 43 people in hospital with 10 in intensive care on a ventilator. There are now 1,030 active cases in the province. There have been 37,863 recoveries, up 115. Ontario reported it completed 21,960 tests in the past 24 hours. There have now been 2,823,721 completed tests.
• Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams said that he, along with Ontario’s Public Health Measures Table, are now working to determine if larger social circles or a larger number of circles would be a safe and viable approach to containing the novel coronavirus.
• “My senses are probably going to the latter,” Williams said. “That means, if you’ve been good at monitoring your one circle, how can you do with two, three, four or five circles?”
• Ottawa Public Health reported 16 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city now has seen 2,871 cases since March. The death toll remains at 266. Twelve people are in hospital. There are 174 active cases and there have been 2,431 recoveries. There are seven outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• Ottawa city council has expanded its mandatory mask bylaw to require everyone cover their mouth, nose and chin in the common areas of apartment buildings and condominiums, including lobbies and elevators.
• The expanded bylaw also gives the city the power to designate specific outdoor areas as high-risk zones where people will need to wear masks at certain times such as on Clarence Street in the ByWard Market or on Elgin Street during the busy bar hours of 10 p.m. and 2 a.m.
• The city’s pandemic emergency will remain in force until at least the end of September. It was declared on March 25.
• City staff working remotely will ow be able to work from home until the end of 2020. 
• Ottawa Public Health has prepared a COVID-19 screening tool for students that is intended to help parents and guardians decide whether their child can attend school. Parents are asked to complete the COVID-19 screening tool daily before children head to school.
• Ottawa Public Health is setting up a drive-thru COVID-19 test site in the parking lot of RCGT Park and is scheduled to start taking appointments.
• Trustees for the Ottawa Carleton District School Board have decided to not make masks mandatory for students in all grades. The trustees also voted to delay the start of school to Sept. 8.
• The Ottawa Catholic School Board is pushing back some of its staggered start dates for students this fall. The first day of school for the OCSB is Sept. 3. Students were originally expected to be staggered back to class between Sept. 3 and Sept. 9, but in an update Wednesday, the board effectively pushed the first day of school back to Sept. 8 for the majority of students.
• More than 60 per cent of Canada’s restaurants risk having to close their doors permanently by November, according to government data.
• The Canadian Survey on Business Conditions (CSBC), produced by Statistics Canada with support from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, found that 29 per cent of accommodation and food service businesses cannot operate at all with social distancing measures in effect. A further 31 per cent will only able to remain operational for up to 90 days with distancing measures in effect. In other words, up to 60 per cent of the industry could fail within three months.
• Quebec has now seen 61,945 confirmed cases, up 102, with 5,747 deaths, up one. The province says that the positive results of 40 additional cases from Montréal are being re-evaluated because of sample contamination in a laboratory. The number of people in hospital is 110 with 12 in intensive care. The province completed 11,440 tests on Aug. 24 for a total of 1,590,538.
• The Outaouais has seen 790 cases, up 10. The death toll remains at 33.
• Quebec’s COVID-19 response is the worst in Canada and its death rate is one of the world’s worst, says the Globe and Mail editorial board.
• The Montreal Impact soccer team became Canada’s first professional sports team to play infront of fans since the pandemic halted play in March. A crowd of 250 — the maximum permitted under Quebec’s public-health guidelines — was scattered across eight separate stands in the 20,801-seat venue. The Impact defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-0.
• Globally, there have now been 24,011,502+ confirmed cases with 821,909+ deaths and 15,636,116+ recoveries.
• The Montreal Impact soccer team became Canada’s first professional sports team to play infront of fans since the pandemic halted play in March. A crowd of 250 — the maximum permitted under Quebec’s public-health guidelines — was scattered across eight separate stands in the 20,801-seat venue. The Impact defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-0.
• COVID consequences: A new study by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters says that up tp 40 local television outlets and 200 Canadian radio stations could close in the next three years as the financial pressures faced by media companies intensify under the COVID-19 pandemic. The CAB warns of potential closures and widespread job cuts as private TV and radio broadcasters face a cumulative projected revenue shortfall of up to $1.06 billion by the end of 2022. Most vulnerable are the country’s AM radio stations, the report said.
• Globally, there have now been 24,011,502+ confirmed cases with 821,909+ deaths and 15,636,116+ recoveries.

Aug. 25

• Ottawa Public Health reported 16 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city now has seen 2,855 cases since March. The death toll remains at 266. Nine people are in hospital. There are 166 active cases and there have been 2,423 recoveries. There are six outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• The City of Ottawa is reporting two new case of COVID-19 at OC Transpo, one in a bus driver and one in an LRT operator. In a memo, Transportation Services General Manager John Manconi said they were informed Monday that a bus driver had tested positive for COVID-19. The driver last worked Aug. 21.
• Ontario’s daily case count was 100, raising the total to 41,607 cases. The death toll is now at 2,800 with two new deaths reported. There are 39 people in hospital with 10 in intensive care on a ventilator. There are now 1,059 active cases in the province. There have been 37,748 recoveries, up 75. Ontario reported it completed 20,013 tests in the past 24 hours. There have now been 2,801,761 completed tests.
• Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the province has discussed holding testing sites at Shoppers Drug Mart locations in Ontario. Alberta recently approved the partnership and has been testing some asymptomatic patients at certain pharmacies in the province.
• Quebec saw 62 new cases of COVID-19, raising the provincial total to 61,803. The total number of deaths is now 5,746. The number of people in hospital is 118 with 12 in intensive care. The province completed 9,231 tests on Aug. 23 for a total of 1,579,098.
• The Outaouais has seen 780 cases, up 11. The death toll remains at 33.
• The Quebec government says it will not promote the use of the federal government’s contact tracing app, currently in use in Ontario and soon to be offered across the country. The government says its model is sufficient.
• For the third time recently, Quebec Premier François Legault accused Montreal Gazette journalist Aaron Derfel of bias. In a parliamentary committee, the premier said Derfel’s articles were intended to systematically discredit his government.
• Legault made the comments about Derfel as he spoke about the 2020-2021 budget allotments dedicated to the English-speaking community.
• The federal government is spending $82.5 million for mental health supports for First Nations.
• Canada now has 125,835+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,088+ deaths from the infection and 111,882+ recoveries.
• COVID consequences: The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked peoples’ interest in projects around the house, but also temporarily shut down lumber mills. Since starting operations again, the mills haven’t been able to keep up leading to lumber shortages. CBC has more. 
• In July, there have been 175 overdose deaths in British Columbia. The numbers released Tuesday by the BC Coroners Service mark the third straight month with more than 170 people dead of suspected drug overdoses. The month of May saw 174 illicit drug fatalities in B.C. while June saw 177 drug deaths, according to updated numbers from the coroner service.
• New Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole says he wants to work constructively with the Liberal minority government to bring effective leadership to Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. But O’Toole says his party will be ready if the Trudeau government tries to force a fall election.
• A new Statistics Canada survey suggests that while the vast majority of Canadians would get a COVID-19 vaccine if and when it becomes available, more than one in 10 likely would not.
• Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says authorities need more information about those who are worried about or opposed to a vaccine to ensure they have the proper information about how vaccines are approved.
• She says while efforts are being made to accelerate development of a vaccine, the federal government will not take shortcuts when it comes to ensuring the safety of a COVID-19 vaccine before it is approved and distributed.
• Tam expressed concern today about misinformation spread online about vaccines, adding internet and social-media companies should have a responsibility to police their domains to make sure that doesn’t happen.
• Globally, there have now been 23,694,646+ confirmed cases with 814,354+ deaths and 15,381,104+ recoveries.
• University of Hong Kong scientists claim to have the first evidence of someone being reinfected with the virus that causes COVID-19. Genetic tests revealed that a 33-year-old man returning to Hong Kong from a trip to Spain in mid-August had a different strain of the novel coronavirus than the one he’d previously been infected with in March, said Dr. Kelvin Kai-Wang To, the microbiologist who led the work.
• Meanwhile, two European patients are confirmed to have been reinfected with coronavirus. The cases are in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Aug. 24

• Ottawa Public Health reported 24 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city now has seen 2,839 cases since March. The death toll remains at 266. Nine people are in hospital. There are 156 active cases and there have been 2,417 recoveries. There are six outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board will this week consider a motion that would require all students wear masks in school. The province has mandated mask wearing from Grade 4 to 12.
• The Ottawa Student Transportation Authority (OSTA)
• School buses run by the Ottawa School Transportation Authority (OSTA) will not be on the road until Sept. 14. Route details will be available Sept. 7. Students who get to school by van or OC Transpo will have those options available.
• About 5,500 students have opted out of busing this year, according to OSTA’s own online survey. Some routes have fewer than 50 students on a bus with capacity for 70.
• OSTA said its objective is to have one student per seat, though in some situations there may be as many as three students per seat, which is normal for a bus operating at capacity. Schools will be involved in assigning seating on buses.
• A report for Wednesday’s City Council meeting recommends amending Ottawa’s Temporary Mask Bylaw to establish designated outdoor areas, such as common areas in condominiums and apartment buildings where face masks will be mandatory during busy periods. If approved, the general manager of Emergency and Protective Services would have the authority to identify “high risk areas or zones in the city where masks would be required on specific days of the week during specific hours of the day.” Council will also discuss extending the bylaw.
• Carleton University is placing restrictions on movements in residence buildings for a few weeks in a bid to limit COVID-19 transmissions. Carleton has reduced capacity in all residence buildings this fall to make sure all students have their own bedroom or suite-style unit.
• Director of Housing and Residence Life Laura Storey told CTV students will notice changes as soon as they arrive, with move-in spread out over six days
• Ontario’s daily case count was 105, raising the total to 41,507 cases. The death toll remains at 2,798. There are 40 people in hospital with seven in intensive care on a ventilator. There are now 1,036 active cases in the province. There have been 37,673 recoveries, up 76. Ontario reported it completed 18,790 tests in the past 24 hours. There have now been 2,781,748 completed tests.
• Quebec saw 68 new cases of COVID-19, raising the provincial total to 61,741. Four deaths were recorded raising the total to 5,744. The number of people in hospital is 115 with 12 in intensive care. The province completed 11,372 tests on Aug. 22 for a total of 1,569,867.
• The Outaouais has seen 769 cases, up five. The death toll remains at 33.
• Alberta’s chief medical officer of health reported 258 new cases of COVID-19 and four more deaths since Friday. After nearly 30,000 tests, there were 83 cases confirmed on Friday, 106 on Saturday and 69 on Sunday. The province now has 1,172 active cases of the disease, with 45 people, including nine in ICU, receiving care in hospital.
• British Columbia saw 269 new confirmed cases over the weekend — 109 between Friday and Saturday, 81 between Saturday and Sunday and 79 since Sunday. There has been only one new death. The total for the province is 5,184 with 4,068 recoveries. There are 913 active cases. There have been 203 deaths.
• Canada now has 125,647+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,083+ deaths from the infection and 111,694+ recoveries.
• Globally, there have now been 23,424,844+ confirmed cases with 808,716+ deaths and 15,150,767+ recoveries.

Aug. 23

• Ottawa Public Health reported six new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city now has seen 2,815 cases since March. The death toll remains at 266. Eight people are in hospital. There are 140 active cases and there have been 2,409 recoveries. There are six outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• Ontario’s daily case count was 115, raising the total to 41,402 cases. The death toll remains at 2,797. There are 41 people in hospital with six in intensive care on a ventilator. There are now 1,010 active cases in the province. There have been 37,595 recoveries, up 198. Ontario reported it completed 23,384 tests in the past 24 hours. There have now been 2,762,958 completed tests.
• Quebec saw 74 new cases of COVID-19, raising the provincial total to 61,673. One death was recorded raising the total to 5,740. The number of people in hospital is 117 with 14 in intensive care. The province completed 15,599 tests on Aug. 21 for a total of 1,557,136.
• The Outaouais has seen 764 cases, up two. The death toll remains at 33.
• Canada’s lack of preparedness is slowing down the production of a possible COVID-19 vaccine, CBC reports.
• Manitoba identified 72 new cases of COVID-19 Sunday, breaking a new record for the largest single day spike. The previous record was 42 cases, set on Saturday.
• The majority of the cases are “linked to known clusters in communal living (Hutterite) communities where we did proactive testing.” Manitoba has now seen 944 cases in all with 12 deaths. There have been 576 recoveries.
• There have now been a total of 1,600 cases of COVID-19 recorded in Saskatchewan.
• Saskatchewan announced three new COVID cases along with 14 new recoveries. Of Saskatchewan’s 1,600 COVID-19 cases, 106 are considered active and 1,472 are classified as recovered.
• Victoria B.C. police say they issued a $2,300 fine to a party host who allegedly failed to follow COVID−19 provincial health guidelines. Police say they twice visited a suite in a multi−unit residential building on Friday to respond to reports of a noisy party attended by a large number of people.
• Canada Post temporarily shutdown one of its Edmonton plants after an employee tested positive for COVID-19. The company said the worker was exposed to the virus outside of the workplace and the individual was showing no symptoms. The employee’s last day of work was on Aug.16.
• Canada now has 124,896+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,073+ deaths from the infection and 111,112+ recoveries.
• Globally, there have now been 23,279,446+ confirmed cases with 806,122+ deaths and 14,978,646+ recoveries.
• On the eve of the Republican National Convention confirming Donald Trump as the party’s nominee for president, there have been 5,678,249+ confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 176,489+ deaths in the United States.
• President Trump announced Sunday the emergency authorization of convalescent plasma for COVID-19 patients, in a move he called “a breakthrough,” one of his top health officials called “promising” and other health experts said needs more study before it’s celebrated.

Aug. 22

• Shipments of a Chinese and Canadian-developed COVID-19 candidate vaccine remain delayed from getting to Canada, more than three months after Health Canada approved them for Phase 1 trials here.
• The Ad5-nCoV potential vaccine is being produced at CanSino Biologics in Tianjin, China, and uses cell lines developed at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC).
• Ottawa Public Health reported 15 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The city now has seen 2,809 cases since March. The death toll remains at 266. Eight people are in hospital. There are 145 active cases and there have been 2,398 recoveries. There are six outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• Ontario’s daily case count was 108, raising the total to 41,287 cases. One new death was recorded raising the total to 2,797. There are 40 people in hospital with seven in intensive care on a ventilator. There are now 1,003 actives cases in the province. There have been 37,397 recoveries, up 90. Ontario reported it completed 28,656 tests in the past 24 hours. There have now been 2,739,574 completed tests.
• Canada now has 124,629+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,071+ deaths from the infection and 110,879+ recoveries.
• Parents should keep their kids home from school at the first sign of illness — even a runny nose — Ottawa’s medical officer of health, Dr. Vera Etches, says.
• In a memo sent Friday evening, General Manager of Community and Social Services Donna Gray, says an employee at the Garry J. Armstrong long-term care home has tested positive for COVID-19.
• OC Transpo is advising the public that another driver has tested positive for COVID-19, the seventh since Aug. 9.
• Capital Pride begins Sunday. In-person events have been cancelled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic but organizers have announced plans for a series of free Virtual Pride events Aug. 23 to 30.
• Quebec saw 104 new cases of COVID-19, raising the provincial total to 61,599. Six deaths were recorded raising the total to 5,739. The number of people in hospital is 124 with 16 in intensive care. The province completed 15,950 tests on Aug. 20 for a total of 1,542,896.
• The Outaouais has seen 762 cases, up nine. The death toll remains at 33.
• Globally, there have now been 23,120,830+ confirmed cases with 802,693+ deaths and 14,842,382+ recoveries.

Aug. 21

• Ottawa Public Health reported a sharp rise in infections with 36 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. That’s the most daily cases in a month. The city now has seen 2,794 cases since March. One new death was recorded raising the toll to 266. Six people are in hospital. There are 147 active cases and there have been 2,381 recoveries. There are three outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• Ontario’s daily case count roared above 100, with 131 reported. That raises the total to 41,179 cases. Three new deaths were recorded raising the total to 2,796. There are 35 people in hospital with eight in intensive care on a ventilator. There are now 986 actives cases in the province. There have been 37,397 recoveries, up 106. Ontario reported it completed 28,073 tests in the past 24 hours. There have now been 2,710,918 completed tests. Today’s case count included reports from 11 public health units unable to submit their new case numbers on Thursday. Those numbers were added today.
• “With the 11 missing public health units now having entered their numbers for yesterday and with all 34 units reporting today, Ontario has added 131 cases of COVID-19,” Ontario’s Health Minister Christine Elliott stated on Twitter Friday. “Because of the data gap yesterday, today’s number is an overestimation of daily counts.”
• Quebec saw 93 new cases of COVID-19, raising the provincial total to 61,495. Three deaths were recorded raising the total to 5,733. The number of people in hospital is 136 with 23 in intensive care. The province completed 16,164 tests on Aug. 19 for a total of 1,526,946.
• The Outaouais has seen 751 cases, up six. The death toll remains at 33.
• A 3M Canada plant in Brockville, ON will manufacture 50 million N95 respirators a year starting in 2021, the prime minister the premier of Ontario announced today.
• Canada now has 124,133+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,060+ deaths from the infection and 110,502+ recoveries.
• Quebec health officials have confirmed that a 19 year old has died from COVID-19. For privacy reasons, no personal information beyond the age and the death has been released.
• Retail sales were up 23.7 per cent in June to $53.0 billion, Statistics Canada says. After three months of sales below pre-pandemic levels, retail sales in June were 1.3 per cent higher than February levels as more regions reopened their economies.
• Sales were up in all sub-sectors, with growth primarily led by motor vehicle and parts dealers, as well as clothing and clothing accessories stores. Rounding out the second quarter, retail sales were down 13.3 per cent compared with the first quarter. In volume terms, quarterly retail sales were down 12.4 per cent.
• Ottawa-based Spartan Bioscience says it has developed a fix to the company’s COVID-19 test and is preparing for resubmission to Health Canada. The company is hopeful that Health Canada will approve the test by “mid-Fall.”
• All of Cineplex’s 164 theatres, 1,687 screens and 10 entertainment complexes are reopen across Canada today.
• The Maritime Employers Association says it has settled on an agreement in principle with longshore workers and checkers to halt the 12-day labour action that has shut down Canada’s second-largest port in Montreal.
• The strike by more than 1,100 employees, who have been without a collective agreement for nearly two years, revolved largely around wages and scheduling.
• Globally, there have now been 22,589,017+ confirmed cases with 792,475+ deaths and 14,457,309+ recoveries.
• Australia is headed for its lowest daily increase in coronavirus infections in five weeks on Friday. The embattled state of Victoria reported 179 new cases in the past 24 hours, from 240 a day earlier and down from more than 700 a day two weeks ago. So far, Australia has largely avoided the high casualty numbers of many other nations with just under 24,500 infections and 472 deaths linked to the virus.
• The head of the World Health Organization says he hopes the coronavirus pandemic will end in two years time. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who once described the COVID-19 pandemic as a “once-in-a-century health crisis” cited the Spanish Flu of 1918 — which took a similar amount of time to conclude.

Aug. 20

• The federal government is extending the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit which gives Canadians $2,000 a month, to Sept. 27 when those drawing the CERB will be moved the Employment Insurance.
• Anyone eligible for EI will get at least $400 weekly for 26 weeks, at minimum, and will need to have worked just 120 hours to qualify, well below current requirements.
• For self-employed workers, or those ineligible for EI, a new Canada Recovery Benefit will pay $400 a week for up to 26 weeks, and will also allow them to earn some income while they’re receiving the benefit.
• There will also be $500-a-week sickness and caregiving benefits for anyone who has to stay home because they’re ill or required to self-isolate because of COVID-19, or because school or daycare is closed.
• The caregiving benefit will be available for up to 26 weeks, over one year, while the sickness benefit will be available for two one-week periods over a year.
• The three new benefits are expected to cost $22 billion and will be brought in through legislation once the House of Commons returns after being prorogued this week. The CERB extension is expected to cost a further $8 billion, while $7 billion will go into to the expanded EI system.
• The federal government will also freeze EI premium payments at 2020 levels for two years.
• Government officials estimate a million people will need the new workers’ benefit that replaces the CERB and three million will go on the simplified EI program.
• Ontario’s daily case count dropped below 100, with 76 reported. That raises the total to 41,048 cases. There was one death recorded raising the total to 2,793. There are 35 people in hospital with eight in intensive care on a ventilator. There are now 964 actives cases in the province. There have been 37,291 recoveries, up 75. Ontario reported it completed 25,917 tests in the past 24 hours. There have now been 2,682,845 completed tests.
• Today’s report excluded data from 11 public health units. Health Minister Christine Elliott said the missing data was due to a problem with the province’s integrated Public Health Information System
• “These 11 units reported a total of eight cases yesterday, and while not a direct proxy for today it’s an indication of how many cases may be under-reported,” Elliott tweeted.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 12 new cases of COVID-19. The city now has seen 2,758 cases since March. The death toll remains at 265. Eight people are in hospital with one in intensive care. There are 123 active cases and there have been 2,370 recoveries. There are four outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• Ottawa’s Chief Medical Officer of Health says more than half of all new cases of COVID-19 in August are linked to households where someone was already infected with COVID-19 or close contact with a known case. CTV has more.
• Another two OC Transpo drivers have tested positive for COVID-19 — the fifth and sixth since Aug. 10.
• Quebec saw 86 new cases of COVID-19, raising the provincial total to 61,402. One death was recorded raising the total to 5,730. The number of people in hospital is 146 with 25 in intensive care. The province completed 16,226 tests on Aug. 18 for a total of 1,510,782.
• The Outaouais has seen 745 cases, up three. The death toll remains at 33.
• Quebec is speeding up school construction projects, aiming to begin building the “next generation” of schools this year. Education Minister Jean-Francois Roberge made the announcement Thursday in Longueuil, saying $1.8 billion of a previously announced $3.7 billion dossier will be made available this school year to build 42 educational facilities and expand 48 existing schools. Roberge also said that 15 reconstruction projects have been authorized this year for a total of $300 million.
• Canada’s largest school board will redeploy 400 staff and also hire an additional 366 teachers. The Toronto District School Board plan will spend $6.3 million in previously committed provincial funding, as well as $2.9 million in reallocated funds from the board’s budget and $29.5 million out of its reserve fund. The board is also considering delaying the start of the school year to Sept. 15.
• All post-secondary students entering Nova Scotia from outside Atlantic Canada will be tested for COVID-19. The requirement applies to all university and college students arriving from outside the Atlantic region. Those students must also self-isolate for 14 days.
• The federal and Ontario governments are giving $23 million each along with $23 million from 3M Canada to establish protective mask-making capabilities in Ontario, as the country seeks to lock down domestic supplies of personal protective equipment. A plant in Brockville, ON will make N-95 respirators, the masks worn in hospital intensive care units.
• Canada now has 123,873+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,054+ deaths from the infection and 110,288+ recoveries.
• COVID consequences: A recent survey of organizations run by the Ontario Non-profit Network (ONN) found that one in five of the survey’s 1,100 respondents say they may have to shut down by the end of December. Another quarter said that 2021 will likely be a greater financial struggle than this year. CBC has more.
• Canada will not hold an alpine ski race on the World Cup circuit this season after the Lake Louise event announced Thursday it will take a season off during the pandemic.
• Globally, there have now been 22,515,213+ confirmed cases with 789,825+ deaths and 14,381,048+ recoveries.

Aug. 19

• Ontario has reported another daily case count more than 100, with 102. That raises the total to 40,972 cases. There was one death removed from the list dropping the total to 2,792. There are 42 people in hospital with 10 in intensive care on a ventilator. There are now 965 actives cases in the province. There have been 37,216 recoveries, up 91. Ontario reported it completed 25,642 tests in the past 24 hours. There have now been 2,656,928 completed tests.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 18 new cases of COVID-19. The city now has seen 2,746 cases since March. The death toll remains at 265. Eleven people are in hospital with one in intensive care. There are 120 active cases and there have been 2,361 recoveries. There are four outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• Ottawa Public Health’s “Snapshot of COVID-19 across Ottawa Wards Report” shows Alta Vista, Gloucester-Southgate and Beacon Hill-Cyrville have the highest rates of COVID-19 infections in Ottawa. CTV has more.
• Among other changes, the Ottawa Catholic School Board has staggered back to school start dates from Sept. 3 to 9. The OCSB says families can change their minds based on this new information. You are asked to fill out a “change of preference form” on the board’s website by Friday, Aug. 21 if you wish to reverse the decision made at the end of last week.
• The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board too has adjusted its back-to-school plan. The OCDSB is offering a staggered start to school over a two-week period with the youngest students coming back first on Sept. 3. Elementary students will still be in class all day five days a week. Secondary student cohorts however will attend on alternate days.
• Online learning students from kindergarten to Grade 12 Students will attend a “virtual school” with other students in the same grade and program from across the district. Parents will have a chance to reconsider their decision about which school model their children will be in, the board says. More details will be coming next week.
• Quebec saw 64 new cases of COVID-19, raising the provincial total to 61,316. Two deaths were recorded raising the total to 5,729. The number of people in hospital is 146 with 26 in intensive care. The province completed 12,661 on Aug. 17 for a total of 1,494,556.
• The Outaouais has seen 742 cases, up four. The death toll remains at 33.
• Canada now has 123,340+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,047+ deaths from the infection and 109,635+ recoveries.
• A new poll has found that about four in ten Ontario parents do not want to send their children back to school in September, and a vast majority — 74 per cent — have lost faith in the education minister’s ability to ensure that schools are safe from the threat of COVID-19. The National Post has more.
• Thousands of pages of newly released documents back up the Trudeau government’s contention that it was federal public servants who recommended a student service grant program be administered by WE Charity.
• But the documents also suggest bureaucrats may have been nudged to look in that direction by their political masters. The documents were released late Tuesday afternoon to members of the House of Commons finance committee, on the orders of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as he announced he was proroguing Parliament until Sept. 23.
• COVID consequences: Canadian meat processor Maple Leaf Foods Inc (MFI.TO) has voluntarily suspended exports of pork to China following an outbreak of COVID-19 in a Manitoba plant near Brandon. Fifty-five people connected to the plant have tested positive for the virus, two have recovered.
• Canada is the world’s No.3 shipper of pork. In 2019, China bought some C$609 million ($462.7 million) in pork, making it Canada’s third largest pork market in both value and volume terms, according to industry data.
• Analysis of the latest public opinion data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute places Canadians into three broad categories in a measure of their behaviours and mindset, known as the COVID Compliance Index.
• So-called Infection Fighters follow virus suppression behaviours carefully and comprise nearly half the population (47 per cent). The Inconsistent represent just over one-third of Canadians (36 per cent) and take a more half-in, half-out approach to flattening the curve. The remaining one-in-five (18 per cent) are Cynical Spreaders who have expanded their social circles, don’t physically distance and are ambivalent towards hand washing and mask wearing. This last group also professes a clear dislike for the way public health officials and political leaders have handled the pandemic.
• Globally, there have now been 22,218,441+ confirmed cases with 782,883+ deaths and 14,156,538+ recoveries.
• The United States continues to lead the way with 5,497,279+ confirmed cases and 172,179+ deaths.
• The World Health Organization says it was concerned that the novel coronavirus spread was being driven by people in their 20s, 30s and 40s, many of whom are unaware they are infected.

Aug. 18

• COVID consequences: The next federal finance minister will be Chrystia Freeland, according to media reports. She is the first woman to hold the portfolio and will be the point person on the government’s economic recovery plans. Longtime Trudeau friend, Dominic LeBlanc, reassumes the role of Intergovernmental Affairs minister, that was held by Freeland. She will remain Deputy Prime Minister.
• The prime minister also announced the prorogation of Parliament to Sept. 23 in a bid to reset the agenda. Justin Trudeau said a throne speech will be delivered on that day, setting what he called a progressive new agenda for the minority government. Sept. 23 is two days after the House of Commons was originally scheduled to resume sitting.
• Trudeau said the Commons committees examining the WE Charity controversy will be able to continue their work. He said the government has released 5,000 pages of documents relating to WE.
• Ontario reported a sharp increase in confirmed new cases of COVID-19 with 125, more than 100 for the first time since July. That raises the total to 40,870 cases. Four new deaths were recorded putting the total at 2,793. There are 41 people in hospital with 10 in intensive care on a ventilator. There are now 951 actives cases in the province. There have been 37,126 recoveries, up 173. Ontario reported it completed 23,067 tests in the past 24 hours. There have now been 2,631,286 completed tests.
• Ontario has ended police access to a COVID-19 database after a legal challenge was filed by a group of human rights organizations. Aboriginal Legal Services, the Black Legal Action Centre, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario were all parties to the lawsuit. Data released in the context of the legal action showed that Ontario police services conducted more than 95,000 searches of the database while it was active. One department, the Thunder Bay police, accessed the personal health information in the database more than 14,800 times — a rate of access 10 times higher than the provincial average — even though the area has reported only 100 COVID-19 cases since the outset of the pandemic. The Canadian Press has more.
• The province has earmarked $47 million to support public health units, Health Minister Christine Elliott says.
• Ottawa Public Health reported eight new cases of COVID-19. The city now has seen 2,728 cases since March. One new death was reported, the first in several weeks, raising the toll to 265. Twelve people are in hospital with one in intensive care. There are 108 active cases and there have been 2,355 recoveries. There are five outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• Ottawa-Carleton District School Board trustee and board chair Lynn Scott says she wants the Ontario government to give school boards a little more time to work out back to school plans. CTV has more.
• Two Byward Market restaurants — Atari on Dalhousie Street and Somewhere Dine Bar on Murray Street — have been fined $800 each by bylaw officers for failing to follow COVID-19 physical distancing rules.
• Quebec saw 46 new cases of COVID-19, raising the provincial total to 61,252. Six deaths were recorded raising the total to 5,727. The number of people in hospital is 145 with 27 in intensive care. The province completed 10,267 on Aug. 16 for a total of 1,481,895.
• The Outaouais has seen 738 cases, up five. The death toll remains at 33.
• Quebec will allocate $106 million for public health for hiring and material resources in preparation for a potential second wave of COVID-19. The new funding was part of an announcement of a plan to prepare for an onrush of infections. Also part of the plan:
• A manager responsible for each long-term care facility (CHSLD);
•  Safe access for family caregivers;
•  Home support services adapted to users’ needs;
•  Keep turnover in social services to a minimum;
•  Massive recruitment of workers in CHSLDs;
•  Prohibit workers from movement, while strictly respecting infection prevention and control regulations;
• Reduce screening process time;
•  Support optimal services in surgery, endoscopy and medical imaging;
•  Ensure the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) by entering into agreements with Quebec manufacturers to produce strategic products;
• Targeted communications about the pandemic tailored to various audiences.
• As well regional public health services are expected to have better capacity to quickly trace cases of COVID-19 with 1,000 new positions.
• A survey by Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies suggests 66 per cent of respondents with children admitted they are worried about children returning to school but 63 per cent said they planned to send their kids anyway.
• You can put Justin Trudeau in with the other nervous parents. He said during a media conference that his family is undecided about sending his three children back to school this fall.
• Manitoba reported 17 new cases of COVID-19 for a total of 748 and two deaths for a total of 11.
• Prince Edward Island reported the only three new cases of COVID-19 in the Atlantic Provinces on Tuesday. The new infections bring the Island’s total reported cases to 44, with 40 of them considered recovered. P.E.I. has not had any deaths or hospitalizations from COVID-19.
• For the second day in a row, Saskatchewan has reported just one new case of COVID-19 in the province.
• Alberta reported 89 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday. A total of 1,169 Albertans are battling the coronavirus, with 48 in hospital, including 11 in ICUs. One new death was reported. Alberta has reported 12,419 cases, 11,025 recoveries and 225 deaths.
• Edmonton, with a population of 1,021,628, has 572 cases of the coronavirus — 56 active cases per 100,000 people. By comparison, Toronto, where 2,956,024 people live, currently has 264 cases with 8.93 infections per 100,000 residents. The Ontario capital has had a total of 15,622 cases, whereas Edmonton has counted 2,128.
• B.C. confirmed another 83 cases of COVID-19. Tuesday’s update brings the total number of cases to 4,677. B.C.’s active case count has reached 775, the highest ever. The province has extended its state of emergency to Sept. 1.
• Canada now has 123,154+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,045+ deaths from the infection and 109,357+ recoveries.
• Globally, there have now been 21,991,954+ confirmed cases with 777,018+ deaths and 13,981,129+ recoveries.

