Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says it will take months of a continued and determined effort to avoid a COVID-19 worse-case scenario. Trudeau is commenting on models released this morning forecasting how the continued spread of the pandemic will pan out based on how aggressively Canadians follow physical distancing protocols. He says Canada is at a crossroad and the outcome will depend on how people behave, given there could be ongoing waves of the coronavirus. He says this means physical distancing is and will be Canada's new reality until a vaccine is found.

Quebec is reporting 41 new deaths today linked to COVID-19, bringing the total to 216 in the province. Provincial health authorities say they have identified 10,912 confirmed cases of the virus, with 679 hospitalizations and 196 in intensive care. Legault cautioned that not all long-term care facilities in the province have been impacted by COVID-19, identifying six facilities in particular that account for the lions share of deaths. Ahead of the Easter long weekend, Legault says he wants people to steer clear of the elderly to reduce the risk of infection, but to make sure they still call th

B.C. Finance Minister Carole James says the province lost 132,000 jobs last month, but it's going to get worse before it gets better due to the COVID-19 pandemic.She says the latest Statistics Canada Labour Force numbers indicate B.C.'s jobless rate rose to 7.2 per cent from 5 per cent in March.James says she expects the jobless numbers to increase over the coming weeks as they indicate the ongoing impact of the pandemic on the economy and workers and families.She says the province has introduced a $5 billion action plan to help workers, families and businesses endure the pandemic.

Even with strong containment measures, as many as 22,000 Canadians could die of COVID-19 in the coming months.That's the worst-case scenario set out by federal public health officials this morning at a briefing in Ottawa.The Public Health Agency of Canada says short-term estimates are more reliable, and that up to 700 people could die by the end of next week.Officials warn that if people don't obey social distancing and self-isolation rules, the death toll could be much higher.Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam says ``we cannot prevent every death but we must prevent every death that

WestJet says it plans to bring back nearly 6,400 employees on to its payroll with the help of Ottawa's emergency wage subsidy program.WestJet chief executive Ed Sims made the announcement in a video posted to Twitter.He says employees will be back on the company payroll once the federal government has approved the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy program.Air Canada made a similar announcement on Wednesday that it would use the program to bring back about 16,500 employees.Sims says it doesn't mean all the employees will be automatically coming back to work because there might not be work for them

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday announced that a task force would soon be set up to find ways for the state to gradually get out of the unprecedented lockdown. Addressing a video conference of the state's leading industrialists, the Chief Minister also assured the industry of all support by the government to address critical issues and challenges in this difficult time. Taking to Twitter, Singh also said that the state Cabinet will discuss and take a decision on the extension of lockdown and curfew in its meeting scheduled on April 10. "Interacted over video confere

There are 19,291 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada. Quebec: 10,031 confirmed (including 175 deaths, 827 resolved) Ontario: 5,276 confirmed (including 174 deaths, 2,074 resolved) Alberta: 1,423 confirmed (including 29 deaths, 519 resolved) British Columbia: 1,336 confirmed (including 48 deaths, 838 resolved) Nova Scotia: 342 confirmed (including 1 death, 77 resolved) Saskatchewan: 271 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 88 resolved) Newfoundland and Labrador: 232 confirmed (including 2 deaths, 74 resolved) Manitoba: 206 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 69 resolved), 15 presumptive Ne

Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart says local governments across Canada are facing significant financial pressures due to COVID-19. He says Vancouver is bleeding money and the city expects to see a 50 per cent reduction in non-city property tax revenues between March and May, which equates to losses of $4 million to $5 million per week. Stewart is calling on the B.C. government to expand it's provincial property tax deferment program to include all residents, businesses and non-profit agencies to help bridge the gap. He's also asking the province for an emergency grant of up to $200 million so V

Provincial health officer Doctor Bonnie Henry is reporting five more deaths from COVID-19 in B.C. including three residents of long-term care or assisted living facilities. Henry says another resident has died amid an outbreak at the Lynn Valley care centre and the other two deaths occurred at a care home with no previous fatalities. She says the province has recorded 45 new cases for a total of 1,336, including 48 deaths. The number of hospitalizations is down slightly but Henry says people need to stay home over the Easter weekend to limit the spread of the virus.