Because we are Canadian, let’s look at the really important stuff first. The National Hockey League says it’s suspending its season effective immediately as a result of the spread of COVID-19. Maybe next year Leafs!
The announcement comes a day after the National Basketball Association took the same step in the wake of a positive diagnosis for one of its players. The Toronto Raptors say their players, coaches and travelling staff have been advised to go into self-isolation for 14 days.
The team says everyone who was on the road in recent days is currently being tested for COVID-19, but results are not immediately available.
The Raptors played against the Utah Jazz on Monday, and a player on that team tested positive for COVID-19 two days later. The National Basketball Association has opted to suspend the season until further notice in the wake of that positive diagnosis.
Major League Baseball announced Thursday that it will suspend spring training in response to the coronavirus outbreak and delay the start of the regular season by at least two weeks.
The Juno Awards to be held in Saskatoon,have been cancelled over concerns about the COVID-19 outbreak – a move one music publicist says was the right decision but is also a “devastating” blow to the industry. The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences says the decision was made with input and guidance from provincial tourism and health authorities.
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is asking all people returning to the province from travel abroad to self-isolate for 14 days. The measure will be mandatory for all government employees.
He is also asking organizers to cancel all indoor events attracting crowds of more than 250 people and all other large gatherings that are not considered essential.
The province now has 13 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
Health officials say there are 17 new cases of COVID-19 in Ontario. The latest positive test results bring the total number of cases in the province to 59.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau are in self-isolation after she began showing mild flu-like symptoms. Gregoire Trudeau recently returned from a trip to London, U.K., and is currently being tested for COVID-19.
A release from the Prime Minister’s Office says her symptoms have subsided, while Trudeau is not currently showing any signs of the disease caused by the novel coronavirus
Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Health says the province has its first presumptive case of COVID-19.
The province’s chief medical health officer, Dr. Saqib Shahab, says the person recently travelled to Egypt. The person, who is about 60, was tested in Saskatoon earlier this month and has been self-isolating at home.
Toronto’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade scheduled for this Sunday, has been cancelled amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
Manitoba has announced its first case of COVID-19.
Health Minister Cameron Friesen says a woman who recently travelled to the Philippines has tested positive for coronavirus. He says the woman is isolated at home.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has ended speculation that he will call an early spring election saying his government will focus on fighting COVID-19.
Ontario’s premier says concerns over COVID-19 shouldn’t prevent people from going on vacation for March Break. Speaking at a press conference in Ottawa, Ford said he wants people to have a good time and enjoy themselves.
He says the province is monitoring the situation daily and things may change, but for now, people shouldn’t alter their plans.
The city of Toronto is announcing a COVID-19 task force, to be led by the city’s fire chief.
The task force will plan for various responses to the novel coronavirus, including staff absenteeism and its impact on delivering core services.
It will also look at global supply chain challenges for personal protective equipment for front-line workers and first responders and how best to protect vulnerable people such as long-term care residents and people experiencing homelessness.
Toronto Public Health is currently monitoring 18 cases of COVID-19.
Government statistics show that Ontario‘s hospital emergency rooms were already experiencing high wait times in January, the month the first COVID-19 cases began appearing in the province.
Ontario says the province’s first wave of dedicated assessment centres for COVID-19 will open in the next several days.
The facilities will be at the Brampton Civic Hospital, The Ottawa Hospital, North York General Hospital, Mackenzie Health, Scarborough Health Network and Trillium Health Partners.
More centres are set to open across the province in the coming weeks and will be separate spaces to protect patients in the rest of the hospital.
The province has also approved new physician billing codes for telephone assessments and is launching a provincewide public education campaign with ads on social media, search engines, radio and in print.
Yukon Premier Sandy Silver says he’s opting not to attend today’s First Minister’s meeting in Ottawa out of an abundance of caution.
Silver also says a minister in his government has self-isolated and is being tested for COVID-19.
He says Energy, Mines, and Resources Minister Ranj Pillai has taken the measures after attending last week’s Prospectors and Developers Convention in Toronto.
A spokeswoman for New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs says he will not attend the first ministers meeting today in Ottawa now that his province has reported its first presumptive case of COVID-19.
Dr. Jennifer Russell, New Brunswick’s chief medical officer, says health officials learned Wednesday that a woman between 50 and 60 years old living in the southeastern area of the province was “minimally symptomatic” after returning from a trip to France.
New Brunswick is the first Atlantic province to report a presumptive case of the disease.