Aug. 17

• The WE Charity controversy has claimed its first victim as federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau has resigned his cabinet post and will not run in the next federal election. He, instead, will seek the job as Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Will Mark Carney get the job?
• British Columbia has seen 236 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 over the weekend. Friday to Saturday saw the biggest jump with 100 new cases, followed by 88 from Saturday to Sunday and 48 in the past 24 hours. The 100 new cases recorded Friday marks the second highest single day increase since the beginning of the pandemic. 
• The province’s total number of positive cases is 4,594. There have been two new deaths for a total of 198. B.C. has 743 active COVID-19 cases and 3,653 people have fully recovered from the virus.
• Alberta too reported a weekend’s worth of COVID-19 cases. The province recorded 359 cases, Friday through Monday. A total of 12,412 cases have been reported in Alberta since the beginning of the pandemic, with 11,056 listed as recovered. The death toll in the province is now 224.
• There were 38 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Manitoba, bringing the total to 731, with 232 active cases. 
• Canada now has 122,872+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,050+ deaths from the infection and 109,059+ recoveries.
• The Canada Revenue Agency is dealing with the fallout from three hacks that exposed thousands of Canadians to possible identity theft. The first hack was detected on Aug. 11 and the third happened on Aug. 15. At that point the federal government suspended CRA’s online services but hopes to resume operations today. The Canadian Press has more.
• In all, hackers used more than 9,041 stolen usernames and passwords to apply for government services, and also targeted about 5,500 Canada Revenue Agency accounts, out of 15 million, the federal government said in an announcement. The hacks also affected 24 government departments, officials said. Across government, about 11,200 accounts were impacted.
• The federal government described the hacks as “credential stuffing” schemes, in which hackers use passwords and usernames from other websites to access Canadians’ accounts with the revenue agency. There were an estimated 300,000 attacks on the CRA system at one point.
• The Canadian Real Estate Association says home sales hit a record 62,355 sales in July 2020, the highest monthly sales figure on record. Sales in July were up 30.5 per cent compared with the same month a year ago.
• The number of new listings climbed by 7.6 per cent in July compared with June.
• The actual national average price for homes sold in July was also a record — $571,500, up 14.3 per cent from the same month last year.
• Ontario reported 99 new cases of COVID-19, raising the total to 40,745 cases. No new deaths were recorded leaving the total at 2,789. There are 32 people in hospital with nine in intensive care on a ventilator. There are now 920 actives cases in the province. There have been 36,953 recoveries, up 80 cases. Ontario reported it completed 25,567 tests in the past 24 hours. There have now been 2,608,219 completed tests.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 19 new cases of COVID-19. The city now has seen 2,720 cases since March. The death toll remains at 264. Twelve people are in hospital with one in intensive care. There are 122 active cases and there have been 2,334 recoveries. There are three outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• Results from the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) show 26.9 per cent of elementary school students and 21.5 per cent of high school students have chosen the remote learning option for the fall. CBC has more.
• Quebec saw 55 new cases of COVID-19, raising the provincial total to 61,206. One death was recorded raising the total to 5,721. The number of people in hospital is 145 with 25 in intensive care. The province completed 10,850 on Aug. 15 for a total of 1,471,628.
• The Outaouais has seen 733 cases, up one. The death toll remains at 33.
• Quebec’s Education Minister, Jean-Francois Roberge, has announced a $20-million investment in the school network, which will be used to bring students back up to speed with their studies following the months they spent at home. The funds will allow schools to hire additional technicians, tutors and professors to work closely with students, but could also be used to extend the hours of those who already fulfill those roles part-time. Roberge said the resources will be selected by individual schools based on their needs; by those who “know the children by name.” An estimated 350 professionals could be hired.
• The province is also remove a process that dictates how and when schools are allocated funds to support students with learning disabilities, which usually takes weeks. This change is estimated to free up over 560,000 hours among the professionals. The government will undertake a communication campaign designed to make parents aware of these measures and to encourage the return to school of all students.
• COVID consequence: The CFL has cancelled its 2020 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It marks the first year the Grey Cup won’t be presented since 1919. “Our league governors decided today it is in the best long-term interests of the CFL to concentrate on the future,” commissioner Randy Ambrosie said in a statement.  “We are absolutely committed to 2021, to the future of our league and the pursuit of our vision of a bigger, stronger, more global CFL.”
• A doctor who is suspected of triggering a COVID-19 outbreak in northern New Brunswick is facing a charge of violating the province’s Emergency Measures Act.
• Dr. Jean Robert Ngola has been issued a notice to attend Campbellton provincial court on Oct. 26 for failing to comply with a direction or requirement of the act.
• New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has called an election in for Sept. 14, the first time Canadians will go to the polls since COVID-19 hit.
• “We are in a pandemic and the coming election campaign will not be like any election we have ever experienced,” Higgs told reporters Monday. He said candidates will need to be creative and innovative to get out the vote while following health directives to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.
• Globally, there have now been 21,808,197+ confirmed cases with 772,452+ deaths and 13,799,728+ recoveries.
• The Democratic convention that will confirm Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the party’s picks for president and vice-president begins today — virtually — from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The convention comes with the COVID-19 crisis still raging across the United States.
• The U.S. has seen a world-leading 5,488,763+ cases of novel coronavirus infection along with 172,146+ deaths and 2,763,139 recoveries.
• Japan’s economy shrank by 7.8 per cent in the second quarter of the year, posting its worst performance on record as the coronavirus pandemic ground economic activity to a near halt in April and May. The nosedive in output in the three-month period — an annualized drop of 27.8 percent — was the third straight quarter of contraction for Japan, the world’s third-largest economy after the United States and China. It came on top of a 0.6 per cent decline in the first quarter of 2020, or an annualized decrease of 2.2 per cent, the country’s government said on Monday.

Aug. 16

• Ontario reported 81 new cases of COVID-19, raising the total to 40,646 cases. No new deaths were recorded leaving the total at 2,789. There are 37 people in hospital with 10 in intensive care on a ventilator. There are now 904 actives cases in the province. There have been 36,873 cases resolved. Ontario reported it completed 23,813 tests in the past 24 hours. There have now been 2,582,652 completed tests.
• Ottawa Public Health reported three new cases of COVID-19. The city now has seen 2,701 cases since March. The death toll remains at 264. Twelve people are in hospital with one in intensive care. There are 112 active cases and there have been 2,325 recoveries. There are now three outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• Canada now has 122,087+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,026+ deaths from the infection and 108,484+ recoveries.
• Staff with the Ottawa Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) are revisiting the schedule for secondary schools after Ontario’s Ministry of Education said the expectation would be that students would be in class 50 per cent of the time. The original expectation would have seen students in class about 25 per cent of the time. CTV has more.
• Quebec saw 67 new cases of COVID-19, raising the provincial total to 61,151. One death was recorded raising the total to 5,720. The number of people in hospital remains at 149 with 25 in intensive care. The province completed 14,947 on Aug. 14 for a total of 1,460,778.
• The Outaouais has seen 732 cases, up two. The death toll remains at 33.
• B.C. born comic Seth Rogen added his voice to the COVID-19 messaging to young people in the province by tweeting: “People of British Columbia, do not go out to parties and BBQs and other large gatherings! The COVID is still out there. It’s more fun to hang out alone and smoke weed and watch movies and TV shows anyway! Do that instead!”
• Globally, there have now been 21,480,111+ confirmed cases with 771,518+ deaths and 13,462,165+ recoveries.
• New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has postponed the coutnry’s general election by four weeks to Oct. 17 but ruled out delaying it any further, as the country tackles a new outbreak of the coronavirus in the country’s largest city Auckland. Restrictions were imposed on Auckland this past Wednesday after a number of new infections were identified in the city. A total of 49 cases linked to one cluster had been found by Sunday.

Aug. 15

• Ontario reported 106 new cases of COVID-19, raising the total to 40,565 cases. One new death was recorded raising the total to 2,789. There are 39 people in hospital with 10 in intensive care on a ventilator. There are now 903 actives cases in the province. There have been 36,873 cases resolved, up 101. Ontario reported it completed 30,436 tests in the past 24 hours. There have now been 2,558,839 completed tests.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 11 new cases of COVID-19 Saturday. The city now has seen 2,698 cases since March. The death toll remains at 264. Eleven people are in hospital with two in intensive care. There are 118 active cases and there have been 2,316 recoveries. There are now three outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• The stretch of Bank Street between Queen and Catherine streets will remain closed for another four Saturdays, until the Labour Day long weekend. 
• Another OC Transpo bus driver has tested positive for COVID-19. The bus driver was on routes 12, 35, 85, 273 on Aug. 10 and on routes 53 and 58 on Aug. 11, the last day worked. So far, 13 OC Transpo employees have tested positive for the virus since the start of the pandemic.
• An Ottawa Bylaw Services officer has been fired after punching a Black man while issuing a ticket in a City of Ottawa park this spring during the COVID-19 pandemic. After conducting an investigation into the incident, Emergency and Protective Services general manager Anthony Di Monte says staff concluded, “that the Bylaw officer engaged in an excessive use of force in the altercation.”
• Quebec now has a total of 61,084 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection with an increase of 80 confirmed cases reported. The provincial death toll is 5,719, up one. There were 149 people in hospital and 25 in intensive care. The province completed 17,545 tests on Aug. 13, for a total of 1,445,831.
• The Outaouais’s count is now at 730 confirmed cases, up three, while the death toll in the region remains at 33.
• In Calgary, public school students from Kindergarten to Grade 12 will have to wear masks at all times in school.
• Canada ordered 40,328 ventilators in the spring, for an estimated $1.1 billion, and as of Friday, it had just 606 in hand, the Canadian Press reports. Paul-Emile Cloutier, the president of national health-care advocate HealthCareCAN, said there is concern about the status of the government’s orders for personal protective equipment and ventilators ahead of the possibility COVID-19 will surge again in Canada this fall.
• Federal Procurement Minister Anita Anand said Friday the government is pushing to get the entirety of the orders in place. A statement from her department said “Canada currently has sufficient ventilators to meet current demands” and that the ones on order are to bolster existing Public Health Agency of Canada stockpiles, as well as the units already in hospitals and provincial warehouses across the country.
• Health Canada won’t say how many ventilators the country now has in total. It will also not disclose any modelling for how many could be needed in a worst-case scenario situation. In March there were about 5,000 ventilators nationally, and another 500 in the national emergency stockpile.
• Canada now has 121,889+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,024+ deaths from the infection and 108,217+ recoveries.
• Globally, there have now been 21,280,608+ confirmed cases with 767,422+ deaths and 13,290,879+ recoveries.
• Health experts say children make up more than seven per cent of all coronavirus cases in the US — while comprising about 22 per cent of the population — and the number and rate of child cases have been “steadily increasing” from March to July.
• The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now are saying that “recent evidence suggests that children likely have the same or higher viral loads in their nasopharynx compared with adults and that children can spread the virus effectively in households and camp settings.”
• The United States now has seen 5,324,920+ confirmed cases of COVID-19 and has seen 168,703+ deaths.
• COVID consequences: According to a new study published in the JAMA Cardiology Journal, 78 per cent of recovered COVID-19 patients have permanent heart damage.

Aug. 14

• New federal modelling shows a decline in the prevalence of COVID-19 transmission. But health officials say recent localized spikes in provinces outside the Atlantic bubble underline the need to remain vigilant about mask wearing and physical distancing. New modelling projects COVID-19 cases could reach 127,740 by Aug. 23 along with 9,115 deaths.
• Dr. Theresa Tam says the Public Health Agency of Canada is hoping that the fall will see what she calls a slow burn rather than a sharp surge in cases. PHAC is planning for both possibilities.
• Canada is better prepared than it was when the pandemic began this spring, she said, but officials are now planning for the likelihood of concurrent outbreaks of seasonal influenza, other respiratory illnesses and COVID-19 this fall and winter.
• “We are over-planning beyond what we had for the previous wave and I think that’s the prudent thing to do,” Tam said.
• Ontario reported 92 new cases of COVID-19, raising the total to 40,459 cases. One new death was recorded raising the total to 2,788. There are 41 people in hospital with nine in intensive care on a ventilator. There are now 899 actives cases in the province. There have been 36,772 cases resolved, up 182. Ontario reported it completed 30,137 tests in the past 24 hours. There have now been 2,528,403 completed tests.
• In a statement, the Ontario Principals’ Council recommends that the start of the school year be delayed until Sept. 14 to allow staff the time to train on matters such as PPE, outbreak management and tracing protocols. The principals also recommended that the start of the school year be staggered to Sept 18. Premier Doug Ford and Education Minister Stephen Lecce say they are open to staggered starts to the school year leaving such a decision up to boards.
• The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) says it’s revisiting its online learning plan following a new directive and additional money announced by the province.
• Lecce has announced $18 million to hire principals and support staff to administer online education provincewide this fall.
• Under this online learning plan students are to receive no less than 225 hours of online instruction each week.
• Ottawa Public Health reported eight new cases of COVID-19 Friday. The city now has seen 2,687 cases since March. The death toll remains at 264. Eleven people are in hospital with two in intensive care. There are 127 active cases and there have been 2,296 recoveries. There are now five outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• The City of Ottawa will begin before and after school programs on Sept. 3, with online registration opening Aug. 24 at 9 p.m. 
• Quebec now has a total of 61,004 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection with an increase of 87 confirmed cases reported. The provincial death toll is 5,718, up three. There were 151 people in hospital and 25 in intensive care. The province completed 18,596 tests on Aug. 12, for a total of 1,428,286.
• The Outaouais’s count remains at 727 confirmed cases, while the death toll in the region remains at 33.
• Quebec health authorities say 19 people died from COVID-19 in a Montreal-area seniors residence last spring, but 10 of the deaths were only reported Wednesday because of a delay in transmitting data. Place Kensington, which bills itself as a luxury residence in Westmount, saw a total of 19 residents die from the novel coronavirus. The Health Department says the home no longer has active cases, and that authorities are working to ensure a similar situation does not recur.
• Quebec Education Minister Jean-Francois Roberge announced the province will invest $18.9 million to create a reserve of computer equipment for students as they return to school. The money will allow the purchase of about 30,000 laptops and tablets for use by students most in need. Roberge says the devices will be reserved for children who don’t have computers or exclusive access to them, as well as for Grade 10 and 11 students who will be on alternating schedules of in-person and remote learning. He says the laptops and computers will also go to children who are considered at-risk or who have learning disabilities.
• A COVID-19 testing site in Quebec City was extra busy Friday morning after eight employees at a local Costco tested positive for the virus.
• The federal government is opening a path to permanent residency for asylum seekers who worked in the health care system during the pandemic. Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino made the announcement in Montreal. To qualify individuals must have worked 120 hours since March.
• No surprise here: The Canada-U.S. border closure to non-essential travel is being extended to Sept. 21.
• Manitoba reported 40 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the total number of active cases in the province to 246. The last time Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba’s chief public health officer, announced 40 cases was on April 2. Friday’s spike follows days of double-digit daily case counts, including 25 announced Thursday. More than half of the latest group of cases — 25 — are in the region around the city of Brandon. The city now has 90 active cases. The province has seen 643 cases and eight deaths.
• Another 84 confirmed cases of COVID-19 were identified in British Columbia over the past 24 hours. The total number of positive tests since the start of the pandemic is 4,358. There are now 629 active cases in the province.
• Twelve people across B.C. are now hospitalized with COVID-19. No new COVID-related deaths occurred in the province, and the total deaths remain at 196.
• The surge in cases in B.C. prompted a call for help from the actor Ryan Reynolds from B.C. Premier John Horgan.
• Reynolds posted a video to Twitter, framed as a phone call to Horgan, saying young people shouldn’t look to him for medical advice, unless it was related to plastic surgery. He then joked that a lot of people didn’t know that he was once actor Hugh Jackman.
• He warned younger B.C. residents of the dangers posed by COVID-19, highlighting the impact the virus can have.
• “Young folks in B.C., they’re partying which is of course dangerous. They probably don’t know that thousands of young people aren’t just getting sick of coronavirus, they’re dying of it too,” he said in the recording. He said it’s also dangerous for the most vulnerable in B.C., home to some of the coolest older people on Earth, including David Suzuki and his own mother.
• Canada now has 121,652+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,020+ deaths from the infection and 107,942+ recoveries.
• British Columbia’s COVID-19 curve is now climbing at a higher rate than the initial outbreak in March, and new provincial modelling shows B.C. could see a second wave bigger than the first by September.
• The province’s contact tracing efforts, however, could temper that growth, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said Thursday, after announcing 78 new COVID-19 transmissions. 
• Henry says the number of contacts people are having are about 70 per cent of normal, despite the province recommending people keep their contacts to 60 per cent or lower to avoid a resurgence of cases. At the current 70 per cent contact rate, daily cases could climb to 100 by September, according to the modelling.
• “We are on an upward trajectory. That is concerning,” Henry said. 
• COVID consequences: There were 6,000 fewer inmates in Canadian institutions between February and April, Statistics Canada reports, with most of the decline from provincial and territorial jails. The provincial inmate population decreased by 25 per cent, while the federal inmate population declined by just one per cent during the same time period. 
• Statistics Canada also reported that manufacturing sales rose by a record 20.7 per cent to $48.7 billion in June, following an 11.6 per cent increase in May. Many factories operated at a much higher capacity in June, with the capacity utilization rate (not seasonally adjusted) for the total manufacturing sector increasing 10.9 percentage points to 73.3 per cent. Still, the capacity utilization rate remained 8.0 percentage points below the June 2019 level (81.3 per cent).
• Sales were up in all 21 industries, led by the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts industries. Excluding these two industries, manufacturing sales increased 10.3 per cent. Nevertheless, total manufacturing sales in June were 13.2 per cent below pre-pandemic levels in February.
• WE Charity has registered to lobby the federal government and retroactively disclosed dozens of previous interactions between its employees and federal officials over the past several months, Dalal Al-Waheidi, WE Charity’s executive director, told MPs on the House of Commons finance committee.
• Meanwhile on Yonge Street: Toronto’s health authority said nearly 550 patrons of The Brass Rail may have been exposed to COVID-19 after an employee of the Yonge Street adult entertainment venue tested positive for the potentially deadly respiratory disease.
• Globally, there have now been 21,036,943+ confirmed cases with 761,926+ deaths and 13,048,974+ recoveries.
• The United Kingdom added six countries to its 14-day COVID-19 quarantine list. The decision comes into effect Saturday, giving travellers arriving in the U.K. from countries including France and the Netherlands a day to return home to avoid restrictions.
• France reported more than 2,500 new COVID-19 infections for the second day in a row on Thursday, levels last seen in mid-April when the country was in the middle of one of Europe’s strictest lockdowns.
• Paris and Marseilles have been declared COVID-19 hot zones by the French government.
• Spanish authorities have ordered the closure of nightclubs, banned drinking in outdoor public areas and smoking when keeping a safe distance from people is impossible, among other measures imposed on Friday to try to stem a coronavirus resurgence. Bars and restaurants will also have to close by 1 a.m. as part of the new restrictions, Health Minister Salvador Illa told a news conference.
• Infections have spiked in recent days following the end of Spain’s tough lockdown seven weeks ago. Thursday’s almost 3,000 new cases brought the cumulative total to 337,334 — the highest number in Western Europe.

Aug. 13

• Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce has “unlocked” $500 million in funding to enhance physical distancing and improve air quality in schools as teachers’ unions claim the province’s current plan violates provincial health and safety law.
• The minister also announced an additional $50 million for upgrades to ventilation systems and $18 million for online learning.
• The funding comes after the ministry allowed school boards to dip into reserve funds. Boards that do not have reserves will be provided with funding from an $11 million allocation.
• This is in addition to $309 million provided by the province, which includes $60 million for personal protective equipment in schools and $100 million for custodians and enhanced cleaning products for schools, announced in July.
• As well, Ontario students in Grades 1 to 12 enrolled in online learning full-time this fall will be required to be in a “Zoom-style” class with a teacher for 225 minutes each school day.
• Lecce has issued a Policy/Program Memorandum with new minimum requirements for Remote Learning in September.
• Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam says the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic is “under manageable control.” At this point of the pandemic, 89 per cent of infected people have now recovered, she added.
• Labs across Canada have tested 4,581,083 people for COVID-19 to date. Over the past week, an average of 43,000 people were tested daily, with one per cent testing positive and an average of 376 new cases reported daily from across the country.
• “Nationally, significantly fewer new cases are being reported daily compared to the more intense weeks of COVID-19 activity in Canada, from late March to June,” Tam said.
• Case counts peaked in late April and early May at close to 1,800 cases reported daily and then declined steadily reaching a low of 270 cases per day in early July.
• COVID-19 transmission has increased recently as provincial governments across Canada began lifting some of the pandemic restrictions, Tam said. Over the last several weeks, national daily case counts are averaging between 350 to 500 cases, she added
• “Fortunately, the number of new deaths reported daily has remained low following a steep decline from the peak in early May when close to 200 deaths were reported daily,” Tam said. “Fewer than 10 deaths have been reported per day on average over the last four weeks.”
• The number of hospitalizations and people requiring critical care also remain low across most jurisdictions with fewer than 400 individuals in hospitals and fewer than 100 patients in critical care across the country on any given day over the last several weeks, Tam said.
• Ontario reported 78 new cases of COVID-19 Thursday, raising the total to 40,367 cases. No new deaths were recorded leaving the total at 2,787. There are 43 people in hospital with 10 in intensive care on a ventilator. There are now 891 actives cases in the province. There have been 36,590 cases resolved. Ontario reported it completed 29,626 tests in the past 24 hours. There have now been 2,498,266 completed tests.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 10 new cases of COVID-19 Thursday. The city now has seen 2,679 cases since March. The death toll remains at 264. Twelve people are in hospital with one in intensive care. There are 140 active cases and there have been 2,275 recoveries. There are now five outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• Dr. Vera Etches says new cases of novel coronavirus, hospitalizations and outbreaks have stabilized in Ottawa. She said the drop in cases so far in August is a sign that residents have changed their behaviour to help limit the spread of COVID-19.
• Ottawa Public Health plans to go school-to-school to check on preparations for back to school during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• And Ottawa’s medical officer of health says her two children will be in class on the first day of school Sept. 3. CTV has more.
• Quebec now has a total of 60,917 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection with an increase of 104 confirmed cases reported Thursday. The provincial death toll is 5,715, up six. There were 149 people in hospital and 23 in intensive care. The province completed 15,259 tests on Aug. 11, for a total of 1,409,690.
• The Outaouais has 727 confirmed cases, up five, while the death toll in the region remains at 33.
• The federal emergency wage subsidy is costing $59 billion, less that the original sum set aside of $75 billion, says a review by the Parliamentary Budget Officer.
• A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute shows that people in the four Atlantic provinces are the most satisfied with the region’s co-ordinated approach to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Those in British Columbia and Manitoba are the most likely to say their province must be subject to tighter restrictions in order to keep COVID-19 spread down, while those in Alberta and Quebec are more likely to advocate for more relaxed restrictions.
• British Columbia could soon be cracking down on people still partying in large numbers despite the threat of COVID-19. Premier John Horgan is putting them on notice, threatening enforcement if British Columbians don’t shape up.
• British Columbia reported 85 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday, the highest daily increase since March 25 and the third highest since the start of the pandemic. The majority of the new cases are young people who were exposed at events in the community. There are now 531 active cases of COVID-19 in B.C., while 3,469 people have fully recovered and another 196 people have died, which includes one new death. There have been 4,196 cases reported in the province since the pandemic began.
• Canada now has 121,234+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,015+ deaths from the infection and 107,553+ recoveries.
• The International Energy Agency has cut its 2020 oil demand forecast on Thursday and said reduced air travel because of the COVID-19 pandemic would lower global oil consumption this year by 8.1 million barrels per day.
• Globally, there have now been 20,624,316+ confirmed cases with 749,421+ deaths and 12,831,800+ recoveries.

Aug. 12

• Ontario’s Finance Minister revealed that the provincial deficit will now reach $38.5 billion because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rod Phillips said that the province had spent $30 billion on emergency measures to combat the virus. He said the province expects to see a rebound in provincial GDP of about five per cent in 2021. The net decline in revenue comes in at $5.7 billion, thanks to $6.2 billion in transfers from the federal government.
• At the same time the province’s program spending saw a dramatic $13.1 billion increase. Provincial tax revenues dropped by $10.7 billion, largely owing to declines in personal income and corporate tax revenue, as well as lower income from the gasoline and fuel tax.
• Ontario reported 95 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday, raising the total to 40,289 cases. One new death was recorded raising the total to 2,787. There are 49 people in hospital with 10 in intensive care on a ventilator. There are now 912 actives cases in the province, down 40. There have been 36,590 cases resolved, up 144. Ontario reported it completed 24,572 tests in the past 24 hours. There have now been 2,468,640 completed tests.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 13 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday. The city now has seen 2,669 cases since March. The death toll remains at 264. Thirteen people are in hospital with two in intensive care. There are 150 active cases and there have been 2,255 recoveries. There are now nine outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• OPH says a drive-in testing facility will open soon to help meet demand. And another site is in the works. CBC has more.
• The City of Ottawa is receiving a $124.3 million financial lifeline from the Ontario and federal governments to address budget pressures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the first round of emergency funding of the Safe Restart Agreement with the Ontario and federal governments, Ottawa will receive $49,348,500 for municipal funding and $74,980,842 million for transit.
• The law firm Thomson Rogers has issued a class-action proceeding claiming $25 million on behalf of residents of Carlingview Manor and their families. There have been two COVID-19 outbreaks at Carlingview Manor. During an outbreak between April 7 and June 18, 170 residents and 89 staff members tested positive for COVID-19. Sixty residents died from COVID-19. A resident tested positive for COVID-19 during a second COVID-19 outbreak at the long-term care home between July 16 and 23.
• Quebec now has a total of 60,813 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection with an increase of 95 confirmed cases reported Tuesday. The provincial death toll is 5,709, up 12. There were 130 people in hospital and 21 in intensive care. The province completed 13,241 tests on Aug. 10, for a total of 1,394,431.
• The Outaouais has 722 confirmed cases, up three, while the death toll in the region remains at 33.
• Canada now has 120,844+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 9,006+ deaths from the infection and 107,148+ recoveries.
• In reaction to Russia’s claim of a vaccine for COVID-19, Canada’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Theresa Tam, said: “Getting this done in record time is no easy feat, as we must ensure any vaccine demonstrates the highest standard of safety and effectiveness.
• “There are many steps and partners across research, government and industry required to produce and deliver a safe and effective vaccine. All steps and partners are crucial. Nothing gets cut.”
• Tam said for Canada, fast-tracking a vaccine means trying to do some things at the same time. That could mean while a vaccine candidate is still in its third and final clinical trial phase, governments are developing plans to produce, distribute and administer that vaccine if it gets approved.
• The Indigenous Services Minister announced $305 million in new funding to help First Nations, Inuit and Metis, including those off-reserve and living in urban spaces, to deal with the pandemic. So far there have been 425 cases of COVID-19 on reserves with 393 recoveries. The minister announced that there have been 1,051 shipments of personal protective equipment to communities.
• P.E.I. reported five new cases of COVID-19, Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Heather Morrison said Wednesday. The five cases bring P.E.I.’s total to 41. The 36 previous cases have all recovered. The five new cases are essential workers — not in the health care field — who travelled to P.E.I. on July 30 from outside Canada. They did not travel from the United States.
• All are men in their 30s and 40s. They have been in self-isolation since their arrival and are doing well, she said. They will remain in isolation until they have been cleared by the Public Health Office following negative tests at some point in the future. 
• The B.C. government is hiring up to 500 new contact tracers for COVID-19 to help deal with a potential surge in cases.
• The province has also delayed to opening of school from Sept. 8 to Sept. 10.
• Globally, there have now been 20,423,897+ confirmed cases with 744,649+ deaths and 12,631,548+ recoveries.
• The economy of the United Kingdom shrank by a record a 20.4 per cent in the second quarter — the largest contraction reported by any major economy so far during the pandemic. 

Aug. 11

• Ontario reported only 33 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, raising the total to 40,194 cases. That’s the lowest daily case count since March. There were no new deaths recorded leaving the total at 2,786. There are 60 people in hospital with 12 in intensive care on a ventilator. There are 952 actives cases in the province. There have been 36,456 cases resolved, up 177. Ontario reported it completed 21,581 tests in the past 24 hours. There have now been 2,444,068 completed tests.
• Ottawa Public Health reported six new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday. The city now has seen 2,656 cases since March. The death toll remains at 264. Fifteen people are in hospital with two in intensive care. There are 146 active cases and there have been 2,246 recoveries. There are now 10 outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• OPH is running through several different scenarios, including how to properly screen school staff for COVID-19, how to handle a potential outbreak at a school, and what parents need to know if their child is feeling unwell. “What if it’s just a headache in a child, or what if it’s a stomach ache? What does that mean?” said Dr. Vera Etches, Ottawa’s medical officer of health, during a conference call with reporters Monday afternoon.
• OPH is expecting to see isolated cases of COVID-19 crop up in schools, but public health officials believe those will originate outside the school community — from a parent, for example — rather than within the classrooms or corridors. Etches said a school will only be considered to have an outbreak if there are two cases, one of which was contracted at school.
• Quebec now has a total of 60,718 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection with an increase of 91 confirmed cases reported Tuesday. The provincial death toll is 5,697, up one. There were 151 people in hospital and 21 in intensive care. The province completed 9,104 tests on Aug. 9, for a total of 1,381,190.
• The Outaouais has 719 confirmed cases, up 12, while the death toll in the region remains at 33.
• Canada now has 121,095+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,991+ deaths from the infection and 106,727+ recoveries.
• Eight flights arriving in Toronto from international destinations since the start of August have had people on board with COVID-19. The federal government says the flights landed in Toronto between Aug. 1 and Aug. 4. They all had passengers who tested positive for COVID-19 after arrival.
• The 2020 Home Hardware Canada Cup, slated to run Nov. 24-29 in Fredericton, New Brunswick, has been postponed indefinitely because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Curling Canada announced Tuesday.
• Globally, there have now been 20,124,437+ confirmed cases with 737,285+ deaths and 12,380,410+ recoveries.
• The number of new COVID-19 cases among children in the United States rose 40 per cent in the last two weeks of July, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association which found that more than 338,000 children have tested positive for COVID-19 since the onset of the U.S. epidemic. The American Academy of Pediatrics noted the data showed that severe illness due to COVID-19 appears to be rare among children. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also has said that children who get the virus are less likely to have severe symptoms.
• Even New Zealand is not immune from COVID-19 as the country announced on Tuesday it was shutting down its largest city, Auckland, after four new cases of COVID-19 were discovered in the city, the first evidence of domestic transmission after being coronavirus-free for 102 days.
• Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Auckland would move to level 3 restriction from noon on Wednesday as a “precautionary approach,” which would mean people should stay away from work and school, and gatherings or more than 10 people are again restricted.
• A Russian health care regulator has become the first in the world to approve a vaccine for the coronavirus, President Vladimir Putin announced on Tuesday, though the vaccine has yet to complete clinical trials.
• Putin said one of his daughters had been injected with the vaccine and, after experiencing mild discomfort, is now feeling fine.

