The latest developments on COVID-19 in Canada

The latest news on the COVID-19 global pandemic (all times Eastern):

8:45 p.m.

Vancouver’s airport authority has started offering voluntary layoffs to its staff, due to a reduction in passengers caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Vancouver Airport Authority employs roughly 500 people across airport operations, finance, engineering, human resources and other sectors.

Voluntary packages have started and will be followed by layoffs, an airport spokesman said in a statement.

The airport authority did not say how many workers will be affected.

—

6:30 p.m.

The British Columbia government says 13 outbreaks of COVID-19 are over, but four more people have died from the illness in the province.

A total of 109 people have died from COVID-19 in B.C.

Health Minister Adrian Dix says the four most recent deaths were seniors living in long-term care homes.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says there have been 34 new positive tests for the virus, for a total of 2,087 cases, with 1,305 people having recovered.

—

6:10 p.m.

Alberta is reporting 315 new cases of COVID-19 and seven additional deaths from the illness.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province’s chief medical health officer, says all the new deaths were at long-term care centres in Calgary.

So far 87 people have died as a result of the virus in Alberta, and 1,953 people have recovered.

Alberta has seen a total of 5,165 cases.

—

5:30 p.m.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says medical services won’t be allowed to reopen in a remote northern village on Monday.

Seventeen new COVID-19 cases were announced on Wednesday, with many of those cases in La Loche.

The first stage of Saskatchewan’s reopen plan kicks into effect Monday with restrictions lifting on medical services like dental offices.

Moe says because of the outbreak in La Loche, it won’t happen in that community. The same holds true for Lloydminister, a city on the Saskatchewan-Alberta border.

Health officials say there are 13 cases linked to the Lloydminister Hospital, including patients and health-care workers.

—

4 p.m.

Saskatchewan has announced another person has died from COVID-19 in the province.

Health officials says the resident was in their 80s and from the far north which is dealing with an outbreak.

The province announced 17 new confirmed cases today, with 11 in the remote community of La Loche.

Four are also from Lloydminster on the Saskatchewan-Alberta border .

Saskatchewan health officials report that the province has a total of 383 COVID-19 cases, six deaths and 291 people who have recovered.

—

3 p.m

Two more poultry processing facilities in B.C. report workers who have tested positive for COVID-19.

Sofina Foods Inc., says its employee who tested positive lives with relatives who work at a processing plant that was recently closed because of a novel coronavirus outbreak.

Fraser Valley Specialty Poultry says its employee was off the job on Friday with flu-like symptoms and tested positive yesterday.

Eighty COVID-19 cases have been linked to two Metro Vancouver poultry processing facilities that were closed earlier this month.

—

2:55 p.m.

The House of Commons is poised to approve a $9-billion financial aid package later today for students faced with bleak job prospects this summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Opposition parties have given unanimous consent for the Commons to vote on the package later today.

To win opposition support, the government has made some changes to the promised package, including increasing the monthly benefit for students with dependents and disabilities to $2,000.

—

2:50 p.m.

Manitoba is reporting one new COVID-19 case, bringing the total to date to 273 (262 confirmed, 11 probable).

With 213 people having recovered in the province, the number of active cases is at 54.

Health officials have released modeling that suggests the province could see 6,250 cases over the coming year.

They caution it is a broad outlook subject to change, but say that so far, it appears to be within the capacity of the health care system.

—

2:20 p.m.

Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough says the government is working on a solution to help people who rely on child support payments.

Currently, parents whose ex partners can’t afford to make their child support payments due to COVID-19 don’t qualify for the emergency response benefit.

Qualtrough says she’s aware of the gap, and is working on a potential way forward.

—

1:50 p.m.

Public Safety Minister Bill Blair says children may be at greater risk of online exploitation with so many spending time at home on the internet.

He says the national child exploitation crime centre is alert to the risk and is monitoring the situation.

—

1:50 p.m.

New Brunswick is reporting no new cases of COVID-19.

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Jennifer Russell says the provincial total remains at 118 cases.

She says there are just four active cases right now and only one of those is in hospital.

Russell says she expects there will be more cases in the province and officials will have to respond with quick action when they occur.

—

1:35 p.m.

Quebec is receiving another 400 soldiers to lend a hand in the province’s overburdened long-term care homes.

Deputy Premier Genevieve Guilbault says the soldiers are in addition to those already working in the province since April 20.

Over 60 per cent of the province’s deaths have occurred in care homes, where absences and illnesses due to COVID-19 have worsened pre-existing understaffing issues.

Guilbault says that while many new people have been hired, she’s encouraging anyone who wants to work in the homes to apply.

—

1:25 p.m.

Quebec is announcing it will gradually remove police controls that have been limiting non-essential travel to certain regions.

Deputy Premier Genevieve Guilbault says police roadblocks will begin to be removed on May 4 in the Laurentides, Lanaudiere and Chaudiere-Appalaches regions.

