Approximately 5200 employees of Indigo Books &Music Inc. are being laid off as of today. The Toronto-based book seller has decided to keep its stores closed indefinitely during the COVID-19 outbreak. Indigo had paid its staffers though March 27th after temporarily closing its stores March 17th. The company says it expects to ``re-embrace'' as many employees as possible once stores reopen.

Ontario is reporting 135 new COVID-19 cases today, bringing the provincial total to 993. There are three new deaths, meaning 18 people have died of the virus in Ontario. No information is available for any of the new cases, with all of them listed as ``pending.''

Deputy Prime Minister Freeland says Canadian officials are urgently following up with American counterparts following reports the U.S. may deport asylum seekers who are turned away by Canada and may be at risk in their native countries, contrary to international agreements. Canada closed the border to illegal asylum seekers last week in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19. Freeland won't say whether Canada will reopen the border to illegal agreements, saying she did not want to negotiate with U.S. officials in public.

Quebec is announcing 10 more COVID-19 deaths in the province, bringing its total to 18. Premier Francois Legault said today the province recorded another 392 positive COVID-19 test results, for a total of 2,021 cases. Legault says another 35 people have been hospitalized since yesterday, including seven more people who are in intensive care. The premier is also asking Quebecers to avoid travelling to Montreal and to the Eastern Townships area, which he says are the two regions of the province with the highest number of COVID-19 cases.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tested positive for COVID-19 but is showing only mild symptoms.He is self-isolating and is still on the job thanks to what he calls the wizardry of technology. In a video message, Johnson says he had a fever and persistent cough.Earlier this week, Prince Charles announced that he too had tested positive, but only has mild symptoms.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the government is increasing a payroll subsidy to small business from 10 to 75 per cent to halt layoffs due to COVID-19. The subsidy will be retroactive to the middle of this month. Trudeau says the government still needs to hammer out the details on the implementation of this latest measure to shore up the economy. When it comes to paying for all of this, the prime minister says the government's economic foundations were strong before the pandemic and he is confident the economy will bounce back after COVID-19 passes. He hopes to provide more details by Mond

The Bank of Canada is cutting its key interest target by half a percentage point to 0.25 per cent in an unscheduled rate announcement. In a statement on its website, the central bank says its decision to lower rates is aimed at cushioning the economic shocks from COVID-19 and a sharp drop in oil prices by easing the cost of borrowing. It adds that providing credit in the economy for businesses that need it should help lay the foundation for the economy's return to normalcy. The interest rate cut takes the key rate to what the central bank referred to as ``its effective lower bound'' or the

The Quarantine Act is now in effect. The prime minister says people ignoring orders to stay isolated after returning from trips outside the country are endangering lives. Justin Trudeau says most people seem to be heeding the advice to self-isolate. But the P-M says others are not complying and the federal government is now taking the next step and is threatening serious consequences. Canada is now enforcing the Quarantine Act order for international arrivals to Canada to stay away from others for at least 14-days.

There are4,043 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada. Quebec: 1,629 confirmed (including 8 deaths, 1 resolved) Ontario: 858 confirmed (including 15 deaths, 8 resolved) British Columbia: 725 confirmed Alberta: 486 confirmed (including 2 deaths, 27 resolved) Saskatchewan: 95 confirmed (including 3 resolved) Newfoundland and Labrador: 82 confirmed Nova Scotia: 73 confirmed Manitoba: 25 confirmed, 11 presumptive New Brunswick: 33 confirmed Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed Prince Edward Island: 9 confirmed Yukon: 3 confirmed Northwest Territories: 1 confirmed Nunavut: No confirmed cases Tot