Aug. 10

• Ontario reported 115 new cases of COVID-19 Monday, the first time with more than 100 daily cases in more than a week. That raises the total to 40,161 cases. There were no new deaths recorded leaving the total at 2,786. There are 49 people in hospital with 12 in intensive care on a ventilator. There are 994 actives cases in the province. There have been 36,279 cases resolved. Ontario reported it completed 22,275 tests in the past 24 hours. There have now been 2,422,487 completed tests.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 21 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday. That is the most of any health region in the province. The city now has seen 2,650 cases since March. The death toll remains at 264. Eleven people are in hospital with one in intensive care. There are 146 active cases and there have been 2,240 recoveries. There are now 10 outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• The Ottawa Catholic School Board’s return to school plan includes full-time classes for elementary school students five days per week and a divided ‘quadmester’ system for high school students. Parents can choose to opt their children out of in-school classes and learn online from home, but must fill out a survey saying so by Aug. 14. Parents whose students are returning to school in person do not need to fill out the survey.
• Elementary students will remain in one classroom. All teachers will wear medical-grade masks. Whenever possible, learning will take place outside. Parents must screen their children for symptoms each day. Any child who is ill must stay home.
• Students will have a designated seat on the school bus and will, whenever possible, sit with a sibling or a classmate from the same cohort. Parents are encouraged to drive or walk their kids to school whenever possible.
• Lockers and cubbies will not be used at either level. Students will be required to keep items with them in class. Large in-person gatherings, field trips, assemblies, intramurals, and extracurricular sports are postponed.
• Secondary students in class will have one class each morning from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and then go home for lunch. Their school day will continue online from 12:30 to 3 p.m. each day. Secondary classes will be divided into two cohorts. Each cohort will attend in person five days out of every two-week period. Cohort A will attend Mondays, Tuesdays and alternating Wedesdays, while Cohort B will attend the other Wednesday and every Thursday and Friday.
• Cohorts will be divided alphabetically. Students will have two classes per “quadmester” instead of the usual four classes per semester.
• Where a class or student is required to change rooms, the maximum cohort mixing during the instructional day has been set at 50 for elementary students and 100 for secondary students.
• The public board too unveiled more details on its plan for students to return to school in September.
• The City of Ottawa is embarking on a housing blitz with the aim of finding at least 100 available units for tenants who are homeless by Sept. 30. The city, in partnership with the Alliance to End Homelessness Ottawa and the Eastern Ontario Landlord Organization, is asking property owners with available units to sign up online. The initiative will then try to match the landlords with prospective tenants. The pandemic has exacerbated the housing emergency in the city.
• The Windsor-Essex region will be able to enter Stage 3 of reopening on Wednesday.
• Quebec has a provincial total of 60,627 confirmed cases. That is an increase of 156 confirmed cases. But the silver lining is that 98 were recorded over the past 24 hours and 58 have been added due to a data adjustment. That’s the first time daily tests have been below 100 in a month. The provincial death toll is 5,696, up one. There were 157 people in hospital and 21 in intensive care on Sunday. The province completed 13,600 tests on Aug. 8, for a total of 1,358,486.
• The Outaouais has 707 confirmed cases, while the death toll in the region remains at 33.
• Some residents in the Outaouais are having to wait as long as a week before getting their COVID-19 test results, according to the MNA for the Pontiac, André Fortin told CBC on Monday.
• Quebec students in Grade 5 and up will be required to wear masks in common areas, said Education Minister Jean-Francois Roberge.
• The masks will need to be worn in hallways, amphitheatres and common areas, but not in the classroom.
• Students in elementary and high school will also stay in “bubbles” in their classrooms, and teachers will change rooms, as opposed to moving students throughout the school.
• Roberge said classes will begin in person in three weeks as planned. Exceptions for in-person classes will be made for students with serious health concerns.
• Families will receive a guide to help them follow the back-to-school guidelines. It will be sent to families in English and French, and anyone with questions can visit a website or contact officials for more guidance at 1-877-844-4545.
• Roberge said he guarantees that if a classroom or school is required to close because of a COVID-19 outbreak, students will still receive 15 hours of education per week, including dedicated time with a teacher.
• Thousands of demonstrators marched through downtown Montreal Saturday to protest against the Quebec government’s mandatory mask regulations.
• The Conservative party wants to know who was responsible for outsourcing the federal government’s $84 million rent subsidy program during the pandemic, which was awarded to a company where Rob Silver, the spouse of the prime minister’s chief of staff, Katie Telford, holds a senior vice-president position.
• Manitoba has 16 new cases of COVID-19, as an outbreak connected to a Maple Leaf packing plant grows to 22. The province has 196 active cases. There have been 558 cases in Manitoba since early March. The death toll stands at eight.
• Canadians spent 3.1 per cent more in July than in the same month last year as more sectors of the economy reopened and the government continued to provide benefits, RBC’s consumer spending tracking report showed. It was the first month since February that the report, which uses a proprietary database of debit and credit card transactions, showed a year-over-year increase.
• New numbers released on Monday by Project Pandemic report that at least 148 different stores, restaurants, bars, schools, daycares, and other public spaces have issued warnings about potential exposure to the virus. Since July 4, the data found that 505 individual coronavirus infections were reported in connection with those public venues in 61 cities across seven provinces.
• Ottawa Centre MP and Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna is the target once again of a profane verbal assault that the Ottawa police hate crimes unit is investigating. A 90-second video, posted to social media over the weekend, shows a man approaching the door of the Ottawa Centre MP’s Catherine Street office around 10:30 a.m. ET this past Thursday and ringing the bell. When a female employee opens the door the man asks to speak to McKenna, but she tells him the office isn’t open to the public because of the pandemic. The man then launches into a profane tirade, at one point calling McKenna a “c–t” before the woman shuts the door.
• Canada now has 120,132+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,987+ deaths from the infection and 106,355+ recoveries. There are 6,719 active cases across the country.
• Globally, there have now been 20,004,254+ confirmed cases with 733,929+ deaths and 12,200,847+ recoveries.
• Almost 100,000 American children tested positive for the coronavirus in the last two weeks of July — an alarming 40 per cent rise, according to new data.
• The case count continues to grow in the United States reaching 5,088,516+ with 163,400+ deaths.

Aug. 9

• Ontario reported 79 new cases of COVID-19 Sunday. That raises the total to 40,046 cases. Two new deaths were recorded raising the total to 2,786. There are 53 people in hospital with 12 in intensive care on a ventilator. There are 981 actives cases in the province. There have been 36,279 cases resolved, an increase of 168. Ontario reported it completed 27,771 tests in the past 24 hours. There have now been 2,400,212 completed tests.
• Ottawa Public Health reported six new cases of COVID-19. The city now has seen 2,629 cases since March. The death toll remains at 264. Eleven people are in hospital with two in intensive care. There are 139 active cases and there have been 2,226 recoveries. There are 12 outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• Quebec added 104 new cases of COVID-19 raising the provincial total to 60,471. The provincial death toll increased by three to 5,695. There are 156 people in hospital and 22 are in intensive care. The province completed 16,093 tests on Aug. 5, for a total of 1,358,486.
• The Outaouais has now seen 707 confirmed cases, an increase of four, while the death toll in the region remains at 33.
• A summer day camp at Ecole du Vieux-Verger in Aylmer, Quebec, has been shut down after a camper tested positive for COVID-19 and an adult at the camp was determined to present a high risk.
• Three Vancouver police officers have tested positive for COVID-19 after contracting the virus while breaking up a party. This news emerged as B.C. reported 53 new cases of infection on Friday. The province now has seen 3,934 cases of infection. The provincial death toll is at 195.
• Canada now has 119,451+ confirmed cases of COVID-19, more than 6,531 are active. There have been 8,981+ deaths from the infection and 103,716+ recoveries.
• COVID consequences: In an effort to keep its COVID-19 case count at zero, the Nunavut government has paid nearly $5 million for more than 1,200 of its residents to quarantine at an Ottawa hotel before returning home. CBC has more.
• On Saturday, in several Canadian cities including Ottawa, protesters urged the federal government to do more to help reunite families kept apart by slow immigration procedures and COVID-19 travel bans. 
• Globally, there have now been 19,711,213+ confirmed cases with 728,176+ deaths and 11,969,890+ recoveries.
• The United States passed a grim milestone today reaching 5,111,367 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The death toll from the novel coronavirus in the U.S. is now 164,537 with 2,492,026 recoveries.
• On the other end of the spectrum, New Zealand has marked 100 days without a domestic transmission of the coronavirus, but officials are warning against complacency as countries like Vietnam and Australia which once had the virus under control now battle a resurgence in infections.

Aug. 8

• Ontario reported 70 new cases of COVID-19 Saturday. That raises the total to 39,967 cases. One new death was recorded raising the total to 2,784. There are 55 people in hospital with 12 in intensive care on a ventilator. There are 1,052 actives cases in the province. There have been 36,131 cases resolved, an increase of 107. Ontario reported it completed 26,008 tests in the past 24 hours. There have now been 2,372,441 completed tests.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 13 new cases of COVID-19. The city now has seen 2,623 cases since March. The death toll remains at 264. Twelve people are in hospital with two in intensive care. There are 155 active cases and there have been 2,204 recoveries. There are 12 outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• CBC reports that Ottawa Public Health (OPH) has been front-and-centre during the pandemic, but the agency is concerned COVID-19 could be hampering day-to-day work like vaccinating schoolchildren and running sexual health clinics.
• The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board says parents can decide whether they want their child to return to class in person or to opt for remote learning. To help them decide, the OCDSB will provide a full back-to-school plan, complete with safety protocols, on Monday. 
• The board also revealed that elementary school students who return to the classroom in person will be in class five days per week, the board said, with enhanced health and safety protocols in place.
• Students in Grades 9-12 will not return to full time classes in September. The board is dividing the year into four “quadmesters”, (i.e., each semester is divided into two sections) and students will take two classes at a time. Secondary school students who return to class in person will be divided into two cohorts, who will attend class for five days every two weeks.
• “Cohort A will attend school two days one week and 3 days the next week; Cohort B will do the opposite. All students will be in class for five days in a 10-day period,” Williams-Taylor said.
• The school day dismissal time will be earlier than usual.
• Quebec added 126 new cases of COVID-19 raising the provincial total to 60,367. The provincial death toll increased by five to 5,692. There are 155 people in hospital and 23 are in intensive care. The province completed 17,973 tests on Aug. 5, for a total of 1,342,393.
• The Outaouais has now seen 703 confirmed cases, an increase of 11, while the death toll in the region remains at 33.
• Canada now has 119,181+ confirmed cases of COVID-19, more than 6,531 are active. There have been 8,976+ deaths from the infection and 103,542+ recoveries.
• Globally, there have now been 19,425,393+ confirmed cases with 722,066+ deaths and 11,773,112+ recoveries.

Aug. 7

• Commentary: “Praising Canada’s “success” at keeping COVID-19 at bay only works in a binary comparison with the United States. For much of the pandemic, Canada has consistently ranked among the 20 worst-hit nations, having passed 100,000 cases and 8,000 deaths in June. Per capita, Canada has been less successful fighting the virus than Germany, South Africa or Turkey — to say nothing of South Korea, Norway and Australia, whose rock-bottom numbers are legitimately world-class. Likewise, for all the talk of the naturally obedient Canadians, Canada actually has one of the world’s “lower rates of face-mask usage”— ranking behind the United States.
• “Quebec has recorded more than 5,600 coronavirus-related deaths, a number higher than all but nine states in the United States. Ontario has had more than 2,700 deaths — higher than 34 American states. If you live in Canada’s two biggest provinces, in short, it’s hardly obvious that things are going swimmingly. Perhaps they have less of that “national DNA?”
• Ontario reported 88 new cases of COVID-19 Friday. That raises the total to 39,897 cases. No new death was recorded leaving the total at 2,783. There are 66 people in hospital with 12 in intensive care on a ventilator. There are 1,090 actives cases in the province. There have been 36,024 cases resolved, an increase of 118. Ontario reported it completed 25,136 tests in the past 24 hours. There have now been 2,346,433 tests completed.
• The province announced it would commit $230 million to support enhanced cleaning protocols and public health measures at child care centres across the province.
• The funding announcement comes a week after Ontario announced that child care centres in the province would open at full capacity Sept. 1. Currently, child care centres in Ontario are operating at a reduced capacity with children remaining in cohorts of 15 to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.
• Premier Doug Ford and his education minister defended Ontario’s back-to-school plan on Friday amid concerns about elementary class sizes, saying the government is “flexible” but does not intend to revisit the strategy. CBC has more.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 15 new cases of COVID-19. The city now has seen 2,610 cases since March. The death toll remains at 264. Twelve people are in hospital with one in intensive care. There are 161 active cases and there have been 2,185 recoveries. There are 10 outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• Quebec added 108 new cases of COVID-19 raising the provincial total to 60,241. The provincial death toll remains at 5,687. There are 152 people in hospital and 19 are in intensive care. The province completed 16,367 tests on Aug. 5, for a total of 1,324,420.
• The Outaouais has now seen 692 confirmed cases and the death toll in the region remains at 33.
• Statistics Canada reported Friday that the country added 419,000 jobs in July an increase of 2.4 per cent, compared with 953,000 (5.8 per cent) in June. Combined with gains of 290,000 in May, employment is within 1.3 million jobs of its pre-COVID February level. The number of Canadians, employed but working less than half their usual hours, dropped by 412,000 in July. Combined with declines recorded in May and June, this left COVID-related absences from work at 972,000 above February levels.
• Most of the employment gains in July were in part-time work, which increased by 345,000, compared with a much smaller increase of 73,000 in full-time work.
• Canada now has 118,797+ confirmed cases of COVID-19, more than 6,531 are active. There have been 8,967+ deaths from the infection and 103,282+ recoveries.
• Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland is speaking out against a 10 per cent tariff slapped on Canadian aluminum by the U.S. President. Such tariffs are unacceptable and will hurt American consumers, she said. She also said the federal government is reviewing options but will impose $3.6 billion worth of tariffs in the next 30 days in response to the American decision.
• Walmart Canada is making masks mandatory in its stores.
• Canada’s Chief Medical Officer of Health pointed a finger at the 20-29 age group for an increase in infections because of indoor parties and other gatherings and said it was very important for the age group, and all Canadians, to maintain public health measures.
• “We can’t let our guard down,” she said, adding the current cases count is manageable.
• Globally, there have now been 19,160,806+ confirmed cases with 716,083+ deaths and 11,605,114+ recoveries.
• The U.S. economy added 1.8 million jobs in July after a record gain in June, the resurgence of coronavirus cases in some states is starting to slow the labor market recovery. The unemployment rate fell to 10.2 per cent from 11.1 per cent. The U.S. unemployment rate has now fallen for three months in a row, but it remains above the 10 per cent peak of the Great Recession and is three times the 3.5 per cent rate from February.
• The U.S. has now seen 4,888,070+ confirmed cases of COVID-19 along with 160,157+ deaths from the infection.

Aug. 6

• Ontario reported 95 new cases of COVID-19 Thursday. That raises the total to 39,809 cases. One new death was recorded for a total of 2,783. There are 71 people in hospital with 13 in intensive care on a ventilator. There are 1,120 actives cases in the province. There have been 35,906 cases resolved, an increase of 159. Ontario reported it completed 26,181 tests in the past 24 hours. There have now been 2,321,197 tests completed.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 19 new cases of COVID-19. The city now has seen 2,595 cases since March. The death toll remains at 264. Twelve people are in hospital with one in intensive care. There are 197 active cases and there have been 2,134 recoveries. There are 10 outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• Ottawa’s associate medical officer of health, Dr. Brent Moloughney, says understanding and keeping to the “social bubbles” of no more than 10 people will be a key component of keeping COVID-19 transmission low. It follows a statement from Ontario Premier Doug Ford on Tuesday that Ontarians will likely need to stick to smaller social circles for the remainder of 2020.
• The City of Ottawa says a COVID-19 outbreak has been declared at the Carling Family Shelter after three people from three different households tested positive for the virus. In a memo Wednesday evening, General Manager of Community and Social Services Donna Gray said the three families affected have been moved to a family isolation centre.
• Quebec added 133 new cases of COVID-19 raising the provincial total to 60,133. The provincial death toll remains at 5,687. There are 165 people in hospital and 19 are in intensive care. The province completed 17, 042 tests on Aug. 4 for a total of 1,308,053.
• Manitoba reported 30 new cases of infection Thursday. The province says the new cases include 18 people in the Prairie Mountain Health region, 11 in southern Manitoba, and one new case in Winnipeg. The new cases bring the total number of known lab-confirmed and probable cases reported in Manitoba since March to 474 and come after just two new cases were reported Wednesday. Manitoba’s chief public health officer, Dr. Brent Roussin, said the cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region are linked to a cluster cases in the city of Brandon and added he expects to see further cases from the cluster.
• Manitoba had gone nearly half the month of July without reporting a single new case of the virus. But that streak ended July 14 when five new cases were identified. Since then 144 new cases have been reported in Manitoba, including a one-day jump of 18 on Sunday.
• The union representing employees at a pork processing plant in Manitoba is calling for Maple Leaf to cease production after three more workers tested positive for COVID-19. One worker at the plant tested positive over the weekend, and the union said the three new cases are non-production staff. Traeger said Maple Leaf has informed members that the plant will remain open and production will continue as usual. The company said it appears likely the employees contracted COVID-19 in the community. Several employees have been asked to self-quarantine.
• New Brunswick has now seen six new cases of COVID-19, all in newly arrived temporary farm workers.
• British Columbia is making face masks mandatory on public transit starting on Aug. 24. The province made the announcement before Dr. Bonnie Henry announced 47 new cases of COVID-19 in the province for a total of 3,834+. There were no deaths reported and so far 195 have died. She also said that there have been a number of “community exposure events” that have been fuelling a rise in cases in the province. There are more than 1,500 people in B.C. self-isolating because of possible exposure to the illness.
• Canada now has 118,494+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,963+ deaths from the infection and 103,106+ recoveries.
• The federal government has created a COVID-19 vaccine task force led by Dr. Joanne Langley, a pediatric infectious disease physician based at the IWK Health Centre and the Canadian Centre for Vaccinology (CCfV) at Dalhousie University and Mark Lievonen, the principal of JML Advisory Services and the former president of Sanofi Pasteur Limited, the Canadian vaccine division of Sanofi. 
• COVID consequences: Calypso Waterpark will not be opening for the 2020 season. The company announced its decision online saying “despite our comprehensive efforts” the Ontario government’s decision to keep waterparks closed forced its hand. Also announcing a closure is Wonderland waterpark.
• Globally, there have now been 18,752,917+ confirmed cases with 706,342+ deaths and 11,302,021+ recoveries.
• Michelle Obama says that the pandemic — along with the current administration’s response — has placed her on an emotional rollercoaster. “I know that I am dealing with some form of low-grade depression,” she said, adding that she has “gone through those emotional highs and lows” where she doesn’t feel like herself.
• The Republican governor of the state of Ohio tested positive for the coronavirus on the day he was to meet U.S. President Donald Trump. Mike DeWine appeared to join 4,867,916+ Americans with a confirmed case of COVID-19. There have now been 159,841 deaths in the U.S.
• DeWine then took a second test and it was found to be negative. What the?
• The growth of daily COVID-19 cases in Germany is a sign that the outbreak is far from being over, the nation’s health minister said. The country saw 1,045 new cases on Thursday, the highest daily increase in three months.

Aug. 5

• Canada is signing deals with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and U.S.-based biotech firm Moderna to procure millions of doses of their experimental COVID-19 vaccines. Both companies began Phase 3 clinical trials of their vaccine candidates in the last week, large-scale tests to determine how well the vaccines work. Earlier in July, both Pfizer and Moderna reported positive results from smaller trials. The Phase 3 trials will both test the vaccines on 30,000 people, and results are expected in the fall.
• As well, Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains said the government is investing $56 million to support trials by Ottawa-based VBI Vaccines Inc. through Phase 2 clinical development
• Canada’s first big push for a COVID-19 vaccine may be falling victim to sour relations with Beijing, as Chinese officials continue to hold up a shipment of the drug needed to carry out promised human trials here.
• CanSino Biologics of Tianjin, China signed an accord with the federal government in May to have its vaccine tested in Canada, a heavily promoted deal the government said could give Canadians early access to the serum. The National Post has more.
• Health Canada has an evolving list on its website of 51 hand sanitizers that are being recalled and says Canadians should consult the list regularly. The organization says to stop using products listed, and to consult a health-care professional “if you have used these products and have health concerns.”
• Ontario reported 86 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday. That raises the total to 39,714 cases. There were no new deaths recorded for a total of 2,782. There are 66 people in hospital with 15 in intensive care on a ventilator. There are 1,185 actives cases in the province. There have been 35,747 cases resolved, an increase of 146. Ontario reported it completed 17,229 tests in the past 24 hours. There have now been 2,295,116 tests completed.
• Ontario is offering $83 million in grants to legion branches, food banks, and other non-profits to help them continue operating in the COVID-19 era.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 16 new cases of COVID-19. The city now has seen 2,576 cases since March. The death toll remains at 264. Thirteen people are in hospital with one in intensive care. There are 207 active cases and there have been 2,105 recoveries. There are 12 outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• Loblaw is reporting three COVID-19 cases at stores in Ottawa. Two employees of the South Keys Loblaws store at 2210 Bank St. have received presumptive positive test results. The last day the employees worked were on July 26 and Aug. 1. The company is also reporting a presumptive positive case at the Shoppers Drug Mart in Findlay Creek at 4744 Bank St. Loblaw says the last day the team member worked was July 22.
• The City of Ottawa says a COVID-19 outbreak has officially been declared at the Foster Farm Community Centre on Ramsey Crescent following a positive case in a summer camp employee over the weekend.
• Ottawa Public Health says it is aware of large crowds gathering over the long weekend leading to a failure by some people to abide by COVID-19 physical distancing rules.
• Quebec has reached a new milestone with the reporting of 155 new cases for a total of 60,000 cases. There have been with 5,687 deaths, up two. Hospitalizations were 167 with 19 people in intensive care.
• Quebec says 13,125 tests were performed on Aug. 3, for a total of 1,291,011.
• About 125,000 people in Quebec aged 18-69 are estimated to have contracted COVID-19, according to a new study published Wednesday by Hema Quebec more than three times the official number reported by health authorities. The study indicates the majority of Quebecers remain vulnerable to being infected by the novel coronavirus.
• The Outaouais has now seen 685 confirmed cases, up three, while the death toll remains at 33.
• Canada now has 118,046+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,960+ deaths from the infection and 102,636+ recoveries.
• The federal government has loosened the rules on its Canada Infrastructure Program that offers an increased federal contribution to the cost of projects (up to 80 per cent) and faster project approval, to allow projects that relate to the COVID-19 pandemic response to be fast-tracked. “This is $3.3 billion that is available to provinces and territories, $1 billion available right here for Ontario, to help address the pandemic, to make communities more resilient, to work on keeping kids and aging parents and all of us safer, and also to improve the quality of life,” said Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna.
• Globally, there have now been 18,635,877+ confirmed cases with 702,903+ deaths and 11,036,083+ recoveries.
• CTV News has compared Canadian provinces and American states in terms of COVID-19 cases and overall, even Canada’s highest-reporting regions are low compared to places south of the border.
• The United States overall has seen 4,804,822+ confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 157,556+ deaths.

Aug. 4

• Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, says health officials are preparing to deal with the presence of the novel coronavirus and prevention of further spread for up to three years.
• “People might think that if we get a vaccine then everything goes back to normal the way it was before. That’s not the case,” Deputy Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Howard Njoo said Tuesday.
• Tam said that while in Stage 3 trials researchers will be able to characterize the vaccine’s effects on the immune system and any potential adverse effects, there will be outstanding questions, including how long the vaccine lasts before a booster shot may be needed, and whether it actually prevents an infection or just mitigates the severity.
• Tam said an effective vaccine would be a “very important aspect of the response,” it shouldn’t be seen as a way to end the pandemic.
• There are 55 COVID-19 drugs, including vaccine candidates, being investigated in clinical trials authorized by Health Canada. 
• In a new Angus Reid survey, half of Canadians say they have no reservations and are ready to get a vaccination as soon as it becomes available. However, one-in-three (32 per cent) say they would likely wait a while. The majority of those who say they will wait to get the vaccine also say they are worried about side effects (76 per cent). By contrast, among those who are eager to get it, half as many (37 per cent) have that concern.
• Those surveyed also acknowledged that life will not go back to normal until people are vaccinated, with the majority saying they don’t expect a vaccine to be available until 2021. One-quarter of respondents were skeptical about a vaccine being effective.
• Ontario reported 88 new cases of COVID-19 Monday and 91 on Tuesday. That raises the total to 39,628 cases. There have been four new deaths recorded for a total of 2,782. There are 78 people in hospital with 15 in intensive care on a ventilator. There are 1,245 actives cases in the province. There have been 35,601 cases resolved, an increase of 242. Ontario reported it completed 23,021 tests on Monday and 19,169 on Tuesday.
• Ottawa Public Health reported only four new cases of COVID-19 on Monday and one new case Tuesday, the lowest in weeks. The city now has seen 2,560 cases since March. The death toll remains at 264. Twelve people are in hospital with two in intensive care. There are 196 active cases and there have been 2,100 recoveries. There are 13 outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• By Tuesday, Quebec had reported a total of 59,845 cases, up 123 in the past 24 hours, with 5,685 deaths, up two. Hospitalizations were 169 with 21 people in intensive care.
• Quebec says 9,574 tests were performed on Aug. 2, for a total of 1,277,886.
• The Outaouais saw no cases reported leaving the total at 682 with 33 deaths, also unchanged.
• Commentary: COVID-19 has exposed many more of our federation’s weaknesses, including our failure to provide adequate income supports and childcare and our dismal approach to migrant labour and food production. None of this is new, but we can no longer close our eyes to the fragility of the social and economic infrastructure Canadians depend on.
• B.C. saw 146 infections over the long weekend bringing the total case count to 3,787. There are 319 active cases, eight are in hospital, and four in intensive care. The death toll remains at 195. B.C.’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, said many of the new cases are linked to indoor parties, where people are in close contact.
• Alberta students in Grades 4 to 12 will be required to wear masks in common areas and on school buses when they return to class in September. Education Minister Adriana LaGrange and Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw announced the new requirements on Tuesday.
• Canada now has 117,792+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,958+ deaths from the infection and 102,450+ recoveries.
• Globally, there have now been 18,445,787+ confirmed cases with 691,740+ deaths and 11,036,083+ recoveries.
• The COVID-19 pandemic has created the largest disruption to education in history and prolonged school closures could further entrench inequalities in access to learning, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday

Aug. 3

• As of Sunday, Ottawa Public Health had seen 2,555 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The death toll remained at 264. Twelve people were in hospital with four individuals in intensive care.
• There were 233 active cases, while 2,058 have recovered. There were 13 outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• An inmate at the Ottawa Carleton Detention Centre is in isolation after testing positive for COVID-19, Ottawa Public Health has confirmed. The Ottawa Citizen has more.
• Ontario has seen a total of 39,449 cases. The death toll is 2,778. There were 72 people in hospital with 14 on a ventilator in intensive care. The province had 1,312 active cases of COVID-19 and there have been 35,359 recoveries.
• The province has completed 2,235,697 tests to date.
• About 160,000 people were infected and had recovered from the novel coronavirus by the end of June, Public Health Ontario says after conducting tests on more than 7,000 blood samples tested during the month, 79 showed the presence of COVID-19 antibodies, indicating a prevalence of 1.1 per cent. The lab found a higher prevalence of antibodies among those aged 80 and over (2.6 per cent) and no presence of antibodies in children under the age of nine.
• In Toronto and the eastern GTA, the agency estimated 1.5 per cent of people have antibodies for COVID-19. In northern and eastern Ontario, only about 0.3 per cent of people have been infected.
• A similar serological study found up to 20 per cent of people in the New York City area showed the presence of COVID-19 antibodies, even though less than three per cent of residents tested positive.
• On Monday, Quebec reported a total of 59,722 cases, up 123, with 5,683 deaths, up two. Hospitalizations were 172 with 18 people in intensive care.
• Quebec says 14,432 tests were performed on Aug. 1, for a total of 1,268,312.
• The province is now allowing as many as 250 people to gather at an indoor or outdoor event, a significant increase from the 50 people previously authorized. The new limit applies only to public places and not to indoor and outdoor gatherings at private residences or chalets, which continue to be limited to 10 people. The increase applies to performance halls, theatres and cinemas, indoor amateur sports training or events, as well as places of worship, courtrooms and rented rooms, including community halls across Quebec, and to members of the public attending a production, video shoot or show recording.
• If standing, audience members must maintain a two-metre distance between them. People over the age of 12 should also wear a mask when moving about, unless they have a special medical condition. When seated, physical distancing can be lessened to 1.5 metres, and will not apply to people from the same household. Seated spectators will be able to remove their mask, but they must put it back on when moving around.
• Festivals and other major events will remain prohibited until Aug. 31.
• The Outaouais’ case count stood at 682, up two, while the regional death toll remains at 33.
• Canada now has 117,007+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,947+ deaths from the infection and 101,578+ recoveries.
• An inmate at the Ottawa Carleton Detention Centre is in isolation after testing positive for COVID-19, Ottawa Public Health has confirmed. The Ottawa Citizen has more.
• Globally, there have now been 17,965,128+ confirmed cases with 690,573+ deaths and 10,753,815+ recoveries.
• The National Hockey League resumed its season Sunday with a slate of games. The Canadian Press has a round-up.
• COVID consequences: Doctors from around the world say they’re seeing an influx in patients with disrupted sleep patterns linked to financial anxiety, fears of the virus or a lack of daily routine. CTV has more.
• The Royal Canadian Air Force is being forced to fly its ancient search-and-rescue planes even longer as COVID-19 further delays the delivery of 16 new Airbus-built CC-295s stranded in Spain likely for several more months.
• Researchers say conspiracy theories about COVID-19 are spreading at an alarming rate across the country and they warn misinformation shared online may lead to devastating consequences and push Canadians to shun important safety measures. The Canadian Press has more.

Aug. 2

• Ottawa Public Health reported 16 new cases of COVID-19 infection on Sunday, raising the local total to 2,555. The death toll remains at 264. Twelve people are in hospital with four individuals in intensive care.
• There are 233 active cases, while 2,058 have recovered. There are 13 outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• Ontario reported 116 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 Sunday, raising the total to 39,449. There was one new death reported raising the grim total to 2,778. There are 72 people in hospital with 14 on a ventilator in intensive care. The province has 1,312 active cases of COVID-19 and there have been 35,359 recoveries, up 122.
• The province completed 30,443 tests. The province has completed 2,235,697 tests to date.
• Quebec reported another 141 new cases of COVID-19 infection, raising the total to 59,599. Three deaths were reported raising the toll to 5,681. Hospitalizations are now 172 with 17 people in intensive care.
• The Outaouais’ case count is now 680, up two, while the regional death toll remains at 33.
• Canada now has 116,884+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,945+ deaths from the infection and 101,574+ recoveries.
• Canada’s budgetary deficit could be “manageable” without a dramatic increase in taxes, the Parliamentary Budget Officer says. Global News has more.
• Globally, there have now been 17,859,793+ confirmed cases with 685,179+ deaths and 10,564,263+ recoveries.
• The Australian state of Victoria, which includes the country’s second largest city Melbourne, is now in a “state of disaster” because of surging COVID-19 infections. The state’s premier has announced strict lockdown measures, introducing a nightly curfew and banning virtually all trips outdoors after recording 671 new infections in a single day.
• Daniel Andrews said, at a news conference, that “we have to do more, and we have to do more right now,” as the state battles to contain a devastating coronavirus outbreak that had already stripped residents of their freedoms, livelihoods and social interactions and made it an outlier from the rest of the country.”

Aug. 1

• Ontario reported 124 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 Saturday, raising the total to 39,333. There were two deaths reported raising the grim total to 2,777. There are 73 people in hospital with 12 on a ventilator in intensive care. The province has 1,319 active cases of COVID-19 and there have been 35,237 recoveries, up 163.
• The province completed 33,282 tests. The province has completed 2,205,254 tests to date.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 17 new cases of COVID-19. That raises the total number of confirmed cases to 2,539. The death toll remained at 264. There were 250 active cases in the city and 2,050 cases are resolved. Eleven people were in hospital, four in intensive care.
• There are 12 outbreaks at health care and child-care establishments.
• Quebec reported another 146 new cases of COVID-19 infection, raising the total to 59,458. Four deaths were reported raising the toll to 5,678. Hospitalizations are now 177 with 18 people in intensive care.
• The Outaouais’ case count is now 678, up six, while the regional death toll remains at 33.
• Canada now has 116,599+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,941+ deaths from the infection and 101,436+ recoveries.
• Ottawa real estate agents say they’ve seen a mini-boom in cottage and recreations property sales in recent weeks. CBC has more.
• An employee of a City of Ottawa-run summer camp is positive for COVID-19.
• In a memo Saturday afternoon, Acting General Manager of Recreation, Cultural and Facility Services Kevin Wherry said the infected employee is self-isolating.
• “This individual is currently in self-isolation at home and was last in attendance at camp at Foster Farm Community Centre on Wednesday, July 29, 2020,” Wherry said. Campers and staff who were in the same group with the individual are excluded from the camp for the next 14 days. Parents and guardians have been contacted and testing is strongly encouraged. Ottawa Public Health is following up with close contacts, the memo said. CTV has more.
• Globally, there have now been 17,759,332+ confirmed cases with 679,439+ deaths and 10,484,412+ recoveries.
• Buddy, a seven-year-old German Shepherd from Staten Island, New York, first began showing signs of respiratory illness in mid-April. On June 2, the US Department of Agriculture announced that a dog had tested positive for COVID-19. Three cats had previously tested positive for the virus. Fewer than 25 pets in total have contracted the virus in the U.S.
• Buddy’s family told National Geographic, the dog died on July 11. Veterinary records show Buddy likely had cancer, but questions remain about the extent to which coronavirus contributed to his death.

