Ontario is extending a period of lower hydro rates as well as its emergency orders.The orders, which were set to expire today, include the closure of non-essential businesses, the prohibition of public gatherings of more than five people, and the closure of outdoor amenities such as playgrounds.They have now been extended for another two weeks, to May 19.Ontario's overall declaration of a state of emergency was extended last month to May 12.The government also says that it will extend lower electricity rates for residential consumers, farms and small businesses to May 31. An initial order fro

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday chaired a meeting of the task force on coronavirus vaccine development, drug discovery, diagnosis and testing and took a detailed review of the current status of India's efforts in these areas. The review by the Prime Minister took note of the extraordinary coming together of academia, industry and government, combined with speedy but efficient regulatory process. According to an official release, the Prime Minister desired that such coordination and speed should be embedded into a standard operating procedure. It said over 30 Indian vaccines are in dif

There are 62,046 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada. Quebec: 33,417 confirmed (including 2,398 deaths, 7,578 resolved) Ontario: 18,310 confirmed (including 1,361 deaths, 12,779 resolved) Alberta: 5,893 confirmed (including 106 deaths, 3,219 resolved) British Columbia: 2,232 confirmed (including 121 deaths, 1,472 resolved) Nova Scotia: 991 confirmed (including 41 deaths, 652 resolved) Saskatchewan: 487 confirmed (including 6 deaths, 310 resolved) Manitoba: 282 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 238 resolved) Newfoundland and Labrador: 259 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 241 resolved) New Bru

BC is reporting only eight new cases of COVID-19 but four new deaths. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says that brings the total number of cases to 2,232 and 121 deaths. Henry says there are now active outbreaks at 22 long-term care centres but the one at Lynne Valley the first major outbreak in the province is over. She says the province has put the brakes on COVID-19 but it's too early for people to start planning play dates and expanding their social connections.

Highway 5-A could be closed for weeks after Stump Lake spilled over its banks and flooded the highway about 40 kilometres south of Kamloops. Kevin Skrepnek, the emergency co-ordinator with the Thompson Nicola Regional District, says water levels show the highway closure could last days or even weeks. He says the reopening will be up to the Ministry of Transportation, which will factor in public safety. Skrepnek says some outbuildings and basements on nearby properties have also been flooded.

A man is in custody after climbing a crane tower at a construction site on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Sergeant Aaron Roed says the man scaled the crane last night and was able to get into the operating booth and start the machine. Roed says power was cut before the man was able to move the crane arm or cause any damage. Officers then convinced the man to come down from his perch on his own and he was arrested without further incident.

New York state is now reporting more than 1,700 previously undisclosed COVID-19 deaths at nursing homes and adult care facilities, raising the total in the homes to more than 4,800. Exactly how many nursing home residents have died remains uncertain despite the state's latest disclosure, as the list doesn't include nursing home residents who were transferred to hospitals before dying. There have been more than 19-thousand deaths in New York state since the beginning of the outbreak.

Canada's chief public health officer says the daily increase of COVID-19 cases in Canada has slowed to about three per cent. Dr. Theresa Tam says that trend, coupled with statistics showing the percentage of tests coming back positive is going down, even as the number of tests goes up, signifies that the epidemic in Canada is slowing down. Meanwhile, Tam says the pediatric network in Canada is monitoring children for signs of the inflammatory syndrome known as Kawasaki disease, which some countries have found in some children with COVID-19. But Tam says there are no firm conclusions in Canada

Quebec is announcing 118 new COVID-19 deaths compared with the prior day, for a total of 2,398. The province is also recording another 794 positive cases of COVID-19, for a total of 33,417 confirmed cases. Quebec Premier Francois Legault said today about 11,200 workers are absent from the health-care network, either because they are sick, vulnerable to COVID-19 infection or otherwise too afraid to go into work. He says about a third of them should be finishing their 14-day quarantines and is calling on them to return to work in the health-care network, especially in the province's struggling