The Abitibi, Saguenay Lac-St-Jean and Outaouais regions, with the exception of Gatineau, will reopen May 11, while the Bas-St-Laurent, Gaspesie, Iles-de-la Madeleine, Charlevoix and Cote-Nord areas will remove roadblocks on May 18.

The province announced 79 new deaths for a total of 1,761, and 837 cases for a total of 26,594.

—

1:15 p.m.

There are no new cases of COVID-19 reported in Newfoundland and Labrador, leaving the provincial total at 258 cases.

Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, Chief Medical Officer of Health, says four people remain in hospital with two of them in intensive care.

There have been three COVID-19 related deaths so far in the province and Fitzgerald says 225 people are considered recovered, while testing has been carried out on 8,220 people.

Fitzgerald announced two new orders including one requiring assisted living facilities for seniors to take steps to protect their residents, and another restricting visitors to the province.

—

1:05 p.m.

Prince Edward Island is reporting no new cases of COVID-19 today.

The provincial total remains at 27 and the province says all cases were travel-related.

Twenty-four of those cases are considered recovered.

Chief public health officer. Dr. Heather Morrison says there are currently 2087 people in self-isolation.

The province announced Tuesday that some of the public health restrictions would be eased starting May 1.

Premier Dennis King has extended the state of emergency to May 31.

—

12:35 p.m.

The Manitoba government is going to start easing some of its COVID-19-related restrictions starting on Monday by allowing dentists, physiotherapists, retail stores, hair salons and restaurant patios to open at no more than 50 per cent capacity.

Campgrounds, museums, libraries and art galleries will also be allowed to reopen, and all will have to maintain physical distancing among customers.

Travel restrictions and the 10-person limit on public gatherings will remain in place, but Pallister says the crowd limit may be raised later in May if the province’s COVID-19 numbers remain low.

A second phase will see nail salons, dine-in restaurants and non-contact children’s sports allowed, while mass gatherings such as concerts and big-league sporting events will not happen until September at the earliest.

—

12:30 p.m.

The NDP and the Bloc Quebecois say the federal government is being evasive about whether it will provide emergency financial support to companies registered in foreign tax havens.

The two opposition parties have called on the government to deny federal funding to those companies.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the government will continue to fight tax evasion and avoidance, and those companies will face severe consequences.

— 

11:45 a.m.

Nova Scotia is reporting one new death related to COVID-19, bringing the total to 28.

The death occurred at the Northwood long-term care home in Halifax.

The province has also identified 20 new cases of the virus today, bringing the number of confirmed cases to 935.

Nova Scotia has registered 27,486 negative test results, with 11 people currently in hospital, and three of those patients in intensive care.

Health officials say 529 people have now recovered and their cases of COVID-19 are considered resolved.

—

11:40 a.m.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government is looking at what support it can offer to the Canadian Football League.

League commissioner Randy Ambrosie revealed to The Canadian Press yesterday that the CFL has asked for up to $150 million in assistance due to the pandemic.

The league was supposed to start its regular season on June 11, but has pushed that date back to July at the earliest.

Ambrosie says the league’s long-term future would be in peril if the season was cancelled.

—

11:20 a.m.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government plans to provide between $1,000 and $5,000 for students who volunteer to help deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trudeau did not say when the new Canada Student Services Grant will be rolled out, but says specific supports will also be set up for Indigenous students.

The prime minister says the federal government is also planning to extend research grants, fellowships and other support to graduate students and researchers.

The new measures are on top of $9 billion in support for students unveiled last week.

—

11:15 a.m.

Newfoundland and Labrador is providing compensation for private sector employers to help pay employees who were required to self-isolate for 14-days due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.

The assistance includes people who are self-employed.

The maximum amount of funding under the provincial program will be 500 dollars per week for each employee — to a combined maximum of one-thousand dollars per week for each employee when receiving both federal and provincial funding.

The amount paid under the province’s program will depend on the amount of federal funding received.

— 

11:10 a.m.

The Canadian Armed Forces is deploying its famed Snowbirds aerobatics team on a cross-country tour aimed at boosting morale as Canadians continue to struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the planned spectacle this morning as he took a page from the U.S., where the American military’s own flight demonstration teams have been flying over cities in honour of frontline workers and first responders.

The Snowbirds cut their season short last year after one of the Snowbirds’ famous Tutor aircraft crashed on Oct. 13 prior to an air show at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in Georgia.

—

10:40 a.m.

Ontario is reporting 347 new COVID-19 cases today, and 45 more deaths.

That brings the province to a total of 15,728 cases — a 2.3 per cent increase over the previous day, which is the lowest growth rate in weeks.

More than 60 per cent of the total cases — 9,612 — are ones that have been resolved, and there have been a total of 996 deaths.

In long-term care, there was an increase of 70 deaths to 775, though the numbers come from a separate database from the provincial totals.

The Canadian Press