July 31

• Canada’s chief medical officer of health is warning of the dangers of large gatherings on the long weekend.
• Dr. Theresa Tam was echoing the concern of B.C.’s Dr. Bonnie Henry who is urging long weekend physical distancing. In Vancouver, police are keeping an eye on a call for a large event on one of the city’s main beaches on English Bay.  
• The prime minister tried to change the channel Friday away from the WE Charity controversy as he announced the release of a new contact tracing app, called COVID Alert, a month after it was expected to be launched in Ontario. The app, which is used anonymously, can be downloaded to iPhones and Android devices. It will let the user know if they have been near someone with COVID-19. There is no date for when the app will be more widely available.
• Justin Trudeau also announced $59 million to improve the health and safety of migrant workers on farms. The money will support more inspections, and improve living conditions.
• The federal government is also extending the emergency commercial rent assistance program which can covers up to 75 per cent of the rent paid by small businesses that have seen a drop in revenues.
• Trudeau also explained that people drawing the Canada Emergency Response Benefit will be transferred to employment insurance. He also said that the EI system will be expanded and enhanced. A new benefit will cover contract workers and the government will also create a sickness and caregivers benefit for those off work because of illness or the need to help someone who is sick.
• Starting today, Canadians can apply for a passport by mail. If Canadians have an immediate need for a passport or are travelling in less than 30 days with proof of travel, they can request in-person appointments. For more: Canada.ca/passport.
• Ontario reported 134 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 today, raising the total to 39,209. There were three deaths reported raising the grim total to 2,775. There are 78 people in hospital with 15 on a ventilator in intensive care. The province has 1,397 active cases of COVID-19 and there have been 35,074 recoveries, up 168.
• The province completed 30,033 tests in the past 24 hours. The province has completed 2,171,972 tests to date.
• As Toronto and Peel Region enter Stage 3 of reopening, the province has issued stricter rules for bars and restaurants that, among other things, will require them to keep client logs for 30 days to support contact tracing.
• Ottawa Public Health has reported 26 new cases of COVID-19. That raises the total number of confirmed cases to 2,522. The death toll remains at 264. There are 271 active cases in the city and 1,987 cases are resolved. Nine people are in hospital, four are in intensive care.
• There are now 10 outbreaks health care and child-care establishments.
• More COVID-19 testing sites are coming to Ottawa. As well, people will soon be able to book appointments.
• There are three regular locations where residents can get tested: the assessment centre at Brewer Park Arena and two clinics on Moodie Drive and Heron Road, which provide testing as well as medical services, For Inuit in Ottawa, the Akausivik Inuit Family Health Team can also provide COVID-19 assessment and testing.
• These locations can’t keep up with demand, Dr. Vera Etches, Ottawa’s medical officer of health, told the media Thursday. On three days this week, the testing centres swabbed more than 1,000 people — including one day when 1,278 tests were conducted, according to Ottawa Public Health data. Some people have waited as long as four hours for tests, according to The Ottawa Hospital. Demand for testing is expected to grow in the fall.
• Quebec reported another 164 new cases of COVID-19 infection, raising the total to 59,312. There was one new death reported raising the toll to 5,674. Hospitalizations are now 189 with 15 people in intensive care.
• The Outaouais’ case count is now 672, up four, while the regional death toll remains at 33.
• Real gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.5 per cent in May, Statistics Canada reported today. This increase followed two months of unprecedented declines. In May, provinces and territories started reopening sectors of their economies to varying degrees. While May’s gains offset some of the March and April declines, economic activity remained 15 per cent below February’s pre-pandemic level, the agency says.
• Statistics Canada provided preliminary information that indicates a five per cent increase in real GDP for June. 
• Canada’s real GDP is likely to plunge by a record 12 per cent in the second quarter.
• As well, the agency reported that prices for products manufactured in Canada, as measured by the Industrial Product Price Index, rose 0.4 per cent in June, driven mainly by higher prices for energy and petroleum products.
• In another sign of returning economic activity, StatsCan says the $687 million dollar Oakridge Centre mixed use redevelopment project in the city of Vancouver helped raise the total national value of building permits 6.2 per cent to $8.1 billion in June, to a level comparable to pre-COVID levels. Overall, seven provinces reported gains for the month.
• Tempering that optimism, the number of Canadians receiving pay from their employer decreased in May, falling 585,100 (-4.1 per cent). This followed declines in March (-0.9 million) and April (-1.9 million), and brought total payroll employment losses since February to 3.4 million (-19.9 per cent).
• Air Canada is reporting a $1.75 billion loss in its latest quarter as revenues plummeted 89 per cent because of the pandemic.
• Canada now has 116,298+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,935+ deaths from the infection and 101,227+ recoveries.
• Globally, there have now been 17,321,394+ confirmed cases with 673,822+ deaths and 10,155,026+ recoveries.
• COVID consequences: Amazon reported record second quarter earnings on Thursday, driven by strong COVID-related demand. Amazon stock was up by as much as six per cent in after-hours trading. Sales for the quarter jumped 40 per cent from last year, to $88.9 billion. Net profit doubled from the year-ago period to a record $5.2 billion.
• British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has halted plans to ease restrictions in England due to start on Saturday. Rules on face coverings are extended to more indoor settings, including museums and places of worship. England at “outer edge” of how much restrictions can be eased, says chief medical officer. The move comes after millions in northern England face new restrictions after a spike in cases.
• Hong Kong has postponed elections after a spike in COVID-19 cases.
• Spain, Italy and France report slumps in their economies as restrictions take their toll
• Vietnam reports its first death, months into the pandemic, amid record new cases.
• The United States continues to lead the world in the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 4,496,737+ and deaths at 152,074+.
• Major League Baseball is now warning that the season may be cancelled if the number of COVID-19 infections keeps rising. The latest team hit is the St. Louis Cardinals.

July 30

• Justin Trudeau was grilled by opposition MPs on the Commons finance committee Thursday afternoon over a growing conflict of interest controversy involving the WE Charity.
• The prime minister said he only learned about the plans for the WE Charity program hours before it was on the agenda at a May 8 cabinet meeting. “My chief of staff and I were finding out about this important part of the program only hours before the cabinet meeting,” said Trudeau, which was quick even during the high octane policy environment of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Trudeau said he pulled the program from the cabinet meeting agenda, which wasn’t an easy decision. After nearly two weeks of further deliberation, Trudeau said he was advised that “if the program were to go ahead it could only be with WE Charity.”
• Trudeau said it’s not true that the program was fast-tracked because WE Charity was getting favourable treatment.
• “I actually slowed it down and pushed back on it to make sure everything was done exactly right because I knew questions would be asked about the links to my family,” said Trudeau.
• He said he didn’t know how much the charity had paid his mother and brother for appearances and expenses. He said his wife’s involvement with the charity was cleared in advance by the Ethics Commissioner.
• He also said he was not friends with Craig and Marc Kielburger, the heads of the WE Charity.
• Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Education Minister Stephen Lecce revealed the provincial plan to bring two million students back to 4,800 public schools in the fall.
• The province is sending children and youth from kindergarten to Grade 12 back to in-class instruction on Sept. 8.
• Students from Grade 4 to 12 will have to wear cloth masks. Masks are encouraged for kids from kindergarten to Grade 3. All elementary students, from kindergarten to Grade 8, will be in class five days a week with includes recess and lunch, with no changes to class sizes. 
• Physical distancing will be one metre with masking in all schools, Lecce said.
• Teachers and other staff will be required to wear medical masks that the province will provide.
• In designated school boards — including 24 school boards such as Toronto, Peel, York, Durham, Halton, Waterloo, London, Ottawa, Niagara, Hamilton, Windsor-Essex among others — secondary schools will have class cohorts of about 15 students, who attend school on alternate days or on alternate schedules.
• Secondary students in these boards would see a hybrid-style education split between in-person classroom attendance for at least 50 per cent of instructional days and online learning.
• In non-designated school boards — which includes 48 other boards in Ontario — schools will be permitted to open with daily attendance for students because they typically have smaller enrolment sizes.
• For special needs students will be allowed to attend school daily, the province said.
• All school boards will adopt secondary timetabling methods that emphasize cohorting of students as much as possible to limit the number of student-to-student contacts.
• Schools will also rely on parents to self-screen students each day. If a student or staff member is experiencing any symptoms of the COVID-19, they will be required to stay home. 
• Organized school sports and clubs have been given the green light, if physical distancing can be maintained and equipment is cleaned regularly. 
• Students should be assigned seats on the school bus and should sit with people from their household or classroom cohort. School bus drivers will be provided with personal protective equipment and the seat behind the driver will be left open. Bus windows should be left open when possible. 
• Parents can choose an online education option.
• The province will make 500 public health nurses available to schools and spend $10 million for more education assistants. The province will spend a further $10 million to address mental health concerns in school and $75 million for enhanced custodial cleaning and to hire 1,200 more janitors.
• In all the province is spending an additional $309 million for the return to class.
• Ontario reported 89 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 today, under 100 for the second day. That’s the first back to back days under 100 cases since the end of March. There were three deaths reported raising the grim total to 2,772. There are 84 people in hospital with 16 on a ventilator in intensive care. The province has 1,476 active cases of COVID-19 and there have been 34,906 recoveries, up 165.
• Ottawa Public Health has reported 15 new cases of COVID-19. That raises the total number of confirmed cases to 2,496. The death toll remains at 264. There are 242 active cases in the city and 1,990 cases are resolved. Ten people are in hospital, four are in intensive care.
• There are now 11 outbreaks health care and child-care establishments.
• OPH also said that one of the patients in ICU is a teenager who is currently in stable condition. The last reported death was a person in their 40s. The city has seen a five-fold increase in the infection rate for people under 80. 
• Ottawa has averaged 21.4 new cases in its last five reports and more than 22 cases in its last two weeks of reports.
• The city has a confirmed COVID-19 case linked to a fourth daycare: a staff member at Grandir Ensemble’s La Maisonée location on Coventry Road.
• The province will allow movie theatres to reopen to a maximum of 50 people.
• Quebec reported another 122 new cases of COVID-19 infection, raising the total to 59,131. There was one new death reported raising the toll to 5,673. Hospitalizations are now 208 with 18 people in intensive care.
• The Outaouais’ case count is now 668, up three, while the regional death toll remains at 33.
• Saskatchewan reported 38 new infections Thursday with 23 in what officials call “multiple communal living settings.” Of Saskatchewan’s 1,306 total cases, 304 are believed to be active. Fourteen people are in hospital, 984 have recovered and 18 have died.
• Manitoba’s Education Minister Kelvin Goertzen and Dr. Brent Roussin, chief provincial public health officer, released a back-to-school plan that will see in-class learning resume full-time on Sept. 8 for students in kindergarten through to Grade 8, as well as special needs students in all grades, with attendance five days a week. The province said some remote learning may be required for high school students (Grades 9 to 12), based on the school’s ability to implement the necessary public health measures to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission.
• Canada now has 115,681+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,921+ deaths from the infection and 100,630+ recoveries.
• As of Friday, the Canada Border Services Agency will require additional entry conditions and only allow American travellers headed to Alaska to enter at one of five crossings: Abbotsford-Huntingdon (British Columbia), Kingsgate (British Columbia), Osoyoos (British Columbia), Coutts (Alberta), and North Portal (Saskatchewan).
• Drivers will be allowed a reasonable period of stay to make the transit and will be limited to travel within Canada using the most direct route from the point of entry to the intended point of exit in Alaska. They will be barred from driving through national parks, leisure sites and tourism locations, the agency says.
• COVID consequences: Contact tracing has become a bit of a holy grail in the fight against COVID-19, with countries such as South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan demonstrating that doing it aggressively can avoid the effects of keeping everyone at home for months on end. The case of an Ontario man shows how difficult it can be, the National Post shows.
• Globally, there have now been 17,039,160+ confirmed cases with 667,084+ deaths and 9,964,678+ recoveries.
• The United States is reporting a 32.9 per cent decline in gross domestic product in the second quarter of the year. It’s the largest drop ever. As well, more than 1.4 million Americans filed for unemployment insurance this week.
• On Wednesday, 1,461 new American deaths were recorded, meaning one person died roughly every minute with COVID-19. This was the highest one-day increase in deaths since May 27. The U.S. has a total of 150,716 deaths and 4,427,620 confirmed cases of infection.
• The National Basketball Association officially resumes its season today, joining Major League Baseball. The National Hockey League is in the midst of a slew of exhibition games in the league bubbles, Edmonton and Toronto.
• The Philadelphia Phillies have suspended play for the time being after a coach and staffer tested positive for COVID-19. The Toronto Blue Jays were to play the Phillies this weekend. Earlier this week, Major League Baseball paused the season of the Miami Marlins after half the active roster tested positive for coronavirus.

July 29

• The province has announced the three person panel who will lead a review of the long term care home crisis during the pandemic. It will be led by Frank Marrocco, an associate chief justice with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, and will include the former CEO of the Ottawa Hospital Jack Kitts and Angela Coke, a former senior public servant in Ontario.
• The commission will conduct public hearings and report by April 30, 2021.
• Toronto and Peel Region are entering Stage 3 of reopening on Friday, the province has announced. Windsor-Essex is the last region in Stage 2.
• This comes as the province is expected to announce its back to school plan Thursday.
• Ontario has now seen 38,986 confirmed cases of COVID-19. That’s an increase of 76, the first time the province is below 100 daily cases since early in the pandemic. There have been 2,769 deaths, up one in the past 24 hours. There are 91 people in hospital with 17 in intensive care on a ventilator.
• The province completed only 27,308 tests in the past 24 hours. There are 1,476 active cases of the infection and there have been 34,741 recoveries, up 179.
• Ottawa Public Health has reported 13 new cases of COVID-19. That raises the total number of confirmed cases to 2,481. The death toll remains at 264. There are 269 active cases in the city and 1,948 cases are resolved. Ten people are in hospital, four are in intensive care.
• There are now 10 outbreaks health care and child-care establishments.
• Ottawa has been seeing a persistent rise in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, a sign that the city may be approaching a tipping point, says an epidemiologist who does infectious disease modelling for Ottawa Public Health, CBC reports. Over the last two weeks, the city has had an average of about 21 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 a day. That’s more than three times what the city saw in the two previous weeks, when the daily average was six cases.
• “We’re just on that knife edge,” said Dr. Doug Manuel, senior scientist with the Ottawa Hospital.
• As Ontario prepares to this week release its plan for school in the fall, a McMaster University review of COVID-19 research says children will not become super spreaders or cause a spike in infections if they return to school. The review looked at 33 studies from around the world to understand the role of daycares and schools in COVID-19 transmission.
• High school students in Ontario should wear face masks indoors whenever physical distancing rules cannot be followed, but elementary school students should not be expected to follow the same guidelines. A new back-to-school guidance was released by Toronto’s SickKids Hospital on Wednesday. It calls masking in schools a “complex and nuanced” issue and suggests high school students should practise farther physical distancing than younger students because their transmission risk may be higher.
• In another sign of the impact of the pandemic on live performance, organizers of the CityFolk festival usually held in early September, have announced that the popular outdoor music event will be going online. “Although we’re disappointed that we will not be able to welcome fans in person, we look forward to presenting a series of online concerts featuring a wide array of Canadian artists,” says the festival’s executive director Mark Monahan. “We’ll also be moving forward with our popular MARVEST series with the help of the Glebe Business Improvement Area (details to follow).
• Quebec reported another 176 new cases of COVID-19 infection, raising the total to 59,073. There were no deaths reported leaving the toll at 5,670. Hospitalizations are at 190 with nine people in intensive care.
• The Outaouais’ case count is now 665, up four, while the regional death toll remains at 33.
• Eight children and staff at the Jean-de-Brébeuf day camp in Gatineau, have been placed in what officials referred to as “administrative isolation” after an adult staff member at the camp tested positive for coronavirus on Monday.
• A day camp on Montreal’s south shore is the fifth such camp in the region to see cases of the novel coronavirus this summer. The Boucherville-based Les Ateliers de Charlot l’Escargot has seen no fewer than 27 of its campers and staff test positive for COVID-19, according to the local health authority.
• Alberta Health reported 133 new cases of COVID-19 and three deaths Wednesday afternoon. The new counts increased active cases to 1,430 and deaths to 190. There are 87 patients in hospital with 17 in intensive care. Alberta has reported 10,603 cases of the coronavirus since March.
• Saskatchewan reported 50 new cases on Wednesday bringing overall cases in the province to 1,268. Forty-four of the new cases are from one communal living setting, officials said. This prompted Premier Scott Moe to lecture those in Hutterite communities to change their habits to protect against infection. There are currently 322 active cases in Saskatchewan, the highest active case count since the pandemic started.
• B.C. Education Minister Rob Fleming said most students from kindergarten to Grade 12 will return to school starting Sept. 8.
• Enhanced safety measures and more resources to prevent the spread of COVID-19 will allow the province to move ahead with school restart plans, he said.
• “We are maximizing the number of students who are returning to class,” Fleming said at a news conference. “We had 200,000 students attend school in June and that has given us some important information. We do know there’s no substitute for in-class learning.”
• Canada now has 115,431+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,917+ deaths from the infection and 100,432+ recoveries.
• As provinces reveal plans for school in the fall a poll by Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies shows that 59 per cent of respondents with children said they would send their kids to school if there is some type of classroom instruction at least a few days a week. But 18 per cent said they would keep children at home while the remaining 23 per cent said they didn’t know. The Leger online poll of 1,517 Canadians over age 18 — of which 391 were parents with children in their households — took place July 24 to 26. The poll cannot be given a margin of error because it is not a random sample.
• Health Canada has allowed a treatment for those with COVID-19 to enter a phase 2 trial. The company Naturally Splendid Enterprises Ltd. (NSE) announced the approval today. “We are optimistic that Cavaltinib(TM) can be a major part of a successful treatment plan for COVID-19 positive patients. With this treatment option for those who are at high risk of morbidity or mortality we may be able to provide hope while reducing the impact on Health Care Services and thus providing additional time for the scientific community to develop the right vaccines.” said Franco Cavaleri, NSE’s CEO and chief scientist in a media release. 
• The union representing Toronto’s firefighters says it has seen a 13.4 per cent increase in fire calls since this time last year. The union says it is a result of more people staying home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Careless, unattended cooking as well as careless smoking, like flicking cigarette butts from condo balconies, are the two main culprits.
• The consequences have proven deadly. Ontario has already seen 68 people die this year as a result of fires — a 66 per cent increase over this time last year, according to the province’s fire marshal.
• A clinical study by Héma-Québec has found that COVID-19 antibodies gradually disappear from infected people after several months. The antibody study by the Quebec blood agency involved collecting plasma units from COVID-19 convalescent donors.
• Globally there have now been 16,845,602+ confirmed cases with 662,577+ deaths and 9,836,182+ recoveries.
• The United States has passed another grim milestone today and now has seen 150,649+ deaths from COVID-19. There have been 4,423,917+ confirmed cases along with 2,170,898+ recoveries.
• COVID consequences: One in seven small businesses are at risk of going under as a result of COVID-19 in addition to the ones that have already closed, warns the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) in a new report featured on its Small Business Recovery Dashboard. CFIB’s mid-range estimate for business closures because of COVID-19 is 158,000 (14 per cent of small businesses). Depending on how the recovery goes, losses could be as few as 55,000 (five per cent) or as many as 218,000 (19 per cent). 
• The disease caused by the novel coronavirus can harm more than the lungs. Two separate studies, published in the journal JAMA Cardiology, show how COVID-19 may have a prolonged impact on heart health in those who have recovered from illness and may have caused cardiac infection in those who died.
• McDonald’s is closing 200 of 14,000 U.S. locations. The decision was announced as the fast food giant released quarterly earnings.
• Rome is burning: U.S. President Donald Trump called the Senate Republicans’ coronavirus economic stimulus package “semi-relevant” as the U.S. approaches 150,000 COVID-19 deaths Wednesday.
• Madonna joins Trump and his son Don Jr. in having a social media post flagged for spreading false information. Instagram flagged Madonna’s account Tuesday night. The post, which has since been removed, appeared blurred with a warning over the video: “False Information.”
• The text continued: “Reviewed by independent fact-checkers.” When users clicked the button “See Why,” they were shown a list of falsehoods in Madonna’s post. 

July 28

• Canada’s chief medical officer of health says she would check carefully before venturing into any restaurant or bar under the current status of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• “I would look carefully and if it doesn’t look good (with the physical separation measures and mask usage) I’m not going to go,” Dr. Theresa Tam said Tuesday at a news conference.
• Tam said she has not ventured outside very much during the pandemic — “I’ve been to the grocery store with my mask on” — and she doesn’t expect to change any time soon. “I’d assess my own risk (but) I can’t control others,” she said.
• Tam said health officials are concerned about the upcoming long weekend and potentially uncontrolled parties and gatherings. She said officials were not overwhelmed by cases following the Canada Day long weekend, but “the more outbreaks you have, the more strains are placed on the system.”
• Tam also said discussions are taking place to potentially pre-order COVID-19 vaccine doses for Canadians. She said an independent vaccine task force is advising the government on options for Canada’s choice of vaccine, including exploring the possibility of manufacturing a potential pandemic cure at home.
• Marc and Craig Kielburger are testifying before the Commons finance committee today. The Kielburgers say their organization would not have financially benefited from the federal student volunteer grant program. The brothers also say they are returning all funds they have received for the program before it was cancelled.
• Former WE board chair Michelle Douglas also testified Tuesday and said in her opening statement that WE co-founder Craig Kielburger asked her to resign on March 25 after she and other board members asked WE executives to hand over financial documents to justify mass layoffs during the coronavirus pandemic.
• “I resigned because I could not do my job. I could not discharge my governance duties,” she said. “It was our view that you could not fire hundreds of people without very strong demonstrable evidence and even then should explore mitigation measures to save jobs. Instead, the executive team were dismissing employees with great speed, and in large numbers.”
• They also say the Prime Minister’s Office never called them about the program but they were contacted by Rachel Wernick, senior assistant deputy minister with Skills and Employment Canada about possibly helping with the program.
• Ontario has now seen 38,910 confirmed cases of COVID-19. That’s an increase of 111. There have been 2,768 deaths, up four in the past 24 hours. There are 96 people in hospital with 18 in intensive care on a ventilator.
• The province completed only 17,344 tests in the past 24 hours. There are 1,575 active cases of the infection and there have been 34,567 recoveries, up 106.
• Despite the rising case count, Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he is not considering rolling back communities to Stage 2.
• “I guess you’re talking about Ottawa,” Ford said during a media availability in Ajax. “They dropped a couple of points (to 25 new cases on Tuesday). (The province) is at 111 (new cases) today, which is pretty good. Nothing’s acceptable until you get down to zero, but when we have 14.5 million people and 111 (new) cases, it’s great work from all 14.5 million people, great work from our front-line health-care workers, and I’m very grateful.
• “But right now we have to look at every single region… We really rely on the advice of the health care table and they’re doing a good job so far, but I don’t think it’s anything that spiked too badly.
• Ford said to expect an announcement Wednesday concerning the Toronto, Peel and Essex regions.
• He also said an announcement is coming “in the next few days” about an independent commission into long-term care in the province.
• The City of Ottawa continues to see double digit daily confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 25 reported Monday. That was the highest daily total in the province on Tuesday. Toronto saw only six cases and 22 cases were added in Windsor-Essex. The total number of cases is 2,468. For the first time in a month, there was one death, raising the toll to 264. Ten people are in hospital and four are in intensive care.
• The city now has 269 active cases of COVID-19 while 1,935 have recovered. There are now eight outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments. Eleven of the 25 new cases reported in Ottawa were in people under the age of 20, with five in kids under 10. There were no new cases reported in anyone 70 or older.
• Ottawa’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Vera Etches, says the public health unit is looking at ways to cut down on long lines for bars on busy nights in an effort to reduce chances for COVID-19 to spread, and making bars appointment-only is one suggestion. CTV has more.
• Quebec reported another 169 new cases of COVID-19 infection, raising the total to 58,897. The death toll rose to 5,670, up three. Hospitalizations are at 193 with eight in intensive care.
• The Outaouais’ case count is now 661, up two, while the regional death toll remains at 33.
• The province is launching an independent investigation into a COVID-19 outbreak at a Quebec City long-term care home where three people have died since July 11. Twenty-one residents at the Auberge aux Trois Pignons have tested positive for the virus, in addition to seven staff members at the private facility in the Beauport neighbourhood.
• Manitoba recorded its first death from COVID-19 since May. Tye death toll in the province stands at eight.
• Canada now has 114,891+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,910+ deaths from the infection and 99,989+ recoveries.
• Health Canada has authorized the use of the drug remdesivir to treat patients with severe COVID-19 symptoms. This is the first drug Health Canada has authorized for the treatment of COVID-19. The drug interferes with the coronavirus’s ability to copy its genetic material. In a U.S. government-led study, remdesivir shortened recovery time by 31 per cent — 11 days on average versus 15 days for those given just usual care. It had not improved survival according to preliminary results after two weeks of follow-up. Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, confirmed the supply of remdesivir is “very limited” globally.
• Globally there have now been 16,605,067+ confirmed cases with 657,337+ deaths and 9,644,387+ recoveries.
• Global air travel is recovering more slowly than expected and it will take until until 2024 to return to pre-pandemic levels, the International Air Transport Association said Tuesday.
• Major League Baseball has officially paused the season of the Miami Marlins now that half the active roster has tested positive for coronavirus. Four more Marlins reportedly tested positive Tuesday, bringing the team’s total to 17.

July 27

• The Canada Revenue Agency has extended the deadline for tax filing to Sept. 30.
• The prime minister will testify about the WE Charity controversy before the Commons finance committee Thursday along with his chief of staff Katie Telford. Marc and Craig Kielburger will testify Tuesday.
• Ontario municipalities will receive nearly $4 billion in funding from the federal and provincial governments to help shore up their finances in the wake of the pandemic-related shutdown.
• Premier Doug Ford said Monday the funding — $2.2 billion from Ontario and $1.7 billion from the federal government — will help support “homeless shelters, women’s shelters, food banks, public health and transit.”
• With the province on the verge of releasing its plan for a return to school in the fall, the Ontario Liberals want 1,000 new classroom locations and hire 1,000 additional educators just in Ottawa to help get students back to school this fall. The Liberals released a $3.2 billion Students in Schools Action Plan.
• In Ottawa, the Liberal plan calls for 1,000 new classrooms in community centres, arenas and university and college campuses for students with the Ottawa Carleton District School Board and Ottawa Catholic School Board. The plan also recommends Ontario hire 1,000 additional educators to help reduce class sizes this fall and 500 additional caretakers to keep schools and school buses clean in Ottawa,CTV has more.
• The City of Ottawa continues to see double digit daily confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 28 reported Monday. The total number of cases is 2,443. There have been no new deaths,leaving the toll at 263. Eight people are in hospital and three are in intensive care.
• The city now has 265 active cases of COVID-19 while 1,915 have recovered. There are now eight outbreaks in health care and child-care establishments.
• Meanwhile, Toronto has a total of five new cases reported Monday, the lowest daily case count since March 1. However, 58 infections were also reported over the weekend.
• In a message on Twitter Monday morning, Ottawa Public Health unit said the spike in cases shows “COVID-19 hasn’t gone anywhere” and residents need to continue wearing face masks, practice physical distancing and wash their hands to help limit the spread. Since July 15, there have been 276 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Ottawa.
• Ontario has now seen 38,799 confirmed cases of COVID-19. That’s an increase of 119, 76 were in people under age 40. There have been 2,764 deaths, up one in the past 24 hours. There are 82 people in hospital with 18 in intensive care on a ventilator.
• The province completed 24,644 tests. There are 1,574 active cases of the infection and there have been 34,461 recoveries.
• Quebec reported another 145 new cases of COVID-19 infection, raising the total to 58,728. The death toll remains at 5,667. Hospitalizations are at 200 with seven in intensive care. The province has seen 50,812 cases resolved.
• Quebec public health authorities say they are seeing a worrying spike in infections among teens and young adults.
• Deputy premier Genevieve Guilbault said Monday a significant portion of the daily COVID-19 cases in the province involve people between the ages of 15-34. She also criticized protests on the weekend in Montreal and Quebec City against mandatory face masks and warned authorities will crack down on protesters who put the health of others at risk. Users of public transit in the province can now be denied entry if they are not wearing a mask.
• The Outaouais’ case count is 659, up two, while the regional death toll remains at 33.
• Canada now has 114,597+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,901+ deaths from the infection and 99,860+ recoveries.
• The number of children in day-care centres in Ontario increases to 15 today.
• Brampton, Ontario, bylaw officers broke up a house party attended by 200 people on Saturday night. Peel Region police say the partygoers broke provincial emergency orders. Peel Region remains in Stage 2 of the province’s reopening plan, limiting gatherings to a maximum of 10 people with physical distancing in effect.
• Premier Doug Ford said Monday that the full extent of the law needs to be thrown at the “yahoos” at the Brampton party.
• Eight more people have died because of COVID-19 in Alberta. The province says 304 people tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend, bringing the province’s total active cases to 1,430. There are 88 people in hospital, 17 in intensive care. 
• “The curve is no longer flat in Alberta,” Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, said Monday.
• Saskatchewan continues to see a spike in cases. On Monday, 31 new cases were reported, 22 are from Hutterite colonies in the south, central and Saskatoon region. Fourteen people are in hospital being treated for COVID-19, an increase of one since Sunday. The new case is being treated in inpatient care. Four people continue to be treated in intensive care.
• In British Columbia 81 new cases have been confirmed on the weekend. The provincial total is 3,500. There are 264 active cases, including 11 in hospital, three in intensive care. Two more people have died, bringing the total to 193.
• The province’s chief medical officer of health, Dr.Bonnie Henry, made official an order to limit the number of people allowed in B.C. rental properties. The rules apply to everything from hotel rooms and Airbnb rentals to boats and yurts, where guests will be “limited to the capacity of the space, plus a maximum of five visitors,” Henry said.Globally there have now been 16,360,298+ confirmed cases with 650,918+ deaths and 9,454,796+ recoveries.
• Pilgrims are arriving in Mecca for a drastically scaled-down hajj as Saudi authorities balance the kingdom’s oversight of one of Islam’s key pillars and the safety of visitors in the face of a global pandemic. The hajj normally draws around 2.5 million people from around the world. This year, between 1,000 and 10,000 people already residing in the kingdom will be allowed to perform the pilgrimage. 
• One of the most densely populated countries in the world, Indonesia, has announced confirmed coronavirus cases have surpassed 100,000, the most in Southeast Asia. The health ministry announced 1,525 more cases on Monday, bringing the country’s confirmed total to 100,303. The actual number is likely much higher.
• Three games into its shortened season major league baseball has cancelled two games tonight because of COVID-19. The Miami Marlins have had at least 14 of their players and staff members test positive for the coronavirus. They have postponed their home game tonight in Miami against the Baltimore Orioles. The game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Yankees at Citizens Bank Park has been postponed for testing too. The Phillies just completed a series against the Marlins.
• Robert O’Brien, the National Security Adviser to Donald Trump has tested positive for the coronavirus.
• British health officials announced Monday that a cat has tested positive for COVID-19 after contracting the disease from its owners, who have recovered from the illness.
• Christine Middlemiss, British chief veterinary officer, said Monday the cat had experienced mild symptoms and there was not evidence a person could contract the coronavirus from a pet. All available evidence suggests that the cat was infected from its owners, who had previously tested positive.

July 26

• Ottawa continues to see a spike in new cases of COVID-19. On Sunday Ottawa Public Health reported 26 news cases raising the total to 2,45. The city has not seen a death from the infection leaving the toll at 263. Eleven people are in hospital; three in intensive care. There are 242 active cases with 1,910 cases resolved. There are seven outbreaks in health care and child care establishments.
• Ontario has now seen 38,680 confirmed cases of COVID-19. That’s an increase of 137. There have been 2,763 deaths, up four in the past 24 hours. There are 87 people in hospital with 21 in intensive care on a ventilator.
• The province completed 26,144 tests. There are 1,558 active cases of the infection and there have been 34,359 recoveries, an increase of 119.
• Quebec reported another 169 new cases of COVID-19 infection, raising the total to 58,583. The death toll is at 5,667, up one. Hospitalizations are at 197 with 10 in intensive care. The province has seen 50,812 cases resolved.
• The Outaouais’ case count is 657, up four, while the regional death toll remains at 33.
• Canada now has 113,556+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,890+ deaths from the infection and 99,125+ recoveries.
• Globally there have now been 16,055,909+ confirmed cases with 644,661+ deaths and 9,267,601+ recoveries.

July 25

• Ottawa continues to see a spike in new cases of COVID-19. On Saturday Ottawa Public Health reported 28 news cases raising the total to 2,389. The city has not seen a death from the infection leaving the toll at 263. Eleven people are in hospital; three in intensive care. There are 234 active cases with 1,892 cases resolved. There are seven outbreaks in health care and child care establishments, two are new.
• Ontario has now seen 38,543 confirmed cases of COVID-19. That’s an increase of 138. There have been 2,759 deaths, up one in the past 24 hours. There are 97 people in hospital with 21 in intensive care on a ventilator.
• The province completed 29,904 tests. There are 1,547 active cases of the infection and there have been 34,240 recoveries, an increase of 140.
• Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) students will head back to class Sept. 3, according to a message sent to parents.
• The academic year will begin after school staff receive “additional training on health and safety protocols” from Aug. 31 until Sept. 2, wrote Camille Williams-Taylor, the director of education with the OCDSB.
• Quebec reported another 171 new cases of COVID-19 infection, raising the total to 58,414. The death toll is at 5,666, up three. Hospitalizations are at 206 with 12 in intensive care. The province has seen 50,615 cases resolved, up 110.
• The Outaouais’ case count is 653, up two, while the regional death toll remains at 33.
• A report by the Parliamentary Budget Officer estimates the total cost of public servants’ use of leave could be higher than figures provided by the Treasury Board. From mid-March until the end of May, $439 million was paid out under the pay code, representing one per cent of the total personnel expenditure for 2018-2019. Only 62 out of 88 departments provided information to the Parliamentary Budget Officer. CBC has more.
• Alberta reported two new deaths and 111 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, with 10,086 total confirmed cases of the illness. As of Friday, 95 people were being treated in hospital for the disease, with 19 of them in ICU beds. That brings the total number of active cases in the province to 1,341 — an increase of more than 500 cases since July 14.
• B.C. announced 27 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday. In a written statement, officials also confirmed a recent outbreak on the island of Haida Gwaii. The remote community stopped allowing visitors in April, however, officials are now reporting 12 active cases and one recovered case on the island.
• Canada now has 113,502+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,885+ deaths from the infection and 99,013+ recoveries.
• Globally there have now been 15,784,287+ confirmed cases with 640,601+ deaths and 9,132,074+ recoveries.

July 24

• The number of new cases in Ontario surged by 195 today. That raises the total to 38,405. The province now has seen 2,758 deaths, up three. There has been a sharp increase in hospitalizations with 141 people, with 20 in intensive care on a ventilator. There are 1,547 active cases with 34,100 recoveries, up 137. The province completed 28,809 tests in the past 24 hours.
• Ottawa has seen another 27 cases of COVID-19 raising the local total to 2,361 confirmed cases. This is the third most in the province.
• There were no new deaths reported from the infection leaving the city’s total at 263. There are 206 active cases; 1,892 have recovered. There are nine residents in hospital and three in intensive care. There are now seven outbreaks at long term care homes, an increase of one.
• These are the regions reporting the most new cases: Windsor-Essex — 57 cases; Toronto — 31 cases; Ottawa — 27 cases; Peel Region — 18 cases and Chatham-Kent Public Health — 13 cases
• More than 65 per cent of the new cases are in people under the age of 40.
• On Friday, Premier Doug Ford announced a delay in announcing when Toronto, Peel and Windsor-Essex will enter Stage 3 of reopening.
• Of the new cases, 49 of them were under the age of 19, 79 of them were between the ages of 20 and 39, and 51 of them were between the ages of 40 and 59. There were 16 cases in people aged 60 and older. 
• Quebec reported another 163 new cases of COVID-19 infection, raising the total to 58,243. The death toll remains at 5,663, up one. Hospitalizations are at 220 with 12 in intensive care. The province has seen 50,615 cases resolved, up 110.
• The Outaouais’ case count is 651, up five, while the regional death toll remains at 33.
• Alberta’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw announced 114 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, marking the seventh day of the past eight that officials have announced at least 100 cases. Before the recent stretch, the province hadn’t recorded a triple-digit daily case increase since May 1. “This needs to be a wake-up call,” Hinshaw said. “I am very concerned by these numbers.”
• As of July 23, there are 1,293 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, compared to the 590 there were on July 9, according to Alberta Health Services.
• Canada now has 113,193+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,881+ deaths from the infection and 98,873+ recoveries.
• Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu said on Friday that the launch of the federal government’s COVID-19 tracing app is “very close now.” Ontario remains the pilot province as initially announced, she said, but she did not provide an exact start date.
• The number of asylum claims being filed in Canada continues to rise slightly despite ongoing global travel restrictions. The latest figures from the Immigration Department show 1,500 claims for refugee status were filed in Canada in June, up from 1,400 in May. For the first time since April when travel restrictions were imposed, refugee claims were filed at airports. There were also multiple claims at marine ports. Also slightly on the rise were the number of people stopped by the RCMP trying to cross irregularly into Canada: 32 in June, up from 21 in May. Global News has more.
• Thirty flights have landed at a Canadian airport in the past two weeks with at least one confirmed case of COVID-19 onboard but passengers on those planes may not have been directly informed of their exposure risk. The federal government has flagged nine domestic flights and 21 international flights from cities in Europe, India, Mexico, the Middle East and a range of U.S. cities. CTV has more.
• The Toronto Blue Jays will play their 2020 Major League Baseball home games at the Buffalo, New York, ballpark of their top development club after being booted from Canada.
• Globally there have now been 15,656,042+ confirmed cases with 636,848+ deaths and 8,952,534+ recoveries.

July 23

• An analysis by Canadian Blood Services and Canada’s COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF) of 10,000 blood donor samples assessed for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies reveals that fewer than one per cent of the 10,000 samples from blood donors taken between May 9 through June 8, tested positive for antibodies to the novel coronavirus.
• The results offer a first, high-level glimpse into an ongoing Canadian Blood Services study assessing SARS-CoV-2 antibodies across nine provinces. 
• Canada now has 112,558+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,872+ deaths from the infection and 98,449+ recoveries.
• Ontario Premier Doug Ford has said the province will invest $500 million in school infrastructure. Next week the province expects to announce its plan for a return to school this fall.
• The number of new cases in Ontario has dropped to 103 reported today. That raises the total to 38,210. The province now has seen 2,755 deaths, up two. There has been a sharp increase in hospitalizations with 154 people now in hospital, up 34, with 21 in intensive care on a ventilator. There are 1,540 active cases with 33,963 recoveries, up 151. The province completed 26,001 tests in the past 24 hours.
• Ottawa has seen another 14 cases of COVID-19 raising the local total to 2,334 confirmed cases.
• There were no new deaths reported from the infection leaving the city’s total at 263. There are 193 active cases; 1,878 have recovered. There are nine residents in hospital and three in intensive care. There are now seven outbreaks at long term care homes, an increase of one.
• Quebec reported another 142 new cases of COVID-19 infection, raising the total to 58,080. The death toll remains at 5,662. Hospitalizations dropped by 14 to stand at 221 with 14 in intensive care, down two. The province has seen 50,505 cases resolved, up 132.
• The Outaouais’ case count is 646, up three, while the regional death toll remains at 33.
• British Columbia has introduced new restaurant and bar restrictions aim to target recent outbreaks related to these locations. Patrons will be required to sit in designated seats, and there will be no liquor self-service or dance floors. Businesses should work to reduce line-ups, gathering areas and choke points. B.C announced 34 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday.
• The case count prompted B.C. Premier John Horgan to calling on residents to be responsible. He highlighted incidents where pictures captured large gatherings of people including footage of people partying in Kelowna around the Canada Day long weekend — a place linked to dozens of recent cases — and a recent, crowded drum circle held at Third Beach in Vancouver. “I have to say to British Columbians: come on, you’re better than that,” he said. “We need bigger spaces and fewer faces.”
• Saskatchewan reported its highest total number of new cases in a single day on Wednesday with 60 new infections, 48 are from Hutterite colonies in the southwest and west-central regions. Forty-three of those are in a single communal living setting in the rural municipality of Lawtonia, southwest of Regina.
• Alberta confirmed 133 new cases Wednesday bringing the provincial total of active cases to 1,251. Of those cases, 102 people are in hospital and 18 people are being treated in intensive care. Two more deaths were recorded, one was in her 90s and the other in her 80s, died in connection to the outbreak at Good Samaritan Southgate Care Centre in Edmonton. The provincial death toll now sits at 174.
• The majority of active cases remain in Alberta’s major cities, with 635 cases in the Calgary zone and 236 cases in the Edmonton zone. Edmonton city council is considering a mandatory mask order similar to one enacted by Calgary.
• Globally there have now been 15,317,997+ confirmed cases with 625,852+ deaths and 8,721,415+ recoveries.
• The United States has passed the four million case count reaching 4,038,967+ cases today. There have been 145,384+ deaths and 1,199,314+ recoveries.

July 22

• WE, WE, WE: The prime minister, already under investigation by the Ethics Commissioner, agrees to testify before the Commons finance committee about the swirling controversy over the awarding of a sole-sourced contract t the WE Charity to administer $900 million in support for student volunteers. Members of Justin Trudeau’s family including his mother, wife and brother have been paid by WE for appearances.
• Finance Minister Bill Morneau has revealed to the finance committee that his family took two trips in 2017 that WE Charity paid for in part—one his wife and daughter took to Kenya, and one to Ecuador which he attended with his family—and that his wife has made $100,000 in donations to the organization in recent years. Morneau, too, is under an ethics investigation. The minister’s daughter is an employee of the charity.
• Ontario continues its surge in new cases rising to 38,107, up 165. The province now has seen 2,753 deaths, up two. There are 120 people in hospital with 23 in intensive care on a ventilator. There are 1,540 active cases with 33,812 recoveries, up 207. The province completed 23,990 tests in the past 24 hours.
• Ottawa has seen another 33 cases of COVID-19 raising the local total to 2,320 confirmed cases.
• The City of Ottawa has seen 153 new cases of COVID-19 over the past seven days. In June, Ottawa Public Health reported 132 cases of COVID-19.
• There were no deaths reported from the infection leaving the city’s total at 263. There are eight people in hospital, three in intensive care. There are 189 active cases, up 32; 1,868 have recovered.
• On the day indoor visits are allowed again, there are six outbreaks at long term care facilities in Ottawa.
• Also, the Ontario Health Coalition released the results of a survey today of more than 150 long-term care staff about staffing and care levels in Ontario’s long-term care homes. Conducted from July 10 to July 17 in every region of Ontario, the survey found that 95 per cent of the staff report that their long-term care homes are short staffed and 53 per cent of those report that they face shortages every day. Sixty-three per cent report that staffing levels are worse than before COVID-19 hit and 28 per cent said that staffing levels are the same.
• Staff say they have been denied vacation, stat holidays and weekends under emergency orders since the beginning of the pandemic. Staff have left due to fear, injuries, lack of childcare and the requirement to choose one home in which to work.  
• More than 100 staff surveyed report: baths and showers are missed regularly; emotional support was described as “non-existent” and most staff reported there was little to no time to do it despite residents’ loneliness and depression; there is no time to complete Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) such as brushing teeth, shaving, nail care.
• More than 50 staff surveyed report there is not enough time to feed and hydrate residents properly, to reposition them to avoid bedsores, to toilet them when they need it. Staff report that there are more frequent falls as a result of lack of time and supervision.
• The Health Coalition says Ontario’s long-term care homes are not ready for a second wave of COVID-19.
• The Ontario Progressive Conservative Party caucus has kicked out Cambridge MPP Belinda Karahalios on Tuesday after she voted against Bill 195. 
• The bill, called Reopening Ontario, is in its third reading, and extends orders made under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act.
• Karahalios said she voted against Bill 195 because it was an “unnecessary overreach on our parliamentary democracy.”
• Quebec, too, is experiencing rising case counts. The province reported 142 new cases of COVID-19 infection Tuesday raising the total to 57,938. There have now been 5,662 deaths, up four. Hospitalizations dropped by 12 to stand at 235 with 16 in intensive care, up one. The province has seen 50,373 cases resolved, up 75.
• The Outaouais’ case count is 643, up six, while the regional death toll remains at 33.
• Canada now has 112,073+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,868+ deaths from the infection and 98,054+ recoveries.
• The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.7 per cent year-over-year in June, up from a 0.4 per cent decline in May. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI increased 1.0 per cent in June, following a 0.1 per cent increase in May, Statistics Canada reports.
• The agency also released a report on immigration stating that travel restrictions in response to COVID-19 have hampered the inflow of immigrants to Canada. According to monthly updates provided by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, the number of people who were granted permanent resident status fell 75 per cent in April and May on a year-over-year basis, and the processing of immigration applications has mostly been restricted to temporary foreign workers who are already in Canada.
• Finally, in another report, Statistics Canada said that in answers to questions about personal spending, many respondents said they planned to spend less rather than more on some discretionary items. For example, half of the respondents to a panel survey said that they planned to spend less money eating at a restaurant. Additionally, about one-third planned to spend less on entertainment, clothing or apparel, recreation, or ordering take-out food.
• Most respondents said that they expected to spend about the same on groceries, 19 per cent expect to spend more, while 10 per cent would spend less.
• In Alberta, Calgary city council has made mask wearing mandatory in indoor spaces starting Aug. 1 as case counts in the province have risen by 509 in the past four days. The province now has 1,193 active cases of COVID-19.
• B.C. reported 30 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours “Today, we are reporting 30 new cases, including one epi-linked case since we reported on Monday, for a total of 3,328 cases in British Columbia,” said Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix in a written update on Tuesday.
• Meanwhile Nova Scotia has announced a return to in-class education from kindergarten to Grade 12 starting Sept. 8. Only students and staff will be allowed in schools. Physical distancing will apply, masks will be worn and movement will be limited.
• More than a quarter of all federal public servants were granted paid time off work during the first 11 weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, at an estimated cost of $439 million. Between March 15 and May 31 of this year, a total of 76,804 employees took this leave, according to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. CBC has more.
• Winnipeg will be the hub city for the CFL’s shortened 2020 season if the league and its players can agree on a deal. The league hopes to begin a shortened schedule in September with 60 games over 15 weeks. A cancelled campaign remains possible, should the league and union fail to come to an agreement on terms for a return to play.
• Globally there have now been 15,008,046+ confirmed cases with 617,902+ deaths and 8,511,330+ recoveries.

July 21

• Ontario now has 37,942 cases of COVID-19 infection, an increase of 203, which is the largest daily increase in several weeks. There have now been 2,753 deaths from the virus, up one. There are 120 individuals in hospital, up five, 23 on a ventilator in intensive care. There are 1,584 active cases of COVID-19 and 33,605 cases have been resolved, up 92.
• The province completed 22,974 tests in the past 24 hours.
• The province says the City of Ottawa now has 2,287 confirmed cases of COVID-19. That’s an increase of 43, one of the highest daily case counts since the pandemic began. There have been no new deaths leaving the city’s total at 263, but there are now 157 active cases of the infection. So far, 1,867 cases have been resolved.
• In the past week, 128 new cases have been reported, nearly matching the number of new cases for all of June, which saw 132 new cases. For much of July, the city had been reporting single-digit numbers of new cases.
• Quebec too is experiencing rising case counts. The province reported 180 new cases of COVID-19 infection today raising the total to 57,796. There have now been 5,658 deaths, up one. Hospitalizations stand at 247 with 15 in intensive care. The province has seen 50,298 cases resolved up 108.
• The Outaouais’ case count is 638, up two, while the regional death toll remains at 33.
• Canada’s Deputy Chief Public Health Office of Canada Dr. Howard Njoo told a media briefing that the vast majority of the recent increase in the proportion of cases is among young adults. Njoo said there were a number of reasons to explain the increase, including fatigue, more likely to have indoor parties, and the “invincible factor” of young people who are most likely to have mild or asymptomatic symptoms of COVID-19.
• The daily case count across Canada is now around 460 compared with 300 earlier in the month. Authorities in the 10 provinces are gradually lifting social and economic restrictions imposed in March, when the outbreak started.
• “Provinces (are) … trying to reopen at I think a very prudent pace, slowly opening up bars and restaurant. But everyone recognizes we would expect to get clusters of cases,” Njoo said.
• Njoo said young adults now made up around 55% of new cases, compared with around a third in May.
• Canada now has 111,507+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,860+ deaths from the infection and 97,674+ recoveries.
• The federal government sent 221,320 Canadians double payments of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), figures tabled in the House of Commons on Monday show. Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) said more than $442 million was paid out in double payments.
• Retail sales were up 18.7 per cent in May to $41.8 billion, Statistic Canada says. Motor vehicle and parts dealers led the growth, followed by an increase in sales in almost all other subsectors. Although sales increased in May, retail sales remain 20.0 per cent below February levels. Statistics Canada says early estimates suggest retail sales increased by 24.5 per cent in June.
• The WE Charity says one of the more contentious aspects of the now cancelled student assistance program’s design — paying students less than minimum wage for their hours of work — was the federal government’s idea. CBC has more. With only about six weeks left before their return to full-time studies, some students now say they want the federal government to scrap the stalled $900 million volunteer compensation scheme and redirect the funding toward financial assistance for post-secondary students and recent graduates.
• Meanwhile Canada’s top bureaucrat, Ian Shugart, the clerk of the privy council, said no red flags were raised within government about outsourcing a $912-million student grant program to WE Charity. Shugart also said there were no in-depth investigations into the financial affairs of WE, an organization at the centre of controversy because Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau both have close family ties to it.
• Many teachers and staff at Ottawa’s largest school board are less comfortable with the idea, according to the results of a survey that saw some 28,000 teachers and other staff give their feedback. The respondents want clearer expectations — for assignments, for what’s being asked of teachers, and for what to do if anyone shows up sick to school. The board will discuss the return to school in the fall tonight.
• Over the weekend, new cases jumped by 368 in Alberta, bringing the province to a total of 1,100 active cases. Thirteen regions in the province are also now under a “watch” designation, which means the area has more than 50 active cases per 100,000 residents. The highest is Clear Hills County, at a rate of 366.9 per 100,000 people. That’s a similar case rate to U.S. states like Washington, Oklahoma and Kentucky. 
• Globally there have now been 14,774,887+ confirmed cases with 611,599+ deaths and 8,340,042+ recoveries.
• The 27 European Union leaders have agreed to an unprecedented 1.8 trillion euro (US$2.1 trillion) budget and coronavirus recovery fund. The EU will establish a 750 billion-euro ($858 billion) coronavirus fund, partly based on common borrowing, to be sent as loans and grants to the hardest-hit countries. That is in addition to the agreement on the seven-year, 1 trillion-euro ($1.14 trillion) EU budget.

July 20

• Ontario now has 37,739 cases of COVID-19 infection, an increase of 135. There have now been 2,752 deaths from the virus, up one. There are 115 individuals in hospital, 24 on a ventilator in intensive care. There are 1,398 active cases of COVID-19 and 33,513 cases have been resolved, up 106.
• The province completed 20,913 tests in the past 24 hours.
• Premier Doug Ford announced that seven more regions in the province will enter Stage 3 of reopening Friday leaving Toronto, Peel and Windsor-Essex in Stage 2.
• The province says Ottawa now has 2,244 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection. That’s an increase of 20 cases, the most since May. The death toll remains at 263. There are now 115 active cases in the city with 1,866 cases resolved. Ottawa has the fourth highest case count in the province, ahead of troubled Windsor-Essex, which has seen 1,970 cases, 70 deaths and has 273 active cases.
• Ottawa Public Health says that 26 of the 62 new cases reported on the OPH dashboard since Thursday have been people in their 20s. The dashboard reflects when OPH confirms and logs cases, not when cases were diagnosed.
• The highest case count belongs to the Toronto Public Health region with a total of 13,902 cases, 1,111 deaths, 12,387 recoveries and 404 active cases.
• COVID consequences: Organizers of the Ottawa International Buskerfest say the 2020 edition will not go on because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was to run from July 31 to Aug. 3.
• Quebec has now seen 57,616 confirmed cases, up 150, and 5,657 deaths, up two. There are 251 in hospital, up three, 17 in intensive care. Quebec reported that 50,190 people have recovered from the virus, up 140.
• The Outaouais’ case count is 636, up three, while the regional death toll remains at 33.
• Dr. Bonnie Henry says B.C. could be in store for explosive growth in new coronavirus cases if residents aren’t careful. There have been 102 new cases discovered over the weekend.
• Updated epidemiological data Monday which indicates the newest coronavirus patients are having more contacts than in previous months.
• At the beginning of the pandemic many patients had 11 to 12 contacts each. That number decreased as people stayed home during restrictions, but the latest patients now are seeing more people while contagious.
• “It’s parties, house boats, private homes … If you have a small group one night and a different small group the next night, those are the situations where we can pass this virus on,” Henry said.
• Canada now has 111,113+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,858+ deaths from the infection and 97,474+ recoveries.
• The House of Commons will vote on extending the emergency wage-subsidy program to December, sending a special payment to people with disabilities and extending deadlines for court cases. The Bloc Quebecois has indicated it will support the bill virtually ensuring passage.
• Globally there have now been 14,608,517+ confirmed cases with 608,420+ deaths and 8,201,516+ recoveries.
• A study released by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that children up to age 10 spread COVID-19 much less than adults but children 10 to 19 were just as likely as adults to transmit the virus to someone else.
• A vaccine being developed in the United Kingdom is showing promising signs. Scientists at Oxford University say their vaccine has been shown in an early trial to prompt a protective immune response in hundreds of people who got the shot. Researchers first began testing the vaccine in April in about 1,000 people, half of whom got the experimental vaccine.
• The vaccine produced a dual immune response in people aged 18 to 55 that lasted at least two months after they were immunized.
• Chinese researchers with CanSino Biologics published a study on their COVID-19 vaccine in the Lancet on Monday. They reported that in their study of about 500 people, an immune response was detected in those who were immunized. But they noted that because the participants weren’t exposed to the coronavirus afterwards, it wasn’t possible to tell if they were protected from the disease.

July 19

• Ottawa Public Health is reporting 16 new cases of COVID-19 infection. The current total of cases in the city is now 2,224. The death toll remains at 263. Five people are in hospital and one person is in intensive care. There are now six outbreaks at long term care homes in the city. The homes are: Carlingview Manor; Extendicare Medex; Madonna Care Community; Jardin Royal Garden; The Redwoods Retirement Residence and Barin Croft Residential Services — Mathieu Way
• There are 98 active cases and 1,863 cases have been resolved.
• On Saturday the city saw 19 new cases which Dr. Vera Etches says appear to have been related to parties and people working while sick. Eleven of the 19 cases are people in their 20s.
• Ontario now has 37,604 cases of COVID-19 infection, an increase of 164. There have now been 2,751 deaths from the virus. That’s an increase of three. There are 101 individuals in hospital, 23 on a ventilator in intensive care. There are 1,446 active cases of COVID-19 and 33,407 cases have been resolved, up 113.
• Quebec has now seen 57,466 confirmed cases, up 166, and 5,655 deaths, up one. There are 251 in hospital, up three, 18 in intensive care, up three. Quebec reported that 50,050 people have recovered from the virus, up 23.
• The Outaouais’s case count is 633, up one, while the regional death toll remains at 33.
• Canada now has 110,399+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,852+ deaths from the infection and 97,048+ recoveries.
• Globally there have now been 14,311,886+ confirmed cases with 602,757+ deaths and 8,044,178+ recoveries.
• As Canada’s COVID-19 infections and deaths moderate, the explosion of new cases in the United States presents a challenge for Canadian authorities who must deal with unwanted tourists slipping though the border and legitimate travellers who break quarantine laws, Reuters reports. The problem is compounded by a recent jump in crossings. More than 187,000 truck drivers and individuals entered last week from the U.S., a 30 per cent increase over the end of May. Returning Canadians, essential workers and truckers, foreigners coming for family reunification, and even Americans driving to Alaska, are all allowed in. All but essential workers and truckers must isolate for 14 days, but not everyone is. Canada’s public health agency has 175,723 foreigners to verify compliance, while the RCMP have performed physical checks on 1,492 “priority individuals.”
• A Florida couple were fined in rural Ontario this week for breaking the quarantine law, while a Minnesota couple were fined last week, also in Ontario. Police have also fined numerous U.S. citizens for stopping to hike in picturesque Banff National Park while en route to Alaska.

July 18

• The federal government says the Toronto Blue Jays can not play their home games in the Rogers Centre because of the risk of spreading COVID-19. Unlike NHL games which will only be played in Toronto and Edmonton, the Jays would have to cross the border to play games in the United States in areas that are COVID-19 hotspots.
• As most of Ontario is in Stage 3 of reopening, the province is reporting 166 news cases of COVID-19 bringing the provincial total to 37,440+. There have been 2,748+ deaths, up two. There are 105 residents in hospital with the infection, 22 on a ventilator in intensive care.
• There are 1,398 active cases and 33,294 recoveries.
• The province completed 28,849 tests in the past 24 hours.
• Ottawa Public Health has reported 19 new cases of COVID-19, raising the local total to 2,208. The death toll remains at 263. Four people are in hospital. There are 90 active cases and 1,855 cases have been resolved.
• The spike in local cases has come as OPH has sent mobile testing clinics into hard hit neighbourhoods in the city. A mobile clinic was set up in the Herongate neighbourhood on Thursday and Friday, with another clinic set up in the Heatherington area on Friday.
• Quebec has now seen 57,300 confirmed cases, up 158, and 5,654 deaths, up seven. Five deaths occurred before July 10. There are 248 in hospital, 15 in intensive care. As of Saturday, Quebec reported that 50,027 people have recovered from the virus, up 88.
• The Outaouais’s case count is 632, up three, while the regional death toll remains at 33.
• Face masks are now mandatory in indoor spaces in Quebec.
• Canada now has 109,999+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,848+ deaths from the infection and 96,912+ recoveries.
• Globally there have now been 14,126,035+ confirmed cases with 598,098+ deaths and 7,931,486+ recoveries.
• Four countries, the U.S. (3,677,453), Brazil (2,064,328), India (1,074,975) and Russia (765,437) make up more than half of the confirmed cases.

July 17

• The Finance Minister announced changes to the emergency wage subsidy program Friday afternoon. If passed, the program will drop an earlier requirement stipulating that businesses needed to show a 30 per cent drop in revenue to be eligible. The changes will come into effect in July and will run to Dec. 19.
• The Deputy Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, Howard Njoo, is expressing concern about a recent increase in case counts in the country, in the main, among young people attending large parties and crowded bars.
• Ottawa Public Health has reported seven new cases of COVID-19, raising the local total to 2,189. The death toll remains at 263. Four people are in hospital. There are 76 active cases and 1,850 cases have been resolved.
• As most of Ontario enters Stage 3 of reopening, the province is reporting 111 news cases of COVID-19 bringing the provincial total to 37,274+. There have been 2,746+ deaths, up nine. There are 108 residents in hospital with the infection, 21 on a ventilator in intensive care.
• There are 1,366 active cases and 33,162 recoveries.
• The province completed 31,163 tests in the past 24 hours as it extended its emergency orders to July 29.
• Premier Doug Ford was in Kitchener Friday announcing a plan to protect intellectual property developed in Ontario. The goal is to keep innovation and innovators in the province, Ford said.
• Quebec is reporting 141 new cases of COVID-19 as the province continues to see a surge in cases. The total is now 57,142. One new death has been reported, raising the provincial total to 5,647. There are 260 in hospital with 16 in intensive care.
• Quebec public health authorities are using a new system for calculating the number of people who have recovered from COVID-19 and it has sent the numbers sharply up Friday.
• Officials announced that 23,686  more people have recovered from the virus for a total of 49,939. That is 87 per cent of the total cases in the province.
• The number also drastically reduces the national number of active cases, which were 27,603. The number of active cases in Canada is now 4,058.
• The Outaouais’s case count remains at 629 and the death toll remains at 33.
• Canada now has 109,516+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,837+ deaths from the infection and 72,836+ recoveries.
• Alberta has seen the most new cases since May with 120 reported Thursday. The province has seven regions in the province on a “watch” status. Alberta has seen 9,114 cases of COVID-19 with 165 deaths.
• British Columbia has reported 21 new cases of COVID-19, many of which are linked to four businesses in Kelowna. So far 27 cases overall have been tied to a nightclub, a spin studio and two resorts. There is also an outbreak at a cherry company. There are 192 active cases of COVID-19 in B.C.
• Saskatchewan too has seen a spike in cases particularly among Hutterite colonies and a number of rural municipalities in the southwest part of the province, including Maple Creek and Biggar, as well as the city of Swift Current. Forty-two new infections were reported Thursday. The province has seen 923 cases in all with 15 deaths.
• COVID consequences: Federal Youth minister Bardish Chagger told the Commons finance committee Thursday that the federal government was prepared to pay the WE Charity upwards of $43.5 million, more than double the amount the government had said they would pay the charity to run a student summer grant program. This came as the Ethics commissioner began a review of Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s role in the WE Charity decision.
• The finance minister apologized Friday for not recusing himself during the cabinet’s consideration of the program that was to be administered by WE.
• Cineplex announces 130 layoffs as a result of the impact of the pandemic on its business.
• The Toronto Blue Jays have been cleared by the province of Ontario to play their home games in the Rogers Centre. The federal government now must clear the team to travel across the Canada-U.S. border to play away games.
• Globally there have now been 13,885,746+ confirmed cases with 592,573+ deaths and 7,779,604+ recoveries.
• Netflix picked up 10.1 million worldwide subscribers during the April-June period as people hunkered down during the pandemic. Netflix ended June with 193 million worldwide subscribers, including 70 million in the U.S. and Canada, its largest geographic market.
• The United States has smashed through a new marker as it has now recorded 3,576,593+. The country has seen 138,362+ deaths and 1,026,816+ recoveries.
• Brazil has passed the two million case mark with 2,014,738+ cases, 76,822+ deaths and 1,366,775.

July 16

• The federal government is boosting COVID-19 aid to provinces to more than $19 billion. The funding will help provinces and municipalities safely restart their economies and prepare for a potential second wave of COVID-19. It will go towards increasing testing, contact tracing, personal protective equipment, cash for municipalities, transit, seniors care, childcare, and national sick leave. It is $5 billion more than the $14 billion announced in June. Ontario Premier Doug Ford says his province will get about $7 billion of the total.
• As the city prepares to enter Stage 3 of reopening, Ottawa Public Health is reporting a spike of 15 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, raising the local total to 2,182. Once again, there are no deaths to report leaving the local toll at 263. Three people are in hospital, no one in intensive care.
• The city now has 71 active cases and there have been 1,846 recoveries.
• Ontario now has had 37,163 confirmed cases of COVID-19, an increase of 111 in the past 24 hours. The death toll is now 2,737, up five. Recoveries rose by 141 to 33,061. There are 107 in hospital and 20 in intensive care on a ventilator. There are 1,365 active cases of COVID-19 across Ontario. The province completed 26,492 tests in the past 24 hours.
• Premier Doug Ford visited hard hit Leamington Thursday where he met local officials and got a long promised hair cut at Mastronardi Barbering. There were 11 new COVID-19 cases reported in the Windsor-Essex area. About 150 cases are active among temporary farm workers.
• Ontario has changed its liquor laws to give consumers more delivery options and allow boat operators with liquor licences to temporarily sell and serve alcohol while their boats are docked. The province says the changes are to help hospitality workers and businesses. The province is removing the requirement for liquor delivery services to obtain a signed receipt as well as restrictions that prevented them delivering to any private space, such as offices.
• Quebec is reporting 142 new cases of COVID-19 as the province sees a surge in cases. The total is now 57,001. Ten new deaths have been reported, one from before July 8, raising the provincial total to 5,646. There are 277 in hospital with 20 in intensive care. Quebec reported 12,887 tests were performed on July 14, for a cumulative total of 1,005,673. There have been 26.097 recoveries.
• The Outaouais has seen 629 cases, up one. The death toll remains at 33.
• Quebec Premier Francois Legault said Thursday the province’s director of public health is analyzing the increase in case counts and will make a recommendation soon about whether to close bars and nightclubs. “At this moment, we haven’t ruled out closing the bars,” Legault told reporters in Carleton, Que., in the Gaspe region.
• Authorities has identified at least 30 cases of COVID-19 linked to nine Montreal-area bars, prompting health officials last weekend to instruct anyone who had gone to a bar in the city since July 1 to get tested. Last week, the province ordered bars to limit capacity to 50 per cent and stop serving alcohol at midnight.
• Canada now has 109,080+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,825+ deaths from the infection and 72,626+ recoveries.
• COVID consequences: Heart researchers say there’s a surprising reason Canada has seen higher COVID-19 deaths than many countries with fewer health-care resources — more Canadians live longer with chronic disease, putting them at greater risk of dying from COVID-19. Research led by Heart & Stroke also found the pandemic has likely postponed thousands of cardiovascular procedures. CP24 has more.
• Ottawa City Council has voted to order patios in the Byward Market to close at 1 a.m.earlier, despite concerns from restaurants and bars in the neighbourhood about shortening their opening window. The order comes into effect on Friday, the day the city and much of the province enters Stage 3 of reopening.
• The City of Ottawa’s Archives, with the help of uOttawa and Carleton University, is asking residents to preserve everything from diaries to business records to unpublished works of fiction written during the pandemic, and to send along digital copies for posterity. (Physical items will be accepted at a later date.) If you want to donate, email archives@ottawa.ca for details.
• The Ottawa Hospital’s Riverside Eye Care Centre (RECC) has been closed since March due to COVID-19. Despite a directive from the province in May allowing elective surgeries to resume, the RECC has yet to reopen.
• The RECC is the largest outpatient facility of its kind in Canada, performing more than 10,000 surgeries a year. According to Dr. Peter Agapitos, a staff ophthalmologist at RECC, there could already be 5,000 patients waiting for surgeries that were cancelled due to the pandemic. CBC has more.
• Globally there have now been 13,575,040+ confirmed cases with 584,556+ deaths and 7,596,551+ recoveries.
• Russian cyber actors are targeting organizations involved in coronavirus vaccine development, according to a new warning by U.S., U.K. and Canadian security officials on Thursday that details activity by a Russian hacking group called APT29, which also goes by the name “the Dukes” or “Cozy Bear.”

July 15

• Ontario will make it easier to build new long-term care homes. The provincial government says the creation of thousands of needed beds has been slow, so a new formula will pay builders more, and include grants to cover up to 17 per cent of up-front capital costs. A spokeswoman for Ontario’s long-term care minister says that money will now fund 8,000 new beds and 12,000 renovated beds.
• The province is also promising today that all new long-term care facilities, and those being renovated, will have air conditioning.
• And the province will provide details in the coming weeks on a new plan to build as many as 30,000 beds over the next 10 years.
• As well, two people at a time can now visit a loved one at a long-term care home during an outdoor visit. Those visitors will no longer be required to take a COVID-19 test. And on July 22, indoor visits will be permitted for up to two people per resident at a time. A COVID-19 test will be required to visit indoors.  
• Officials said that between 2011 and 2018, just more than 600 new long-term care beds were built in the province.
• Ontario now has had more than 37,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The province reported 102 new cases, the lowest daily count since March, bringing the total to 37,052. The death toll is now 2,732, up nine. Recoveries rose by 195 to 32,920. There are 115 in hospital and 22 in intensive care on a ventilator. There are 1,400 active cases of COVID-19 across Ontario. The province completed 23,769 tests in the past 24 hours.
• Ottawa Public Health is reporting one new case of COVID-19 raising the city’s total to 2,167. The death toll remains at 263. Three people are in hospital. There are four outbreaks in long term care homes. There are 58 active cases of COVID-19 in the city. So far, 1,846 cases have been resolved.
• As expected, Ottawa City Council has passed a bylaw that makes face masks mandatory in indoor public spaces. The new bylaw is in effect and brings with it fines for $200 for individuals and $400 for businesses. Council will review the bylaw in August.
• Under the bylaw for mandatory face masks, you must wear a mask at: restaurants and other eating and drinking establishments, retail locations, places of worship, sports facilities, museums, theatres and other entertainment venues, public areas in hotels and other short-term rental premises, public areas in hospitals and other health facilities, City of Ottawa buildings and facilities, including libraries. Masks are mandatory on all OC Transpo buses, the O-Train, in stations and on Para Transpo Vehicles. The new City of Ottawa face mask policy would cover violations on OC Transpo property.
• In Quebec there are now 56,859 cases of COVID-19, up 129, with 5,636 deaths, up three, two of which happened before July 7. There are 285 people in hospital, down 10. There have been 26.097 recoveries, up 72.
• The new case count is the fourth straight day the province has seen more than 100.
• The Outaouais has seen 628 cases, up one. The death toll remains at 33.
• Canada now has 108,486+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,798+ deaths from the infection and 72,170+ recoveries.
• COVID consequences: The WE Charity is launching a restructuring and corporate review. “After much reflection and with great care and concern for all our stakeholders, we have made some important decisions to refocus on our mission, simplify our program offering, and undertake a series of governance and structural changes,” said a statement released by the charity.
• Anti-lockdown groups have started creating medical cards to be exempt from wearing a mandatory face mask in indoor spaces. Canada’s human rights watchdog says these cards should not be used. The cards may look like they have been authorized by a public health agency. CTV News has more.
• By the end of April, around 112,000 to 115,000 people crossed land borders into Canada, a 90 per cent drop from the same period last year. But in the last few weeks, that number has grown, reaching about 172,000 in the first week of July, according to public data from the CBSA. 
• The agency told Global News that this is due to crossings by U.S. citizens and foreign nationals who meet entry requirements, which include immediate family members of Canadians — a recent exception — returning citizens or permanent residents coming home after initial lockdown measures, those travelling for work and study, and essential workers.
• Canada’s economic growth will not return to pre-pandemic levels until 2022, the Bank of Canada said on Wednesday as it held its key lending rate at 0.25 per cent.
• Within the last two weeks, at least 26 flights have arrived in Canadian airports with confirmed cases of the virus onboard, Health Canada reports.
• Globally there have now been 13,287,651+ confirmed cases with 577,954+ deaths and 7,374,484+ recoveries.

July 14

• Ottawa Public Health is reporting seven new cases of COVID-19 raising the city’s total to 2,166. The death toll remains at 263. Three people are in hospital with one person in intensive care. There are four outbreaks in long term care homes. There are 62 active cases of COVID-19 in the city. So far, 1,841 cases have been resolved.
• Ontario reported 36,950+ confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection, up 111. The death toll stands now at 2,723 deaths, up one. There have been 32,785 recoveries, up 123. There are 1,442 active cases of COVID-19.
• There are 137 people in hospital, 30 in intensive care on a ventilator. The province completed 16,744 tests in the past 24 hours.
• Health officials said 96 of the new COVID-19 cases were people younger than 60. The province also reported that the new number of cases did not include anyone more than 80. Fifteen of new cases were people between 60 and 79.
• The city of Toronto is asking for help in dealing with a forecast $1.35 billion deficit.
• In Quebec there are now 56,730 cases of COVID-19, up 109, with 5,633 deaths, up five. There are 295 people in hospital. There have been 26,025 recoveries, up 114.
• The Outaouais has seen 627 cases, up seven. The death toll remains at 33.
• In an interim report, the Senate finance committee recommends the Liberal government make further improvements to existing programs and better plan for what happens when COVID-19 benefits run out.
• The report recommends the government consider reducing the amount paid to CERB recipients on a declining scale based on income rather than abruptly turning off the taps on Sept. 30.
• Senators also say the government should give seriously consider a permanent basic income guarantee.
• Alberta will be handing out 20 million face masks as the province sees a resurgence on confirmed cases of COVID-19. Despite this, Premier Jason Kenney will not be making masks mandatory, as Quebec has.
• Canada now has 108,375+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,796+ deaths from the infection and 72,078+ recoveries.
• The Canadian company, Medicago, said on Tuesday it has begun testing its plant-based coronavirus vaccine in an early-stage clinical trial.
• A new survey sponsored by the Association for Canadian Studies shows a broad hesitancy among many Canadians to return to so-called “normal life” following the first wave of COVID-19. Thirty-one per cent of respondents across Canada expect that life will “never” return to normal following the pandemic outbreak, while 58 per cent say it will “take time” before they resume normal life. The National Post has more.
• Another survey done by Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies asked 1,523 Canadians whether they felt the government ought to immediately and quickly begin to scale back pandemic support programs to Canadians and to business. Forty-one per cent said yes to that question, 44 per cent said no and 15 per cent said they didn’t know or preferred not to answer. The survey was conducted between July 10 and 12, just after the Liberals released their projections.
• COVID consequences: Champlain township council, est of Ottawa, is no longer allowing non-residents to use L’Orignal Beach, on the Ottawa River. Anyone 13 or older who wants to take advantage of the beach must now present identification at the entrance to L’Orignal Park. Boaters from outside the township will be barred from using the park’s boat launch. CBChas more.
• It is becoming more clear that the ban on non-essential travel between Canada and the U.S. will be banned for another month after July 21. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters talks between the two nations on the ban were continuing and said, “We will have more to say later this week, I’m sure.”
• Then there’s this: the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) are hoping to bring live action back to audiences in Alberta. On July 23, the PBR will hold back-to-back events which will be closed to the public but broadcast on TSN.
• Globally there have now been 13,145,302+ confirmed cases with 574,072+ deaths and 7,268,022+ recoveries.
• Australian states have tightened restrictions on movement as authorities struggle to contain a fresh outbreak of COVID-19 that has pushed the national tally of cases to 10,251+. The death toll is now 110+.
• Meanwhile, the United States has seen 3,387,053+ cases and 135,984+ deaths. This comes as Texas, Florida and California lockdown parts of their economies.
• Two states extended border restrictions and Australia’s most populous state, New South Wales, imposed limits on the number of people allowed in large pubs.

July 13

• A Canadian human trial of a possible COVID-19 vaccine has yet to start because the Chinese government has not approved the sending of Ad5-nCoV to Canada, Canadian authorities say. Health Canada announced May 16 that it had approved Ad5-nCoV for human trials in Canada, to be carried out by the Canadian Center for Vaccinology (CCV) at Dalhousie University in Halifax. So far the Chinese government has not released the vaccine for use in Canada.
• The federal government will extend the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) program until December. This is the second extension of the subsidy. The extension brings to total on offer from the program to $82.3 billion, almost double the original $45 billion estimate. As of July 6, 581,800 out of a total of 587,060 submissions had been approved. This equates to slightly more than $18 billion.
• Much of Ontario, including Ottawa, will enter Stage 3 of reopening on Friday, except for public health regions in the Greater Toronto Area, Niagara and Windsor-Essex. According to the provincial plan, Stage 3 will see the reopening of most remaining workplaces and community spaces while carefully and gradually lifting restrictions. This includes dine-in restaurants, bars and cosmetic businesses. Performing arts venues and movie theatres can also reopen with physical distancing. Gatherings of 100 people outdoors and 50 indoors are allowed.
• Public health advice and workplace safety guidance will remain in place and available.
• Child care facilities can now have groups of 15 starting July 27, which the province says will mean about 90 per cent of child care needs will be met. As well, outdoor playground can reopen.
• Businesses such as waterparks, indoor karaoke, amusement parks and nightclubs will not be allowed to reopen.
• Ottawa Public Health reported 10 new cases of COVID-19 today, raising the total number of cases to 2,159. The death toll remains at 263. Two people are in hospital and one in intensive care. There are 59 active cases and 1,837 cases have been resolved.
• The province reported 36,839+ confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection, up 116. The death toll stands now at 2,722 deaths, up three. There have been 32,663 recoveries, up 129.
• There are 104 people in hospital, 20 in intensive care on a ventilator. The province completed 20,896 tests in the past 24 hours.
• Ottawa Public Health reported three new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday for a total of 2,149. Once again no one died from the infection in the city, leaving the toll at 263. There are 50 active cases and 1,836 have been resolved.
• There are four outbreaks in Ottawa long term care homes: Extendicare Medex Long-term Care Home; Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre, Rideau Building; Amica Westboro Park Retirement Home and Bairn Croft Residential Services – Mathieu Way.
• In Quebec there are now 56,621 cases of COVID-19, up 100, with 5,628 deaths, up one. There are 305 people in hospital. There have been 25,25,911 recoveries, up 49.
• The Outaouais has seen 620 cases. The death toll remains at 33.
• Starting today, face masks are mandatory on public transit in Quebec. And starting Saturday they will be mandatory in all indoor spaces. There will be fines possible ranging from $00 to $6,000.
• The Public Health Agency of Canada is adding on-site employees at 36 points of entry, on the Canada-U.S. border. These points of entry — including air and land — see 90 per cent of travellers. Travel across the border has been linked to a small cluster of cases in Prince Edward Island tied to an individual who came from the U.S. on a student visa. CBC has more.
• The prime minister said he should have recused himself from the cabinet decision to put the administration of a $900 million program to encourage Canadian youth to volunteer for public works in the hands of the WE charity.
• “I made a mistake,” the PM said.
• WE has since bowed out of the program which will be administered by bureaucrats. The controversy involving WE has exploded when it was revealed members of Justin Trudeau’s family had been paid for appearances. The federal ethics commissioner is now investigating.
• Canada now has 107,807+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,787+ deaths from the infection and 71,645+ recoveries.
• COVD consequences: A new paper from the Bank of Canada shows that 36 per cent of Canadians are continuing to use cash during the COVID-19 pandemic and most have no plans to go cashless any time soon. The report shows that, as before the pandemic, a majority of Canadians use debit cards (52 per cent) or credit cards (62 per cent) when making purchases.
• Consumer spending in Canada rebounded sharply in the first half of June, thanks in part to tens of billions in government benefits paid to sidelined workers, says a report from the Royal Bank of Canada.
• Spending from the end of May and through the first half of June was down about 13 per cent from a year earlier. That’s a major improvement from April, when consumer spending was down about 30 per cent.
• Globally there have now been 13,006,764+ confirmed cases with 570,776+ deaths and 7,001,675+ recoveries.
• The World Health Organization said today the global pandemic has now killed more than half a million people in six-and-a-half months. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there would be “no return to the ‘old normal’ for the foreseeable future”, especially if preventive measures were neglected. “Let me be blunt, too many countries are headed in the wrong direction, the virus remains public enemy number one,” he told a virtual briefing from WHO headquarters in Geneva. “If basics are not followed, the only way this pandemic is going to go, it is going to get worse and worse and worse. But it does not have to be this way.”
• The World Health Organization on Sunday reported a record increase in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases over a 24-hour period, at more than 230,000. 

July 12

• Ottawa Public Health reported three new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday. Once again no one died from the infection in the city. Two people are in hospital. There are 50 active cases and 1,836 have been resolved.
• Hair stylists and barbers in Ottawa received the bulk of tickets handed out for business-related bylaw infractions during the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic, CBC reports.
• City of Ottawa bylaw officers have charged 16 people since April 3 for operating businesses in ways that contravened COVID-19 restrictions, according to data released by the city.
• Ontario will learn the details of Stage 3 of reopening on Monday. According to the provincial plan, Stage 3 will see the reopening of most remaining workplaces and community spaces, while carefully and gradually lifting restrictions. Public health advice and workplace safety guidance will remain in place and available. Large public gatherings will continue to be restricted.
• The province reported 36,723+ confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection, up 129. The death toll stands now at 2,719 deaths, up three.
• There are 1,470 active cases. There have been 32,534 recoveries, up 112. There are 116 people in hospital and 19 in intensive care on a ventilator.
• The province reported the completion of 25,726 tests on Saturday.
• In Quebec there are now 56,521 cases of COVID-19, up 114, with 5,627 deaths, up seven. There are 306 people in hospital and 24 in intensive care. There were 89 more recoveries for a total of 25,862.
• The Outaouais has seen 620 cases, up one. The death toll remains at 33.
• Canada now has 107,579+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,783+ deaths from the infection and 71,467+ recoveries.
• Globally there have now been 12,741,287+ confirmed cases with 565,719+ deaths and 6,890,914 recoveries.

July 11

• The City of Ottawa has seen its largest spike in new COVIDS-19 cases in weeks with 16 reported by Ottawa Public Health today for a total of 2,146. The death toll remains at 236.
• One person is in hospital. There are 52 active cases and 1,831 infections have now been resolved. There are now four outbreaks at long term care homes.
• Ottawa Public Health told CTV that the spike in new cases has been caused by: “As you are aware, the daily figures are extracted from our database at 2 p.m. the day before. Please note there was a slight delay in the data extraction yesterday, and the increase in cases in (Saturday’s) report reflect more than a 24-hour period.”
• Ontario has 36,594+ confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection, up 130. The death toll stands now at 2,716 deaths, up six.
• There are 1,456 active cases. There have been 32,422 recoveries, up 267. There are 128 people in hospital and 18 in intensive care on a ventilator.
• The province completed 29,522 tests in the past 24 hours.
• In Quebec there are now 56,407 cases of COVID-19, up 91, with 5,620 deaths, up eight. There are 291 people in hospital and 24 in intensive care. Seventy-eight more people have recovered from the virus, according to Quebec, for total of 25,773.
• The Outaouais has seen 619 cases, up one. The death toll remains at 33.
• Canada now has 107,727+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,773+ deaths from the infection and 71,097+ recoveries.
• Globally there have been 12,576,457+ cases, 561,879+ deaths and 6,740,124+ recoveries.
• The United States continues to lead the way with 3,285,861+ cases of COVID-19 and 134,410+ deaths from the infection, followed by Brazil (1,800,827+ cases, 70,398+ deaths), India (820,916+ cases, 22,123+ deaths) and Russia (719,449+ cases, 11,188+ deaths).
• Following the confirmation that Toronto and Edmonton will be the hub cities for a resumption of play expected on Aug. 1, the NHL has announced it has prohibited teams from releasing coronavirus test results and injury information for medical privacy reasons.
• The NHL and the NHLPA approved “Return To Play” protocols and a new Collective Bargaining Agreement on Friday, with the CBA term running for six years beginning next season.

July 10

• The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board is telling parents it will urge the Ontario government to allow a five-day in-class school week in the fall.
• Ottawa Public Health reports two new cases of COVID-19 in the city with no new deaths, leaving the total at 263. Total cases are now 2,130. One person is in hospital and no one is intensive care. There are three outbreaks in long term care facilities. There are 40 active cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa and 1,827 cases have been resolved.
• Ontario has 36,464+ confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection, up 116. The death toll stand now at 2,710 deaths, up seven.
• There are 1,599 active cases. There are 23 new cases in Toronto, 35 in Peel and 10 in Windsor Essex. There have been 32,155 recoveries, up 178. There are 117 people in hospital and 24 in intensive care on a ventilator.
• There are 25 outbreaks in long term care homes, down one.
• The province completed 27,484 tests.
• Even as case counts drop, Premier Doug Ford said he’s in no rush to move into Stage 3 of reopening. He also said whether bars and indoor dining will be allowed in Stage 3 is yet to be decided. He also said he would like the Canada-U.S. border to remain closed.
• “We’re going to be very cautious about opening up but eventually we’ll get there,” Ford said during the province’s daily COVID-19 update. Some officials are suggesting Stage 3 could begin next week.
• Also Friday the Ford government launched Ontario Made, a program promoting locally made products with an investment of $500,000.
• In Quebec there are now 56,316 cases of COVID-19, up 100, with 5,612 deaths, up three. There are 317 people in hospital and 24 in intensive care. The number of Quebecers who have recovered from COVID-19 is 25,616, up 82.
• The Outaouais has seen 618 cases, up three. The death toll remains at 33.
• Statistics Canada reports that the overall unemployment rate was 12.3 per cent, a 1.4 point improvement over May. From February to April, 5.5 million Canadian workers were affected by the COVID-19 economic shutdown. This included a drop in employment of 3.0 million and a COVID-related increase in absences from work of 2.5 million.
• By the week of June 14 to June 20, the number of workers affected by the COVID-19 economic shutdown was 3.1 million, a reduction since April of 43 per cent.
• Building on an initial recovery of 290,000 in May, employment rose by nearly one million in June (+953,000; +5.8 per cent), with gains split between full-time work (+488,000 or +3.5 per cent) and part-time work (+465,000 or +17.9 per cent). With these two consecutive increases, employment in June was 1.8 million (-9.2 per cent) lower than in February.
• The number of Canadians who were employed but worked less than half their usual hours for reasons likely related to COVID-19 dropped by 823,000 in June. Combined with declines recorded in May, this left absences from work 1.4 million above pre-COVID levels.
• Dr. Vera Etches told Ottawa’s largest school board on Thursday that the risks of COVID-19 have to be balanced against the harm to both students and parents of having schools closed or operating part-time. Her recommendation is that elementary and secondary students return to full-time school in September. The Ottawa Citizen has more.
• Newfoundland has its first case of COVID-19 in 94 days. The person recently returned from the United States.
• Canada now has 107,056+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,759+ deaths from the infection and 70,752+ recoveries.
• Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the annual pace of housing starts rose in June as starts of multi-family projects rose, offsetting a decline in single-detached homes.
• The federal housing agency says the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts came in at 211,681 units in June, up from 195,453 in May. Urban starts of apartments, condos and other types of multiple-unit housing projects rose 13.0 per cent to 154,602 units in June, while urban starts of single-detached homes fell 4.5 per cent to 42,073.
• COVID consequences: DavidsTea is closing 82 stores across Canada and all its 42 retail locations in the U.S. to focus on e-commerce as well as placement in grocery stores and pharmacies.
• Globally there have been 12,318,610+ cases, 555,531+ deaths and 6,740,124+ recoveries.
• A bipartisan group of 29 U.S. lawmakers is urging Canada and the U.S. to “immediately craft a comprehensive framework for phased reopening of the border.”
• The group also calls for interim measures to ease restrictions on family members and property owners, particularly those with property only accessible through cross-border travel.
• The letter says: “As members representing congressional districts along the U.S. Northern Border, we understand the importance of prioritizing the safety of our communities as we all navigate the complex calculation of minimizing public health risks and resuming economic activity. However, the social and economic partnership between our two nations necessitates a clear pathway forward. The continual 30-day extensions without a plan for how restrictions will be modified prolongs uncertainty for both communities and creates unnecessary tension as we approach each new expiration and restore the social bond that unites our two nations.”
• The order closing the border expires July 21. It is expected to be extended.
• The U.S. is reporting 3,118,168 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 133,291 deaths.

July 9

• Ottawa Public Health is reporting four new cases of COVID-19, raising the total to 2,128. The death toll remains at 263. One person is in hospital and one in intensive care. There are 46 actives cases of COVID-19 in the city. There have been 1,819 recoveries. There are still two outbreaks in long term care facilities.
• Ontario has 36,348+ confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection, up 170. Windsor-Essex is responsible for 86 of those cases. Toronto and Peel and 27 and 28 cases. The death total stand now at 2,703 deaths, up three. There are 1,688 active cases and there have been 31,977 recoveries, up 172. There are 123 people in hospital and 23 in intensive care on a ventilator.
• There are 25 outbreaks in long term care homes, down one.
• The province completed 26,326 tests.
• Ontario has extended its COVID-19 emergency orders to July 22. This comes as the Ford government has tabled the omnibus COVID-19 Recovery Act which proposes to change 20 pieces of legislation that govern the province’s schools, municipalities, and justice system. The bill would speed up environmental assessments, offer new consumer protections and help address unemployment. It also creates an economic agency — Invest Ontario — to help attract more international investment to the province. The bill also includes measures announced by Education Minister Stephen Lecce this week to end school suspensions for students in junior kindergarten to Grade 3.
• A memo from Tony Pontes, executive director of the Council of Ontario Directors of Education (CODE), directs schools across the province to steer away from online learning and maximize children’s time in the classroom this fall.
• In Toronto, authorities are enacting stricter parking rules at beaches after several nighttime parties were broken up this past weekend.
• Partygoers reportedly brought DJ equipment, lit bonfires, and participated in excessive drinking while leaving behind heaps of litter.
• Quebec has seen 56,216 cases of COVID-19, up 137 the most since June 25, with 5,609 deaths, up six. There are 308 people in hospital and 27 in intensive care. The number of Quebecers who have recovered from COVID-19 is 25,616, up 82.
• The Outaouais has seen 615 cases, up six. The death toll remains at 33.
• After scenes of large unmasked crowds in some Montreal bars recently, Quebec’s Health Minister Christian Dubé is ordering bars in the province to announce last call at midnight, and to close at 1 a.m. for the time being in order to limit the the spread of COVID-19.
• Dancing will be forbidden, and patrons must drink while seated.
• Customer registries may also be required, as well as a maximum capacity of 50 per cent of customers per establishment. There will also be an enhanced police presence near these establishments.
• Ottawa police are warning cyclists and homeowners to take extra precautions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The force’s break and enter unit says it’s seen a sharp rise in bicycle thefts from sheds, garages and the storage areas of residential buildings. CBC has more.
• Canada now has 106,840+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,749+ deaths from the infection and 70,574+ recoveries.
• A new report says the country is ill-prepared to handle a second wave of COVID-19. The Senate’s social affairs committee says the federal government needs to pay urgent attention to seniors in long-term care homes.
• Prince Edward Island’s chief medical officer of health is reporting one new case of COVID-19 that she says is connected to a recent cluster of cases on the Island. The provincial total is now six.
• VIA Rail has announced a temporary layoff of 1,000 employees as the rail passenger company has seen a 90 per cent reduction in traffic.
• A group of health officials, including Dr. David Butler Jones, Canada’s first chief medical officer of health, have written a letter to the prime minister and the premiers saying, among other things, that “elimination of COVID-19 is not a practical objective for Canada until we have a vaccine. While there is hope for a vaccine to be developed soon, we must be realistic about the time it will actually take to develop and evaluate it and then deliver an immunization campaign covering the entire population.  We cannot sustain universal control measures indefinitely.”  
• Globally there have been 12,107,985+ cases, 550,901+ deaths and 6,533,436+ recoveries.
• Canada has handled the novel coronavirus outbreak better than many of its allies, including the United States, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday when responding to new modelling issued by the government showing low cases counts and deaths in Canada.
• The U.S. today has 3,077,378+ cases of COVID-19 with 132,570 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus case map.

July 8

• Quite a snapshot: Finance Minister Bill Morneau told the House of Commons today that the federal deficit is expected to reach $343 billion because of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown measures. This is the biggest deficit. The accumulated debt is expected to hit $1.2 trillion by March 2021, up from $765 billion a year earlier.
• The government is proposing to add $50 billion to the federal wage subsidy program and will add another $10 billion to employment insurance. In all, the government is projecting that, by the end of the 2020-21 fiscal year next March, it will have spent about $469 billion more than planned when it last set spending targets in December 2019.
• Unemployment will hover at 10 per cent this year and drop to eight per cent in 2021. And that’s if there isn’t another lockdown caused by a second wave of infection.
• The federal government has also taken a severe hit to revenues. The federal debt to GDP ratio as a result will hit 49.1 per cent in 2020-21.
• It’s not all bad news: After falling 6.8 per cent this year, the government is predicting a 5.5 per cent rise in GDP in 2021. And low interest rates are helping cut sharply into the federal government’s borrowing costs, a savings of $4 billion.
• The Public Health Agency of Canada has released new modelling about the pandemic today. It shows that by July 17 could have up to 111,260 confirmed cases and 8,900 deaths. This is based on data collected July 2. The modelling says that Canada’s Rt has been less than one for most of the past 10 weeks, but that effective reproduction number (Rt) has recently risen above one. Community transmission remains low in most of the country and recent fluctuations in Canada’s Rt reflect a small number of local outbreaks, the agency says.
• In general the modelling suggests the pandemic in Canada is low and stabilizing. The number and severity of cases is falling.
• The prime minister welcomed the news but warned about the potential for flare-ups of the virus.
• Canada now has 106,433+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,737+ deaths from the infection and 70,247+ recoveries.
• Ottawa Public Health is reporting six new cases of COVID-19, raising the total to 2,124. The death toll remains at 263. There are two people in hospital and one in intensive care. There are 47 actives cases of COVID-19 in the city. There have been 1,814 recoveries. There are still two outbreaks in long term care facilities.
• Once again, Alta Vista ward is leading the way with the has the highest rate of COVID-19 infections in the city according to an Ottawa Public Health update of the report Snapshot of COVID-19 across Ottawa Wards, showing COVID-19 infection rates in all of the city’s 23 wards. As of July 6, Alta Vista ward had 207 confirmed cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 people.  That’s up from 182 confirmed cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 from the report released two weeks ago.
• Ontario is reporting 36,178+ confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection, up 118 in the past 24 hours. The death total stand now at 2,700 deaths, up nine. There have been 31,805 recoveries, up 202. There are now 123 people in hospital and 26 in intensive care on a ventilator.
• There are now 44 outbreaks in long term care homes.
• The province completed 22,832 tests in the past 24 hours.
• Quebec has now seen 56,079, up 82, cases of COVID-19 with 5,603 deaths, up 13. There are 331 people in hospital and 27 in intensive care. The number of Quebecers who have recovered from COVID-19 is 25,534, up 76.
• The Outaouais has seen 609 cases, up one. The death toll remains at 33.
• An Edmonton hospital is temporarily closed to incoming patients because of a “full facility outbreak” of COVID-19. So far, 20 patients at Misericordia Hospital have tested positive for the coronavirus along with 15 staff members. Three deaths are related to the outbreak.
• The Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) has issued an advisory about potential COVID-19 exposure on an Air Canada flight from Toronto to Halifax. COVID-19 symptoms include: fever (chills, sweats, etc.), cough (new or worsening), sore throat, headache, shortness of breath, muscle aches, sneezing, nasal congestion or runny nose, hoarse voice, diarrhea, unusual fatigue, loss of sense of smell or taste and red, purple or blueish lesions, on the feet, toes or fingers without clear cause.
• COVID consequences: Canadian Heritage has announced it will provide $18.2 million in emergency relief to the National Arts Centre to help cover debts and expenses associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Annabelle Cloutier, spokesperson for the NAC, told CBC that the funding amounts to a “beacon of light” for the arts organization.
• Opinion: It is time for Canada to make use of its newly invigorated compulsory licensing powers to gain access to the drug remdesivir.
• Globally there have been 11,910,220+ cases, 546,318+ deaths and 6,506,408+ recoveries.
• The world’s largest vaccine-maker GSK has put its vaccine booster technology to work in a potential new COVID-19 shot, to be developed with Medicago, a Canadian biopharmaceutical company backed by tobacco company Philip Morris. Medicago’s process takes the leaves of a plant to produce one of the three spike proteins of the novel coronavirus, the S-spike, which can be then used in the vaccine with GSK’s adjuvant. 
• The United States has roared past three million cases of COVID-19. The current case count according to Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus map is 3,040,957+ with 132,095+ deaths.
• This comes as the U.S. formally began to leave the organization still owing about owes an estimated $203 million US as part of its assessed contributions to the WHO for its two-year operating budget, including funds that have yet to be paid for the 2019 operating year.
• The World Health Organization has acknowledged “emerging evidence” that the coronavirus can be spread by airborne transmission from tiny particles suspended in the air. This follows a letter signed by 239 scientists urging the agency to address the issue.

July 7

• Ontario is reporting 36,060+ confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection, up 112 in the past 24 hours. The death total stand now at 2,691 deaths, up three. There have been 31,603 recoveries, up 177. There are now 131 people in hospital and 24 in intensive care on a ventilator.
• There are now 46 outbreaks in long term care homes.
• The province completed 15,112 tests in the past 24 hours.
• Twenty-eight of Ontario’s 34 public health units reported five or fewer new cases, while 23 of those 28 confirmed no additional cases at all, Minister of Health Christine Elliott noted in a series of tweets. Only Toronto, Peel and York reported 10 or more new cases, with 30, 39 and 10, respectively. 
• The Ontario government is introducing new legislation to help extend pandemic emergency measures for the next year. The current state of emergency expires July 15. The Ford government intends to introduce a motion Wednesday to extend it until July 24 to ensure there is no gap between the provincial declaration and when the new bill takes effect.
• The City of Ottawa got some good news on the COVID-19 front today as Ottawa Public Health reported no new cases or deaths, leaving the totals at 2,118 and 263. Two people are in hospital and one person is in intensive care. There are 47 active cases, 1,808 have been resolved and there are two outbreaks in long term care homes.
• Quebec reported 55,997 confirmed cases of COVID-19, up 60, with 5,590 deaths, up 13. There are 347 Quebecers in hospital with 26 in intensive care. The number of people in Quebec who have recovered from COVID-19 is 25,378, up 32.
• The Outaouais had 608 cases, up two, and 33 deaths, unchanged.
• Canada now has 106,107+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,705+ deaths from the infection and 69,747+ recoveries.
• A new survey conducted by Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies found 72 per cent of Canadians surveyed reported that they are not comfortable flying since top airlines changed their in-flight physical distancing policy which allows all of the seats on a flight to be sold.
• COVID consequences: Comedian Trevor Noah’s Sorry Not Sorry tour stop in Ottawa has been postponed for a year to Sept. 24, 2021.
• Clothing retailer Le Chateau, which operates 129 stores in eight provinces as well as some manufacturing operations, says in its latest quarterly report, it may not survive another yer because of the losses incurred during the pandemic.
• Health Canada has identified counterfeit N95 respirators, which the department says may not provide proper protection.
• The safety warning says respirators sold by Shanghai Lansheng Light Industrial Products were falsely labelled as approved by the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and may not adhere to that organization’s safety standards.
• Globally there have been 11,647,399+ cases, 538,796+ deaths and 6,328,000+ recoveries.
• Despite its stellar record of handling the pandemic, Australia’s second-most populated state Victoria is now considering a four-week lockdown after recording the biggest one-day surge in new COVID-19 cases. The state has not released a case count yet.
• The number of COVID-19 cases in the state capital, Melbourne, has surged in recent days, prompting authorities to enforce strict physical distancing in more than 30 suburbs and put nine public housing towers into complete lockdown.
• Israel too is experiencing a surge in cases after containing the pandemic earlier this year.
• Israel has reimposed a series of restrictions to fight a spike in coronavirus infections, including the immediate closure of bars, gyms and event halls, limits on the number of diners in restaurants to 20 indoors and 30 outdoors, attendance at synagogues is capped at 19 worshippers, and buses can carry up to 20 passengers only. On Monday, Israel registered 1,057 new coronavirus cases and the country’s death toll has hit 338.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had to reverse course to avoid a wider lockdown that could paralyse its economy, where unemployment is just above 20 per cent. The Bank of Israel has forecast a six per cent economic contraction in 2020.
• COVID hubris: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonara has tested positive for COVID-19, following months of downplaying the virus. His country has the second most cases of infection behind the United States with 1,623,284+ with 65,487+ deaths.
• Virus-carrying microdroplets pose more of a danger than is currently being communicated, 239 scientists from 32 countries argue in a new medical commentary. The article has been accepted for publication in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. The scientists are urging the World Health organization to pay more attention to these microdroplets and poor ventilation in enclosed spaces in the fight against COVID-19.

July 6

• Residents of eastern Ontario,  including the City of Ottawa, will be required to wear non-medical masks in indoor public places starting at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday. The public health order was announced by the medical officers of four local public health units — Dr. Vera Etches of Ottawa, Dr. Paul Roumeliotis of the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU), Dr. Paula Stewart of Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit, and Dr. Robert Cushman of the Renfrew County and District Health Unit.
• In Ottawa, the directive will be replaced by a temporary bylaw that city council is expected to approve at its meeting on July 15.
• Etches told an afternoon news conference that masks should be worn in places such as restaurants, malls, libraries, galleries, sports facilities and common areas in hotels.
• Masks are already required on OC Transpo.
• Ottawa Public Health reported eight new cases of COVID-19 in the city today bringing the total to 2,118. There were no new deaths leaving the toll at 263. Three people are in hospital, one is in intensive care. There have been 1,801 recoveries. OPH says there are 54 active cases, up seven. There is now just one outbreak in a long term care home — the Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre.
• City of Ottawa run day camps are open today. Children will be screened by mask and face shield-wearing camp leaders as they arrive, and groups will be capped at eight campers with two supervisors.
• Ontario is reporting 35,948+ confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection, up 154 in the past 24 hours. For the first time since late March, there have been no new deaths reported leaving the total at 2,689 deaths. There have been 31,426 recoveries, up 160. In this report, Toronto and Peel had 59 and 43 cases, respectively.
• There are now 118 people in hospital and 21 in intensive care on a ventilator.
• There are now 34 outbreaks in long term care homes, down one.
• The province completed 17,303 tests in the past 24 hours.
• Premier Doug Ford said Monday legislation is being prepared to speed up in infrastructure projects such as highways, major transit and affordable housing. 
• The government also intends to enter work with commercial partners to build “transit-oriented communities” built around transit. 
• The last two parts of the province, Leamington and Kingsville in the Windsor Essex region, still not in Stage 2 of reopening will get to join the group Tuesday.
• Windsor-Essex has seen a surge of cases among temporary farm workers in the Leamington and Kingsville areas, but only four have been confirmed in the past 24 hours.
• Ford says he will visit the Windsor-Essex region in the coming days to thank the community for its patience.
• Quebec’s health minister says the province will put a police presence around bars in major urban centres and won’t hesitate to close them down if public health measures are not followed.
• On the weekend there a slew of media stories about bar patrons, staff and owners not respecting distancing guidelines. In one case, patrons who tested positive for COVID-19 and who visited a crowded bar on Montreal’s South Shore.
• “What I have seen in the past few days is not acceptable,” Dube told reporters in Montreal Monday. CTV has more.
• Quebec reported 55,937 confirmed cases of COVID-19, up 74, with 5,577 deaths, up three. There were 377 Quebecers in hospital with 25 in intensive care. The number of people in Quebec who have recovered from COVID-19 is 25,378, up 32.
• The Outaouais now has 606 cases, up eight, and 33 deaths, unchanged.
• Montreal will soon see a mandatory mask order. Mayor Valérie Plante announced the move on Monday afternoon, saying the city is working on a new bylaw and aims to put it into effect by July 27.
• Canada now has 105,763+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,687+ deaths from the infection and 69,431+ recoveries.
• There are no new cases of COVID-19 in Prince Edward Island. The island is experiencing its first five cases of the infection since April 28.
• In Nova Scotia, health officials have placed a man who entered Canada from the U.S. under a federal quarantine order. He travelled from Toronto to Halifax before being stopped at the Confederation Bridge into P.E.I. He has tested positive for COVID-19.
• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will not travel to Washington to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump and Mexican President Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
• COVID consequences: A survey of executives by the Bank of Canada shows Canadian business sentiment is at its lowest level since the 2008-09 recession.
• The central bank polled businesses between May 12 and June 5. Many are still struggling with weak demand. Companies reported growing slack in capacity, easing price pressures and collapsing sales expectations.
• Globally there have been 11,471,225+ cases, 534,787+ deaths and 6,161,729+ recoveries.
• The NHL and NHL Players’ Association have agreed on protocols for training camps and games. This is a major step towards the resumption of the season later this summer. 

July 5

• Ottawa Public Health reported four new cases of COVID-19 in the city today bringing the total to 2,110. There were no new deaths leaving the toll at 263. Three people are in hospital, one is in intensive care. There have been 1,800 recoveries. OPH says there are 47 active cases. There are still two outbreaks in long term care homes.
• Ontario is reporting 35,794+ confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection, up 138 in the past 24 hours. There have now been 2,689 deaths, up two, and 31,266 recoveries, up 183.
• There are now 139 people in hospital and 23 in intensive care on a ventilator.
• There are now 35 outbreaks in long term care homes, down one.
• The province completed 23,792 tests in the past 24 hours.
• Quebec reported 55,863 confirmed cases of COVID-19, up 79, with 5,574 deaths, up eight. There were 371 Quebecers in hospital with 26 in intensive care.
• The Outaouais now has 598 cases, up two, and 33 deaths, unchanged.
• Canada now has 105,535+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,684+ deaths from the infection and 69,239+ recoveries.
• There are five active COVID-19 cases in P.E.I. The province hadn’t identified a new case since April 28. By May 8, it had no active cases.
• Four of the cases are connected to an asymptomatic individual who travelled to Nova Scotia, where he was in contact with a someone who was recently in the U.S. One of the cases involves a woman who worked at a long term care home. The province has subsequently tested the entire home save for a few individuals.
• Chief public health officer Dr. Heather Morrison said that the man made the trip to Nova Scotia for personal reasons on June 26, and returned June 29, but didn’t self-isolate.
• The national immunity task force has started testing thousands of blood samples for COVID-19 antibodies and should be able to produce a more detailed picture of how many Canadians have been infected with the novel coronavirus within a couple of weeks. CBC has more.
• Globally there have been 11,304,534+ cases, 531,659+ deaths and 6,030,374+ recoveries.

July 4

• Ontario is reporting 35,656+ confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection, up 121 in the past 24 hours. There have now been 2,687 deaths, up five, and 31,083 recoveries, up 174.
• There are now 150 people in hospital and 26 in intensive care on a ventilator.
• There are now 36 outbreaks in long term care homes, down eight.
• The province completed 21,425 tests in the past 24 hours.
• Ottawa Public Health has reported two new cases of COVID-19 for a total of 2,106. The death toll remains at 263. There are three residents in hospital and one in intensive care. There are 46 active cases and so far there have been 1,797 recoveries.
• Ontario is reporting 35,656+ confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection, up 121 in the past 24 hours. There have now been 2,687 deaths, up five, and 31,083 recoveries, up 174.
• There are now 150 people in hospital and 26 in intensive care on a ventilator.
• There are now 36 outbreaks in long term care homes, down eight.
• The province completed 21,425 tests in the past 24 hours.
• Ottawa Public Health has reported two new cases of COVOD-19 for a total of 2,106. The death toll remains at 263. There are three residents in hospital and one in intensive care. There are 46 active cases and so far there have been 1,797 recoveries.
• Health officials in Kingston have reported another three cases of COVID-19 as of Saturday. The region’s total now sits at 105 cases, most linked to a nail salon. One of the new cases is tied to the salon.
• The City of Ottawa has closed Somerset Street W. between Bank and O’Connor on weekends.
• Quebec reported 55,784 confirmed cases of COVID-19, up 102, with 5,566 deaths, up six. There were 375 Quebecers in hospital with 27 in intensive care.
• The Outaouais now has 596 cases, up one, and 33 deaths, unchanged.
• Demonstrations organized by the Migrant Rights Network were held Saturday in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and Halifax at the offices of members of Parliament, including the office of federal Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino.
• The demonstrators and advocates want permanent residency for all non-permanent residents in the country to give them the ability to protect and care for themselves and their families during the pandemic. Global News has more.
• Canada now has 105,306+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,674+ deaths from the infection and 68,708+ recoveries.
• Globally there have been 11,906,093+ cases, 525,491+ deaths and 5,890,052+ recoveries.
• The U.S. is celebrating July 4 with 2,847,469 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 131,509 deaths and 864,762 Americans have recovered from the infection.

July 3

• Ontario is reporting 35,535+ confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection, up 165 in the past 24 hours. There have now been 2,682 deaths, up two, and 30,909 recoveries, up 179.
• There are now 155 people in hospital and 40 in intensive care on a ventilator.
• There are now 44 outbreaks in long term care homes.
• The province completed 24,194 tests in the past 24 hours. Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott said that 14 of the province’s public health units have reported no new cases of COVID-19.
• Ontario has deployed its emergency management team to Windsor-Essex to combat a spike in cases on farms among temporary workers. The team is working with members of the Canadian Red Cross in the area, along with Public Health Ontario. Over the weekend, a single Essex County greenhouse — Nature Fresh Farms in Leamington, Ont. — saw almost 200 workers test positive for COVID-19.
• Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the rest of the province could enter stage three of reopening by the end of July.
• Hospitals in Ottawa are asking the province to approve plans to create hundreds of new long-term care and transitional beds at local retirement homes to free up acute-care space. CBC has more.
• Mayor Jim Watson and Coun. Keith Egli, chair of the board of health, have revealed that City Council will vote on a motion to make face masks mandatory in Ottawa July 15. Ottawa will join other cities in the province including Toronto, Kingston and Hamilton. Premier Ford says he will not impose a provincewide mask because of local differences in COVID-19 cases.
• Ottawa Public Health is reporting three new cases of COVID-19, raising the local total to 2,104. The death toll remains at 263. Three residents are in hospital, one is in intensive care. There are 43 active cases and 1,798 cases have been resolved. There are two outbreaks in long term care facilities.
• The City of Ottawa is reopening some in-person municipal services, including child-care centres will resume starting Monday, with new COVID-19 protocols in place. Childcare centres will also reopen. Client service centres at Ottawa City Hall, 110 Laurier Ave. W., and Ben Franklin Place, 101 Centrepointe Dr., will reopen by appointment for marriage licences, Commissioner of Oaths, OC Transpo products/Presto payments, access to information requests, building permit application drop-offs, building permit issuances and payments and Yellow Bag purchases for small business that participate in City waste and recycling collection.
• The public’s “blatant disregard” for the rules of social distancing has resulted in the town council of Wasaga Beach planning to shut down the majority of the main beach area on Lake Huron by July 9. The only access permitted would be three walkways to reach the water, and so the public can access businesses along what was Beach Drive. Anyone who chooses to flout the new rules by walking on the municipal portion of the beach will also face a $750 fine. The rules do not apply to Wasaga Beach Provincial Park.
• The premier said he would not impose a ban on beaches because of overcrowding, including in Ottawa at Mooney’s Bay beach on Canada Day.
• The Ontario Crown Attorneys Association is seeking an injunction to delay the province’s plans to reopen 44 courthouses on July 6.
• The association alleges the province’s attorney general, and the management board of cabinet that represents Crowns in labour relations, have not taken every precaution to protect workers in courthouses during the pandemic.
• “These precautions include the mandatory wearing of masks and other administrative measures to protect the employees and other persons against contracting the virus,” said a notice of application filed in the Superior Court of Justice on Friday. The union wants the delay so the issue can be dealt with by an arbitrator.
• Members of Canada’s military are leaving seven Ontario long-term care homes where they have been deployed for the last two months. The Ontario government said that “the final team concluded its work today” and thanked the military for providing support to Orchard Villa in Pickering, Altamount Care Community in Scarborough, Eatonville Care Centre in Etobicoke, Hawthorne Place in North York, Holland Christian Homes’ Grace Manor in Brampton, Downsview Long-Term Care Home in Toronto and Woodridge Vista Care Community in Vaughan.
• Quebec reported 55,682 confirmed cases of COVID-19, up 89, with 5,560 deaths, up 19. Twelve deaths occurred before June 25. There were 392 Quebecers in hospital with 31 in intensive care.
• The Outaouais now has 595 cases, up four, and 33 deaths, unchanged.
• Canada now has 105,014+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,663+ deaths from the infection and 68,534+ recoveries.
• The federal Liberal government and the WE Charity are ending a partnership that would have seen the charity distribute around $900 million in federal student grants this summer. The divorce was announced in a media release from Youth minister Bargish Chagger and a statement from WE. The arrangement between the federal government and WE caused controversy because of the close involvement of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his partner Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau in the charity’s activities.
• The prime minister said WE made the decision to drop out. Trudeau called the uproar “unfortunate” and said he has been committed to help youth since before entering politics.
• The prime minister announced $150 million in infrastructure projects in British Columbia.
• Justin Trudeau also announced a $40 million injection into the union-led training program for skilled trades people.
• The federal cabinet will meet in retreat next week to discuss pandemic preparedness and other issues. Also next week the Finance Minister will present a “snapshot” look at the economy mid-pandemic.
• The prime minister said one condition attached to the $14 billion for the provinces would include day care for children under age six and programs for children over the age of six so parents can return to work more easily.
• Ontario Premier Doug Ford says conditions Ottawa is imposing on its proposed $14-billion COVID-19 bailout package are holding up an agreement with the provinces and territories that would allow the cash to flow.
• “Just cut a cheque, give us the flexibility,” Ford said Thursday. “The magical word is flexibility.”
• In the wake of a decision by Air Canada and WestJet to fill all seats on a plane, health authorities in British Columbia are warning passengers on four recent flights into Vancouver International Airport of possible exposure to COVID-19.
• The prime minister said the government is looking into the ending of regional air routes in Canada by Air Canada. He deplored the decision and said the government is talking to the airline about the changes.
• The Atlantic travel bubble is now open. Residents of the four Atlantic provinces can now travel mostly without restriction within the region.
• The Toronto Blue Jays will hold training camp in Toronto in advance of a shortened major league baseball season. The team will isolate in the hotel complex that is part of SkyDome.
• Some Canadians driving cars with U.S. licence plates say they’ve endured vandalism, harassment and even a minor assault from fellow Canadians convinced that they’re Americans illegally in Canada. CBC has more.
• Globally there have been 10,906,822+ cases, 522,122+ deaths and 5,767,410+ recoveries.
• With the July 4 holiday looming, several U.S. states are urging people to stay home and avoid large crowds. The U.S. has now seen 2,741,869+ cases and 128,783+ deaths.
• Britain is allowing travellers from dozens of countries to arrive without self-isolating for 14 days, but Canada and the U.S. are not on the list. Canada did make the grade for the European Union.

July 2

• Ontario is reporting two days of COVID-19 numbers today. The province now has 35,370+ confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection, up 299 over the past 48 hours. There have now been 2,680 deaths, up eight over two days, and 30,730 recoveries, up 386.
• There are now 119 people in hospital and 26 in intensive care on a ventilator.
• There are now 46 outbreaks in long term care homes.
• Ottawa Public health is reporting seven new cases of COVID-19 in the city, raising the total to 2,101. There have been no new deaths, leaving the toll at 263. There are three residents in hospital and one in intensive care. There are two outbreaks in long term care homes.
• Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson will help reopen the Ottawa Art Gallery to the public on July 9. The gallery will formally open on July 8 which is being set aside as a special day reserved for all frontline workers.
• A large greenhouse operation in southwestern Ontario has seen 191 cases of COVID-19 among temporary farm workers. The operation is Nature Fresh in Leamington, Ont. The operation is under public health orders to isolate and stop working until further notice. 
• The province completed 50,378 tests in the past two days.
• Quebec now has seen 55,593 confirmed cases of COVID-19, an increase of 69. There have been 5,541 deaths, up 14 in the past 24 hours. Six of these deaths occurred before June 24. There are 411 Quebecers in hospital with 322 in intensive care.
• The Outaouais has 591 cases and 33 deaths. Both unchanged.
• Canada now has 104,455+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,615+ deaths from the infection and 67,774+ recoveries.
• The launch of a COVID-19 contact tracing app in Ontario has been delayed.
• Globally there have been 10,694,288+ cases, 516,210+ deaths and 5,480,394+ recoveries.
• The U.S. monthly jobs report shows an increase of 4.8 million jobs bringing the unemployment rate to 11.1 per cent.
• The number of confirmed cases in the U.S. has now reached 2,686,587+ and the death toll has hot 516,786+. The U.S. has seen more than 50,000 cases in the past 24 hours.

July 1

• Canada now has 104,455+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,615+ deaths from the infection and 67,774+ recoveries.
• Quebec reports 55,524 confirmed cases of COVID-19, up 66. There have now been 5,527 deaths, up 24. There are 422 Quebecers in hospital and 33 in intensive care.
• The Outaouais has 591 cases, up five, with 33 deaths, unchanged.
• Ontario has 35,068+ confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection, as of Monday’s report. There have been 2,672 deaths and 30,344 recoveries. The province is not reporting on Canada Day.
• Ottawa Public Health did report eight new cases of COVID-19. The total is now 2,094. The number of deaths is unchanged at 263. Two are in hospital and one is intensive care. There are 46 active cases in the city and there have been 1,785 recoveries. There re two outbreaks in long term care facilities.
• In Windsor-Essex, the medical officer of health has shut down a farm where 191 temportary workers have tested positive for COVID-19.
• It’s Canada Day today, one like no other. The pandemic has caused the cancellation of the annual celebration on Parliament Hill which has moved online.
• The Ottawa shows will be streamed at midday and in the evening, followed by virtual fireworks.
• The federal government has conducted mostly remote inspections of Ontario farms that employ migrant workers, instead of physically entering the properties to make sure the labourers’ living conditions are safe. CBC has more.
• Globally there have been 10,512,383+ cases, 512,331+ deaths and 5,387,249+ recoveries.
• The United States has bought up virtually all of the stocks of the drug remdesivir, one of just two proven to work against COVID-19 – for the next three months. The Guardian has more. The U.S. now has 2,732,594+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 130,030 deaths and 840,649 recoveries
• The United Nations World Food Program says it is ready to help 138 million people in low and middle income countries. This would be the largest number ever for the WFP.
• A vaccine developed by the German biotech firm BioNTech and U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has shown potential and was found to be well tolerated in early-stage human trials, the companies said on Wednesday. The drug is one of 17 being tested on humans in a frantic global race to find a vaccine the world is counting on to end a pandemic that has infected 10.5 million people and killed more than 500,000 so far.

June 30

• Ontario now has seen 35,068+ confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection, up 157. That’s the largest increase in several days and the first time more than 200 cases in a week.. There have been 2,672 deaths, up seven, and 30,344 recoveries, up 148. There are 213 in hospital, 34 are on a ventilator in intensive care. Ontario has 2,052 active cases of COVID-19.
• Ontario completed 23,759 tests in the past 24 hours. There are 55 outbreaks in long term care homes, down one.
• On Tuesday, 99 of the 157 cases were from Toronto, Peel and York Region, while 17 were from Windsor-Essex, which saw 177 cases reported on Monday. Half of Tuesday’s new infections were detected in people aged 20 to 39.
• In his annual report, Ontario’s Ombudsman Paul Dubé says the pandemic will “provide countless lessons, as well as opportunities to strengthen them in future. ” The year 2019-2020 was “a year like no other.”
• Ottawa Public health reports no new cases of COVID-19 and no new deaths. The totals remain at 2,086 cases and 263 deaths. One person is in hospital and one in intensive care. There are 40 active cases and 1,783 have been resolved. There are now four outbreaks at long term care homes in the city.
• Ottawa Public Health and the City of Ottawa are discussing a bylaw that would make masks mandatory in indoor spaces. A decision is expected by the end of the week. CBC has more.
• Toronto city council has voted to make face masks mandatory in public spaces beginning July 7. The city has already made them mandatory on public transit. Peel Region, too, has made masks mandatory indoors.
• The province is not following suit because mask wearing isn’t necessary everywhere in Ontario, says Premier Doug Ford.
• On Monday, Quebec reported 55,458 confirmed cases of COVID-19, up 68. There have now been 5,503 deaths, up 18. There are 435 Quebecers in hospital and 45 in intensive care.
• The Outaouais has 586 cases with 33 deaths, both unchanged.
• Quebec is making face masks mandatory on public transit in the province for individual 12 and up starting July 13. Those without a mask will not be able to board a bus or train after a two-week grace period.
• Canada now has 104,455+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,591+ deaths from the infection and 67,528+ recoveries.
• The federal government has extended the 14 day mandatory quarantine for travellers coming to Canada to July 31.
• COVID consequences: Statistics Canada reports that real gross domestic product dropped 11.6 per cent in April, following a 7.5 per cent decline in March. April marked the first full month of measures put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19. All 20 industrial sectors of the Canadian economy were down, StatsCan said, producing the largest monthly decline since the series started in 1961. The economy was 18.2 per cent below its February level, the month before the COVID-19 measures began.
• Preliminary information indicates a 3.0 per cent increase in real GDP for May. 
• Cirque du Soleil has filed for creditor protection. The company has announced the termination of approximately 3,480 employees previously furloughed in March.
• Cineplex Inc. says the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a $178.4-million loss in the first quarter.
• Revenues decreased 22.4 per cent to $282.8 million from $364.6 million as attendance plunged to 10.7 million from nearly 15 million. Cineplex has 1,687 screens at 164 locations across Canada. They went dark March 16.
• Globally there have been 10,424,992+ cases, 509,706+ deaths and 5,235,908+ recoveries.
• The European Union has release a list of 14 countries whose citizens can travel to and inside the community. Canada is on the list along with Australia and Japan. The United States, Brazil, India and Russia are not. The list will be reviewed every 14 days and new countries may be added and some taken off the list, depending on the coronavirus statistics.
• Sixteen American states have halted their economic reopening and some have rolled the reopenings back. The U.S. now has 2,683,000+ confirmed cases with 129,545+ deaths.
• Brazil now has 1,368,195 cases with 58,314 deaths.
• Russia has 646,929 cases and 9,306 deaths.
• India has 566,840 cases and 16,893 deaths.
• Dr. Anthony Fauci testified before Congress today and warned the U.S. could soon see 100,000 news cases of COVID-19 a day unless people begin to wear masks and physically distance themselves.
• Yikes: Researchers in China have discovered a new form of swine flu that can infect humans, and they believe it has the potential to cause a future pandemic. This swine flu has been dubbed the G4 virus and it’s related to the H1N1 flu that caused widespread illness in 2009.

June 29

• In new modelling, Public Health Canada projects up to 108,130 cases of COVID-19 and 8,865 deaths by July 12.
• Dr. Theresa Tam says regular briefings on the pandemic in Canada will now take place twice a week because the current situation is stable and under control.
• Ontario now has seen 34,911+ confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection, up 257. That’s the largest increase in several days and the first time more than 200 cases in a week.. There have been 2,665 deaths, up seven, and 30,196 recoveries, up 89. There are 232 in hospital, 35 are on a ventilator in intensive care.
• Ontario completed 27,127 tests in the past 24 hours. There are 56 outbreaks in long term care homes, up one.
• In today’s report, 177 of the confirmed cases were in the Windsor-Essex public health unit following targeted testing of migrant farm workers over the weekend.
• Three temporary workers have died of COVID-19 since the outbreak began, two in Windsor-Essex and another in the Haldimand Norfolk health unit.
• Kingston’s medical officer of health says there are now 27 confirmed COVID-19 cases linked to the outbreak at a nail salon in the city. Six staff, six clients and close contacts that include an employee at a second salon are positive. There are about 700 people asked to self-isolate.
• COVID consequences: The owner of Flora Hall Brewing, has asked the City of Ottawa to consider allowing breweries, restaurants and pubs that don’t have patio space to operate “pop-up” establishments in city parks. CBC has more.
• Ottawa Public health reports three new cases of COVID-19 and no new deaths. The totals are 2,086 cases and 263 deaths. One person is in hospital and one in intensive care. There are 43 active cases and 1,780 have been resolved.
• Ottawa Bylaw officers have begun enforcing parking limits. Ticketing was suspended on St. Patrick’s Day as COVID-19 was spreading in the city.
• The Royal Canadian Mint has created a medal to recognize “essential workers and everyday heroes.” The medal will sell for $10 and benefit The Breakfast Club of Canada.
• The federal government has extended the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) program by one month. The program was initially intended to support small businesses during the months of April, May, and June. The CECRA provides unsecured forgivable loans to qualifying commercial property owners to reduce the rent owed by their small business tenants that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The program is also intended to help owners meet operating expenses on commercial properties. The CECRA, which is being administered through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, allows the federal and provincial governments to help cover 50 percent of the rent, with tenants and landlords paying the outstanding amount.
• The CECRA is also being facilitated through the provinces and territories and property owners are required to opt into the CERCA for businesses to benefit.
• Quebec is now reporting 55,390 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The province has started to issue daily reports again. The province has recorded 311 cases since its last report on June 25. There have now been 5,485 deaths, up 37 since June 25. There are 455 Quebecers in hospital and 45 in intensive care.
• Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has announced a two per cent corporate tax rate cut (from 10 per cent to eight per cent) and will spend $2 billion on infrastructure with a goal to create 50,000 jobs this year.
• Canada now has 103,918+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,566+ deaths from the infection and 67,114+ recoveries.
• The JUNO Awards will be handed out tonight. The ceremony will be livestreamed. There are several Ottawa nominees: the National Arts Centre Orchestra, bass baritone Gerald Finley, the Ottawa Bach Choir, bass baritone Philippe Sly, composer Vincent Ho, fiddler extraordinaire April Verch and Silla + Rise, who blend traditional Inuit throat singing with electronic dance music.
• Globally there have been 10,199,798+ cases, 502,947+ deaths and 5,169,421+ recoveries.
• China’s military has approved a coronavirus vaccine for use within its ranks that has been developed by its research unit and a Hong Kong based biotech firm called Hong Kong-listed CanSino Biologics. More than half of 17 candidate vaccines identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) that are in clinical evaluation involve Chinese companies or institutes.
• The Ad5-nCoV is one of China’s eight vaccine candidates approved for human trials at home and abroad for the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus. The shot also won approval for human testing in Canada.
• Broadway theatres will not reopen until January 2021.
• India has set a record for COVID-19 infections with 20,000 in the past 24 hours.

July 28

• In Ontario, the case count has reached 34,654, an increase of 178. The death toll now stands at 2,658, up six. There have been 30,107 recoveries, up 175. There are 214 Ontarians in hospital with COVID-19 and 36 people are on a ventilator in intensive care. There are 55 outbreaks in long term care facilities, down two, where 1,809 residents have died.
• Ontario completed 28,633 tests in the past 24 hours.
• Ottawa Public Health reported four more cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 2,083. The death toll remains at 263. There are two people in hospital and one in intensive care. There are 44 active cases. So far, there have been 1,776 recoveries. There are now six outbreaks in long term care facilities.
• OC Transpo will resume its full summer service, including reinstating all bus routes across the city.
• The City of Kingston is setting up a one-day testing clinic at St. Lawrence College today, with priority given to anyone who may have been exposed to the virus at Binh’s Nails and Spa and their close contacts. It is believe up to 700 people have been exposed. There have now been 22 confirmed cases of COVID as a result of this outbreak.
• Meanwhile an employee at a second nail salon in Kingston, Kingdom Nails & Spa, has tested positive.
• “Although we have passed all regulations and did not violate [any] safety measures, we feel that it is our responsibility to ensure that this will not happen again,” the company’s Facebook post reads. “We will be closed until the public health department says that we can open.”
• Canada now has 103,210+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,552+ deaths from the infection and 66,152+ recoveries.
• COVID consequences: Vancouver Coastal Health is warning anyone who visited Brandi’s Exotic Show Lounge on Hornby Street in downtown Vancouver on the evenings of June 21, 22, 23 and 24 that they may have been exposed to the coronavirus.
• Everyone who attended the club between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. on each of those nights, including the hours between midnight and 3 a.m. on June 25, is asked to monitor themselves for COVID-19 symptoms for 14 days.
• In one of the most complicated drafts ever, the Ottawa Senators landed the No. 3 and No. 5 picks in the annual NHL draft. A to-be-named-later team will get the first overall selection expected to be 18 year old Alexis Lafreniere.
• Globally there have been 10,072,643+ cases, 500,321+ deaths and 5,085,018+ recoveries.
• Canada has contributed $300 million towards the international fight against COVID-19.
• In the United States, confirmed cases continue to surge. There are now 2,591,303+ along with 127,674+ deaths and 786,923+ recoveries. The U.S. Health Secretary, Alex Azar, has warned that “the window [of opportunity to take effective action] is closing,”

June 27

• In Ottawa, the number of new COVID-19 cases continues to be below 10. Ottawa Publuc Health says that there were four new confirmed cases of infection in the past 24 hours and no new deaths. The total number of cases is now 2,079. The death toll stands at 263. There are 47 active cases and two people are in hospital, one person is in intensive care.
• The COVID-19 outbreak at the City of Ottawa run Garry J. Armstrong long-term care home has been declared over. There are still six active outbreaks at Ottawa’s long-term care homes and group homes: Peter D. Clark long-term care home; Montfort Long-Term Care Home; Perley Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre; St. Louis Residence; The Glebe Centre and Welcome House.
• The City of Ottawa says the last resident of the Peter D. Clark Long-term Care Centre to have COVID-19 has died. Two staff members are still positive.
• Mooney’s Bay, Westboro and Petrie Island beaches are now open. Lifeguards will be on duty from noon to 7 p.m. until Aug. 30. Britannia Beach will remain closed for the season for dredging of the riverbed.
• Ottawa Public Health has resumed water testing for potentially harmful bacteria such as E. coli, and will post the water quality results. If necessary, the city of Ottawa will post any no-swim advisories. 
• In Ontario, the case count has reached 34,476, an increase of 160. The death toll now stands at 2,652, up eight. There have been 29,932 recoveries, up 178. There are 252 Ontarians in hospital with COVID-19 and 35 people are on a ventilator in intensive care. There are 57 outbreaks in long term care facilities where 1,807 residents have died.
• The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board is planning for an “adapted model” that will include a mixture of in-class and at home learning for students.
• In a letter to families, sent Friday, the current plan being discussed would include two days of in-class learning per week, with the student body split into two groups. Schools would be deep cleaned in between. CTV has more.
• Ontario completed 33,492 tests on Friday, a new daily high, the health ministry says.
• The province has extended its emergency orders to July 10. The orders, which were set to expire on June 30, allow healthcare providers and public health units to redeploy staff.
• The province has removed some restrictions around indoor sports and recreation facilities to allow people to train and exercise.
• The provincial emergency declaration had already been extended until July 15.
• Kingston’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore has issued a public health order requiring a mask to be worn inside any indoor public setting. The health unit says any failure to comply with the mandatory face mask requirement will result in a $5,000 a day fine for businesses. There are some exemptions for very young children and those with breathing difficulties.
• This follows an outbreak at a nail salon in the city which has seen 16 infections and 500 people urged to self-isolate.
• In Quebec, the new health minister says the province will resume releasing daily data on COVID-19, beginning Monday, after a public outcry over plans to begin releasing data once a week.
• The news comes as Quebec has opened bars, spas, water parks and casinos — nearly every kind of business in Quebec — can reopen, subject to safety precautions such as physical distancing, wearing a mask and washing hands. 
• There will still be no festivals or other large gatherings this summer, no sleepaway camps, and sports that involve close-contact fighting will not be allowed to resume.
• Canada now has 104,732+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,568+ deaths from the infection and 65,726+ recoveries.
• Globally there have been 9,871,711+ cases, 495,781+ deaths and 4,983,029+ recoveries.

June 26

• The National Gallery of Canada has announced it will reopen on July 18. The gallery says in a media release that it will open Thursdays to Sundays. In addition, the gallery boutique will be open. The gallery says precautions will be taken to protect staff and visitors.
• On a day when Ontario completed 30,780 tests, the province recorded its lowest count of new confirmed COVID-19 cases since March. There were 111 new cases reported in the past 24 hours for a total of 34,316+. There have been 2,644 deaths an increase of just three. There have been 29,754 recoveries, up 226. There are 256 people in hospital with coronavirus infections.
• Ottawa Public Health is reporting six new cases of COVOD-19 and one new death. The total cases are 2,075 and deaths are 263. There are two people in hospital and one in intensive care. There are 47 active cases and there have been 1,765 recoveries.
• Ottawa’s medical officer of health is hopeful Ottawa could move into Stage 3 of Ontario’s COVID-19 reopening plan by the fall. There has been no spike in COVID-19 cases in Ottawa since bar and restaurant patios, malls, barber shops and hair salons opened two weeks ago, Dr. Vera Etches told CTV.
• There are now 18 confirmed COVID-19 cases flowing out of an outbreak at a Kingston, Ont., nail salon. A further 680 people have been told to isolate.
• Toronto’s annual Pride Parade, one of the largest in North America, is going virtual this year.
• The OMA says some 4,000 “individuals and groups” representing more than 12,500 health-care workers reported problems with personal protective equipment inventory in May, and that supply remains an ongoing issue. CBC has more.
• A new survey done for the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) and carried out by L’Observateur, suggests that 70 per cent of respondents in Quebec participate in frequent handwashing, 95 per cent in physical distancing, and 93 per cent in coughing etiquette (coughing into one’s elbow).  
• When it comes to wearing a mask, less than half of respondents – 42 per cent – said they’ve been doing so regularly in public. While 82 per cent of Quebecers aged between 18 and 34 believe there will be a second wave of the virus, only 27 per cent of them said they’ve been wearing a mask. CTV has more.
• Quebec is reopening casinos, amusement and water parks, spas, hotels and bars today, but it is not reporting new cases and death numbers.
• British Columbia and Alberta are allowing movie theatres to open today.
• Canada now has 102,733+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,507+ deaths from the infection and 65,652+ recoveries.
• WestJet says it will end its seat distancing protocol on domestic flights starting July 1. The airline says because its flights have HEPA filters installed to clean recirculated air and the air flow in cabins flows from the ceiling to the floor, it did not need the extra barrier.
• PPE update: According to the Public Services and Procurement Canada website, as of June 16, 55.7 million face shields had been ordered but 17.6 million received; more than a billion pairs of gloves ordered, 42.3 million received; 126.6 million gowns ordered, 4.6 million received; 20.4 million litres of hand sanitizer ordered, 7.1 million litres received.
• Canada has ordered 121.9 million of the coveted N95 respirators and 340.8 million surgical masks, though 12.9 million and 110.9 million respectively had been received. Of the 40,328 ventilators ordered, just 367 had been received.
• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canadian companies are now producing so much personal protective equipment that Canada is almost at the point of being self-sufficient.
• Globally there have been 9,641,472+ cases, 490,632+ deaths and 4,865,562+ recoveries.
• The head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimates there are about 24 million Americans infected with COVID-19. The U.S. is reporting 2,425,814+ cases along with 124,509+ deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 tracking map.

June 25

• On the day the Windsor-Essex region, except Leamington and Kingsville, enters Stage 2 of reopening, Ontario has now reached 34,205+ confirmed cases of COVID-19, an increase of 189 cases. There have now been 2,641 deaths from the infection, up 10. There have been 29,528 recoveries, up 191.
• All customers at a Kingston, Ont. nail salon are being told to get tested for COVID-19 after an outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
• The Medical Officer of Health for Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington has declared a COVID-19 outbreak at Binh’s Nails and Spa salon at 500 Gardiners Rd. in Kingston. Ten cases of COVID-19 have been linked to the salon, including four staff members.
• Ontario completed 27,511 tests in the past 24 hours. There are now 57 outbreaks in long term care homes, down from 62. The province will continue to release daily numbers, said Health Minister Christine Elliott.
• Dr. Theresa Tam says she plans to seek more information from Ontario about the province’s plan to allow some COVID-19 positive migrant farm workers with no symptoms to return to their jobs.
• Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer said during a daily briefing that protocols that separate COVID-19 positive and negative workers must be stringent.
• Canadian farmers rely on some 60,000 temporary foreign workers predominantly from Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Ottawa Public Health says in a report that 66 per cent of new COVID-19 cases in Ottawa are from racialized groups, while 26 per cent of Ottawa’s population are identified as a visible minority.
• Dr. Vera Etches says areas in Ottawa with the highest proportion of recent immigrants or racialized minorities have rates of COVID-19 almost twice that of areas with the fewest recent immigrants or racialized minorities. (The data excludes COVID-19 cases in long-term care homes, retirement homes, hospitals, shelters and group homes). CTV has more. Ottawa Public Health is collecting data retrospectively to have a more comprehensive socio-demographic picture of the COVID-19 situation in the city.
• Ottawa Public Health has also created a page on its website to offer information on COVID-19 resources that are available to Indigenous peoples in the community.
• OPH is reporting four new COVID-19 cases and no new deaths. One resident remains in hospital and one other is in intensive care. There have been 1,752 recoveries.
• Quebec has announced a decision to no longer post daily COVID case and death counts starting on Friday. Going forward the province will release weekly reports.
• Meanwhile, the province has seen 55,079 cases, up 142 and 5,448 deaths, up seven.
• In the Outaouais, there have now been 581 cases, up three and 33 deaths. That is unchanged.
• The prime minister announced details of the Canada Student Service Grant, which was originally announced in April. That will give students and recent graduates between $1,000 and $5,000 for volunteer work. Students volunteering 100 hours will get the $1,000; 200 gets $2,000 and so on. The grant was announced in April and is now coming into effect. To find groups need volunteers, the government has created a portal.
• The government will also create 10,000 summer jobs for young people between 15 and 30.
• Other details revealed today: $40 million to create 5,000 internships for post-secondary students with the innovation-focused NGO Mitacs to offer placements in sectors such as medicine and law; $266 million to create 20,000 job placements for post-secondary students in high-demand sectors through the Student Work Placement Program; $40 million on a wage subsidy that connects youth with small businesses and charities through the Digital Skills for Youth and the Computer for Schools Plus programs; and $187 million to support job placements through the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy in high-demand sectors. 
• The federal government also announced the investment of $109 million in 139 research projects into COVID-19.
• Canada now has 102,574+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,501+ deaths from the infection and 65,362+ recoveries.
• A report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information shows that as of May 25, LTC residents made up 81 per cent of all reported COVID−19 deaths in the country compared to an average of 42 per cent among all countries studied.
• The data compares Canada’s record to that of 16 other countries in the Organization for Economic Co−operation and Development. The proportion of LTC deaths ranged from less than 10 per cent in Slovenia and Hungary to 31 per cent in the United States to 66 per cent in Spain.
• At 5,324, the reported number of LTC deaths in Canada, the report says, was near the average but data varied widely among countries: from 28 in Australia to 30,000 in the U.S., with more than 10,000 in France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.
• In response, the prime minister acknowledged the death toll as unsatisfactory, and pointed the finger at the provinces for their “failure” to protect seniors. He said the federal government will be there to help.
• Ontario Premier Doug Ford expressed shock at the prime minister’s statement and added that the federal government needed to step up with more funding.
• Canada has lost its AAA debt rating at the world’s three major credit agencies. Fitch Ratings announced Wednesday it’s downgrading the country’s debt to the second-highest rating, AA+, because of increased debt.
• COVID consequences: Chinese authorities have begun random testing of imported food after a COVID-19 outbreak in Beijing was traced to a cutting board used on imported Atlantic salmon at the Xinfadi market in Beijing.
• The inspections have shut down live lobster shipments from Canada, valued at $457 million last year, because of a fear of loss of the lobsters while awaiting clearance.
• Export Development Canada says trade confidence among Canadian exporters hit an all-time low in its latest survey. The federal export credit agency says its trade confidence index fell to 56.0 compared with 69.3 at the end of 2019.
• WestJet Airlines Ltd. says it will permanently lay off 3,333 employees as part of a major restructuring amid the pandemic.
• Globally there have been 9,457,902+ cases, 483,217+ deaths and 4,716,476+ recoveries.
• As COVID cases spike in some U.S. states, former hot spots, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are asking visitors from outside to self-quarantine for 14 days.
• The U.S. reported more than 34,000 new cases of COVID-19 for a total of 2,395,759+ and 122,177+ deaths from the infection.
• A limited study, published in Nature Medicine, shows that in 37 asymptomatic and 37 symptomatic COVID-19 patients in the Wanzhou District of China, researchers found that antibody levels were lower in asymptomatic patients and began to decline in as little as eight weeks after the patients leaving the hospital.

June 24

• The City of Ottawa reports it is on track for a $192 million deficit because the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically reduced revenues. That could lead to cuts in services.
• Ottawa Public Health reports four new cases of the infect, raising the city’s total to 2,065. There has been one new death raising the total to 262.
• Ottawa Public Health has produced a breakdown of the presence of COVID-19 infection in the city’s wards. Snapshot of COVID-19 across Ottawa Wards report shows Alta Vista has 182 confirmed COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people, the most in the city. Based on data from June 22, the report shows all 24 wards have faced infections.
• Rideau-Rockcliffe is second, with 167 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people, followed by River Ward at 135 cases per 100,000 people. Barrhaven, Rideau-Vanier and Bay wards have 131 cases per 100,000 people.
• West Carleton-March has the lowest rate of infections, at 59 cases per 100,000 people. Bay Ward has the highest number of cases linked to outbreaks in long-term care homes and retirement homes with 207 cases.
• More than four million people can have a meal on a patio in Ontario today as Toronto and Peel enter Stage 2 of the reopening of the provincial economy.
• Ontario is announcing a three-point plan to deal with COVID-19 outbreaks among temporary workers on farms in Windsor-Essex. This will include stepped up testing, some benefits for infected workers and improved job security for temporary workers.
• As well, most of the Windsor-Essex region will move to Stage 2 of reopening on Thursday. Leamington and Kingsville will remain in Stage 1. Many of the farm infections are being reported in and around these communities. There have been about 1,000 cases of COVID among the farm workers detected by testing.
• As the openings happen, Ontario reported 163 new cases of COVID-19, raising the provincial total to 34,016+. There have been 2,631 deaths, up 12. There have been 29,336 recoveries, up 229. The province completed 23,207 tests in the past 24 hours. There are now 62 outbreaks at long term care facilities.
• Quebec has now seen 54,937+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. That’s an increase of 53. There have been 5,441 deaths, up 17. There have been 23,710 recoveries.
• In the Outaouais there have been 578 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and there have been 33 deaths.
• Canada now has 102,179+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,528+ deaths from the infection and 65,023+ recoveries.
• There have been more than $13 million in fines handed out for violations of COVID-19 rules, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association says in a report called Stay off the Grass: COVID-19 and Law Enforcement in Canada. Quebec accounted for 77 per cent of the reported fines, while Ontario saw 18 per cent and Nova Scotia three per cent.
• The report finds that marginalized or other vulnerable groups tended to bear the brunt of police and bylaw action.
• According to the study by the association and the Policing the Pandemic Mapping Project co-founded at the universities of Toronto and Ottawa, police and bylaw officers issued at least 10,000 tickets or charges related to the pandemic between April 1 and June 15.
• Starting July 3, residents of the region will be able to travel freely in a bubble created by the four Atlantic provinces.
• Globally there have been 9,273,773+ cases, 477,807+ deaths and 4,613,425+ recoveries.
• The International Monetary Fund says it now expects global gross domestic product to shrink 4.9 per cent this year, more than the three per cent predicted in April. For 2021, the fund forecast growth of 5.4 per cent, down from 5.8 per cent.
• The IMF sees Canadian GDP in 2020 at -8.4 per cent and 4.9 per cent in 2021.
• Major League Baseball plans a July 24 return.
• The United States has seen the largest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases reported since late April, the height of the pandemic in New York State. More than 35,000 cases emerged in the past 24 hours. The cases are spiking in states such as Texas, Arizona, California and Florida. The U.S. has now seen 2,348,956+ cases with 121,279+ deaths.

June 23

• Ontario is reporting 33,853+ cases of COVID-19, up 216. There have been 2,619 deaths, up 10 and 29,107 recoveries, up 174. One of the deaths was the first in Ontario of a child. She had the infection but did not die from it.
• The province has completed 16,189 tests below the target of 20,000 a day.
• There are 66 outbreaks in long term care institutions, down two.
• This is the third time in the past 12 days that the number of confirmed cases has topped 200.
• Health officials say 168 (78 per cent) of the new infections are in Toronto, Peel Region, York Region, and Windsor-Essex. There are 63 new cases in Toronto, 46 in Peel Region, 27 in York Region and 32 in Windsor-Essex.
• Twenty-seven of Ontario’s 34 local public health units reported five or fewer cases on Tuesday, with 17 reporting no new cases at all.
• Ottawa Public Health is reporting five new cases of COVID-19 and the first death in several days in Ottawa. There now have been 2,061 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 261 deaths, 1,746 cases are resolved. Two residents are in hospital, one in intensive care.
• Ontario’s Education Minister unveiled a new math curriculum for elementary students that will take effect this fall. The new math will be on top of massive changes in the school system caused by COVID-19.
• On Monday, Premier Doug Ford blasted farmers in southwestern Ontario for not ensuring temporary workers were tested for COVID-19. On Tuesday he changed his tune.
• Ford said his government “will have more to say (Wednesday) on a plan going forward” regarding the protection of migrant workers.
• “We are doing everything we can right now to help you and I’m 100 per cent behind our farmers and I will always have your backs,” he said. “But, I need your help as well. We have to make sure that testing is available to our farmers and to the workers, that’s our best defence right now. So, I will say this again, if you’re working on a farm and you’re worried about COVID-19, please go get tested.”
• Thus far, more than 1.2 million novel coronavirus tests have been conducted throughout Ontario.
• The Art Gallery of Ontario will reopen to members and annual pass holders on July 2. On July 23 those buying single tickets can come in to seem the collection and exhibitions featuring the photography of Diane Arbus and one called Illusions: The Art of Magic showing 55 colourful posters from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
• Canadian Heritage is sending $25.7 million to nine cultural institutions under the Museum Assistance Program. The recipients include the National Gallery of Canada, the Museum of Science and Technology, the Museum of Nature, The Aviation Museum, the Museum of History, the War Museum, Pier 21 in Halifax, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg and the National Battlefields Commission.
• A study by Ottawa Public Health shows 62 per cent of people infected with COVID-19 in Ottawa were employed in the health-care sector, most of them in long-term care.   
• Sales and service workers made up the next largest group, accounting for 13 per cent of those who declared their occupation. Next came a broad category including teachers, police officers, jail guards and social workers, who made up 11 per cent the total. 
• The Madonna Care Community, where two health-care workers died and 60 became ill with COVID-19, failed to ensure nurses had better protection against infection, a court-appointed arbitrator has ruled. The Ottawa Citizen has more.
• The National Capital Commission (NCC) says the daily closure of the Queen Elizabeth Driveway, and the weekend closures on the Sir John A. Macdonald and Sir George-Étienne Cartier Parkways, will continue until Sept. 7.
• Quebec has now seen 54,884+ confirmed cases of COVID-19, up only 49. There have been 5,424+ deaths, up seven.
• The Outaouais has no new cases leaving the total at 576 cases and the death toll remains the same at 33.
• Canada now has 101,902+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,488+ deaths from the infection and 64,334+ recoveries.
• It’s estimated that about 124 of the 1,381 Royal Canadian Legion branches across Canada are likely to close permanently, and another 357 are facing financial hardship. CTV has more.
• The parliamentary budget officer reports this year’s federal deficit could hit $256 billion due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The PBO bases its estimates on a total of $169 billion in federal spending on emergency aid and a historic drop in economic output. The office says the economy could shrink by 6.8 per cent in 2020, the weakest since 1981. The number is similar to other estimates.
• The overall deficit figure is $3.8 billion higher than previous predictions because of a better economic outlook in the second half of the year. Previously, Giroux estimated the economy could shrink by 12 per cent in 2020.
• The parliamentary budget officer estimates the eight-week extension of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit will cost $17.9 billion. The total cost will now be $71.3 billion. The original cost was $60 billion. About $43.51 billion has been paid out to 8.41 million people as of June 4.
• The Finance Department has lowered the cost for the wage-subsidy program to $45 billion from $73 billion. The PBO report says the wage subsidy will cost $55.6 billion.
• The federal government says the supply of personal protective equipment is stabilizing and the purchase of PPEs will now return to a competitive bidding process.
• The federal government is extending the length of time that employees in federally-regulated private sector workplaces can be laid off, before their employment is deemed terminated. For employees laid off prior to March 31, 2020, the time period is extended by six months or to December 30, 2020, whichever occurs first. For employees laid off between March 31, 2020, and September 30, 2020, the time period is extended until December 30, 2020, unless a later recall date was provided in a written notice at the time of the layoff.from three months to six.
• A new poll conducted by Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies has found that two thirds of Canadians don’t want to see physical distancing measures relaxed.
• A new study ranking countries for safety amid the pandemic places Canada 12th, behind top-ranked Switzerland, Germany, Israel, Singapore and Japan.
• Globally there have been 9,124,193+ cases, 472,683+ deaths and 4,385,705+ recoveries.
• The tennis star Novak Djokovic has tested positive for COVID-19 after hosting a tennis tournament. Three other tennis players at his Adria Tour exhibition tournament have also tested positive.

June 22

• New data from a survey of 500 Chinese Canadians by the non-profit Angus Reid Institute in partnership with the University of Alberta reveals the extent and depth to which these citizens have been exposed to discriminatory behaviours.
• Half (50 per cent) report being called names or insulted as a direct result of the COVID-19 outbreak, and a plurality (43 per cent) further say they’ve been threatened or intimidated.
• Three-in-ten (30 per cent) report being frequently exposed to racist graffiti or messaging on social media since the pandemic began, while 29 per cent say they have frequently been made to feel as though they posed a threat to the health and safety of others.
• A majority believe Canadians blame people of Chinese ethnicity for COVID-19 and just 13 per cent believe others in this country view them as fully Canadian “all the time”.
• Toronto and Peel can now move into Stage 2 of reopening starting on Wednesday. That means, restaurant and bar patios, shopping malls and pools can open. This leaves Windsor-Essex as the lone region stuck in Stage 1.
• The cases in the region are being driven by infections among temporary workers on farms.
• Mexico has agreed to allow temporary workers to return to Canadian farms after a deal was reached for improved safety precautions against infection from COVID-19.
• Meanwhile a third migrant worker has died at a farm run by Scotlynn Group, a large-scale farming operation in Vittoria, Ont.
• At least 199 migrant workers at the farm have tested positive for the virus, as well as 18 other people in association with Scotlynn Group.
• About 500 Canadian Forces members have ended their service in long term care homes in Ontario.
• In Ontario, the number of news cases continues to be well below 200 a day with confirmed cases now at 33,637+, up 161 cases. There have been 28,933 recoveries, up 214 and 2,609 deaths and increase of just three.
• The province completed 21,900 tests in the past 24 hours.
• In the City of Ottawa, the longest running outbreak in a long term care home is now over. After 10 weeks and the deaths of 59 residents, the outbreak at Carlingview Manor ended June 18, Ottawa Public Health reports. The outbreak was declared April 7, it included 170 cases among residents and 89 among staff.
• Ottawa Public Health reports there have been 2,056 cases so far, up one, and no new deaths leaving the toll at 260 fatalities. Three residents remain in hospital and 1,744 have recovered.
• Quebec has now seen 54,835+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been no new deaths leaving a total of 5,417+. The last time Quebec saw no deaths was March 19.
• The Outaouais has seen 576 cases and 33 deaths.
• The province is allowing gyms and cinemas to reopen for up to 50 people. Restaurants in the Montreal area can now open.
• Manitoba is allowing bars and restaurants to reopen to full capacity. The province has 20 active cases of COVID-19.
• Saskatchewan is moving into Stage 4 of its reopening plan.
• Canada now has 101,637+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,436+ deaths from the infection and 64,334+ recoveries.
• Most federal public servants will be working remotely for the foreseeable future — some even permanently — as individual departments take up the task of bringing back their most critical staff first, according to new return-to-work guidelines from the Treasury Board of Canada.
• Treasury Board President Jean-Yves Duclos said the return will be gradual, will vary by department and will put health and safety first.
• There are no government-wide standards and no dates are included in the guidelines, though Duclos did say he thinks the first public servants can return shortly.
• Gov.-Gen. Julie Payette has cancelled the next round of Order in Canada appointments.
• Parks Canada is now allowing camping in national parks. Canadians with existing reservations will be able to stay overnight at sites with new reservation opportunities available online in the coming weeks.
• COVID consequences: CBC reports that data on work refusals reported to provincial labour authorities shows there’s been a spike in the number of people who have formally refused to work citing dangerous conditions. But virtually none of those work refusals are being upheld, which may illustrate just how unprepared existing labour laws are for dealing with COVID-19.
• Globally there have been 8,795,922+ cases, 463,811+ deaths and 4,385,705+ recoveries.
• World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom and Ghebreyesus warned Monday of the potential consequences of world leaders “politicizing” the coronavirus pandemic, saying political divisions would hamper a proper response to the virus.
• “The greatest threat we face now is not the virus itself, it’s the lack of global solidarity and global leadership,” Tedros said, according to The Associated Press. “We cannot defeat this pandemic with a divided world.”

June 21

• Ottawa Public Health is reporting one new case of COVID-19 in the city and no new deaths. This means there have been 2,055 cases so far and 260 fatalities. Two residents remain in hospital and 1,742 have recovered.
• In Ontario there have now been 33,476+ confirmed cases of COVID-19, up 175, and 2,606 deaths, up 11. More than 85 per cent of cases have resolved. There have 28,719 recoveries, up 251.
• Ontario completed 23,408 tests.
• In Ottawa, a staffer at the Peter D. Clark long-term care home has tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total to 24. Six employees and one resident have active cases.
• The executive director of the ByWard Market BIA suggests one of the biggest challenges facing business owners during the COVID-19 pandemic is finding employees to work. CTV has more.
• Quebec has now seen 54,766+ confirmed cases of COVID-19, an increase of 92. There have been 5,417+ deaths, up nine.
• The number of cases in the Outaouais remains at 576 with the death toll holding at 33.
• Canada now has 101,337+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,430+ deaths from the infection and 63,866+ recoveries.
• Globally there have been 8,795,922+ cases, 463,811+ deaths and 4,385,705+ recoveries.

June 20

• Ottawa Public Health has reported five new cases of COVID-19 bringing the city’s total to 2,054. No new deaths have been reported. The toll remains at 260.
• Three residents are in hospital, one in intensive care. and 1,736 people have recovered leaving only 58 active cases.
• Ontario has now seen 33,301 confirmed cases of COVID-19, up 206, with 2,595 deaths from the infection, up 31. So far there have been 28,468 recoveries, up 218. More than 85 per cent of all cases have been resolved.
• The province completed 27,387 tests in the past 24 hours.
• Quebec has now seen 54,674+ confirmed cases of COVID-19, an increase of 124. There have been 5,408+ deaths, up 33.
• There have now been 576 cases in the Outaouais with 33 deaths.
• Canada now has 100,959+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,410+ deaths from the infection and 63,450+ recoveries.
• VIA Rail says passengers will be required to wear masks to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 starting on Tuesday.
• Globally there have been 8,629,272+ confirmed cases with 459,714+ deaths and 4,277,519+ recoveries.
• Major League Baseball, with at least 12 major-league players and staff members testing positive for COVID-19, has shut down spring training facilities in Arizona and Florida.

June 19

• Ontario now has seen 33,085 confirmed cases of COVID-19, up 178. There have been 28,250 recoveries, up 246. There have now been 2,564 deaths, up 31.
• The province completed 27,225 tests in the past 24 hours. There are 66 long term care facilities experiencing outbreaks, down one.
• Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the province wants school boards prepare three separate plans for September.
• A plan for regular in-class instruction with heightened health protocols.
• The continuation of remote learning with more standardization. This would happen should school closures be extended, or if some parents choose not to send their child back to school, the province says.
• An adapted delivery model, which blends in-class with online learning, which would see students alternating being in class by days or weeks.
• Lecce said in the latter situation, class sizes wouldn’t exceed 15 students in class at a time.
• Ottawa Public Health has reported six new cases of COVID-19 bringing the city’s total to 2,049. No new deaths have been reported. The toll remains at 260.
• There are only three residents in hospital and 1,731 people have recovered leaving only 58 active cases.
• It is now 100 days since lockdown measures were imposed in Canada and the country has 100,622+ confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been 8,346 deaths from the infection and 62,984+ recoveries.
• In his morning briefing, this time from Chelsea, Quebec, the prime minister said that businesses need to support and respect workers in response to questions about grocery chains removing the $2 an hour bump in pay because of the pandemic.
• A Commons committee has asked representatives of Loblaws, Metro and Sobeys to appear to answer questions about the removal of this “danger” pay.
• The City of Ottawa’s long-term care director says it has hired 91 more workers for the four long-term care homes it manages during the pandemic. 
• Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard says the provincial economy will shrink 6.5 per cent this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.
• The province will record a $14.9 billion deficit during fiscal 2020-2021. The province saw a 9 per cent decrease in revenues.
• Quebec spent more than C$6.6 billion on financial support to mitigate the impact of coronavirus and expects an estimated decrease of C$8.5 billion in revenues during fiscal 2020-2021.
• Quebec has now seen 54,550 confirmed cases of COVID-19, up 167. There have been 5,375 deaths, up 35, 30 of which occurred before June 11.
• A 60-year-old man from Surrey, B.C. faces mischief charges charged with mischief after his flight was diverted to Winnipeg because he refused to wear his face mask when requested and because he lit up a cigarette on board and refused to put it out.
• Face masks are now required on flights in Canada.
• Several NHL players have tested positive for COVID-19 including Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews and several unnamed players and staff from the Tampa Bay Lightning. This comes as the federal government has cleared the way for a Canadian city to participate in the relaunch of the NHL season.
• The Toronto Blue Jays have closed their spring training facility in Florida after a player tested positive for COVID-19. Five members of the Philadelphia Phillies have also tested positive.
• COVID consequences: Retail sales were down by 26.4 per cent in April to $34.7 billion, Statistics Canada says and sales have fallen by 33.6 per cent since physical distancing measures were implemented in mid-March. Motor vehicle and parts dealers took the largest hit in April, while online sales surged to a record high, representing 9.5 per cent of the total retail market.
• Essential retailers such as supermarkets and other grocery stores, convenience stores, pharmacies, gasoline stations and beer, wine and liquor stores remained open with reduced hours, most Canadian retailers did not offer in-store shopping in April. Nevertheless, many retailers started or expanded their online presence and curbside pick-up services in response to the closures.
• About a third of retailers were closed during April. The average length of shutdown was eight business days. In the clothing and clothing accessories sector, 70.1 per cent of retailers were closed in April for an average of 20 days.
• Globally there are now 8,519,543+ cases with 454,582+ deaths and 4,184,445+ recoveries.
• Coronavirus cases are spiking in India which has recorded 13,586 infections in the past 24 hours. India has now seen 380,532+ confirmed cases, 163,248+ are active. There have been 12,573+ deaths.
• In the United States, as Donald Trump is about to return to the campaign trail in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the case count is 2,234,449+. The death toll is now 120,210+ and the recoveries have reached 698,788+.

June 18

• In Ontario there are now 32,917+ cases of COVID-19, up 173. There have now been 2,533 deaths. So far, 28,004 people have recovered, an increase of 220.
• Ontario has completed 25,278 tests.
• Canada has now passed 100,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 reaching a total of 100,220+ cases on Thursday. There have been 8,300 deaths from the infection and 62,496+ recoveries.
• The federal government is now testing a contact tracing app in Ontario to help find those who might have been exposed to COVID-19. The app has been developed in partnership with Canadian tech companies Shopify and BlackBerry. The app is to be available in early July.
• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said no location services will be used on the app, stating “the privacy of Canadians will be fully respected.”
• The prime minister said his government has also been working with other provinces, pointing to British Columbia, specifically, on launching the contract tracing app. He said it is to become available nationwide in the coming weeks.
• Ontario Premier Doug Ford said later the app will alert Ontarians if they’ve been exposed to someone infected with COVID-19 in the last 14 days.
• In Ontario, relatives can now begin to visit their family members in long term care facilities.
• In Ottawa, the Byward Market and the Parkdale Market are now open.
• Toronto has now seen 1,000 deaths from COVID-19.
• Dr. Eileen de Villa, the city’s medical officer of health, called the death toll a “tragic milestone.
• Meanwhile, Ottawa Public Health reports seven new cases of COVID-19 in the city for a total of 2,043. There were no deaths from the infection in the past 24 hours for a total of 260. Seven people are in hospital with COVID-19. There are 68 active cases and 1,715 have been resolved.
• The City of Ottawa is cancelling large indoor and outdoor events at municipal facilities until the end of July due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• All municipal facility rentals for indoor events of 100 or more people and outdoor events of 250 or more people will be cancelled for July.
• The city will consider rentals of indoor space for up to 10 people on a case-by-case basis. Sports fields can be booked for events of up to 10 people, under the condition that sports teams and clubs follow the guidelines of their governing organizations.
• All existing arena bookings until August 3 have been cancelled.
• The NAC and RBC Bluesfest have teamed up for a weekend drive-in concert series called “#CanadaPerforms at RBC Bluesfest Drive-In”, which will take place at the Place des Festivals Zibi Site in Gatineau. The first set of performances will be July 31 and Aug. 1.
• Canadian border agents have turned away more than 7,500 foreigners – mostly Americans – trying to visit Canada for non-essential purposes, including sightseeing, shopping and recreation, since pandemic restrictions on travel were imposed.
• The latest data available from the Canada Border Services Agency reveals that 7,639 foreign nationals were denied entry to Canada under the discretionary travel ban between March 22 and June 16.
• Americans accounted for 87 per cent of those denied entry, with 6,615 U.S. citizens being sent home by Canadian border agents. The remaining 1,024 people denied entry were citizens of other countries not specified by the CBSA, CTV has more.
• Globally there are now 8,400,320+ cases with 450,435+ deaths and 4,109,183+ recoveries.

For previous updates, visit: Tracking COVID-19: June 17

---