St. Patrick's Day won't be a party in Vancouver as health authorities have asked all bars and restaurants in the city to close their doors for the day. The request from the Vancouver Health Authority came just hours after the city's mayor said the shutdown would help efforts to control COVID-19 by keeping people away from packed St. Patrick's Day events. Gatherings of more than 50 people are now banned in British Columbia. The province's latest official count of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus is 103, including four deaths and six patients under care in hospital.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the Emergencies Act is a tool the federal government can use to enact measures it would otherwise not be able to enact. He says the Liberal government is looking at other ways to impose new measures without calling a state of emergency. Trudeau also says that with three million Canadians living or travelling abroad at any time, it would not be possible to expect that everyone would be able to come home immediately. Trudeau also says Canada is in a good fiscal position to be able to invest in Canadian individuals and businesses to make sure the country gets t

US President Donald Trump says discussions are ongoing with Canada about keeping the border open between the two countries. Trump says the U-S is working very closely with Canada and is calling the relationship between the two countries ``outstanding.'' The opposition parties are criticizing the Trudeau government for its decision yesterday to keep letting Americans into Canada even though it has closed the border to most other foreign nationals. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says the government is urgently reviewing the issue.

Health officials in Ontario are confirming the province's first death in a patient with COVID-19.A spokesman for the province's health minister says the 77 year old man in the Muskoka region was not a confirmed case, but the illness was discovered after his death.The exact cause of his death is still under investigation.It's the first Canadian fatality outside British Columbia linked to the novel coronavirus.

Canada's largest movie exhibitor Cineplex Inc. says it's closing all of its 165 theatres nationwide until at least April 2 in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.The chain also plans to temporarily shutter entertainment complexes the Rec Room and Playdium effective tonight.Chief executive officer Ellis Jacob says Cineplex leadership has closely monitored the escalating spread of COVID-19 in Canada, and believes ``the time as come for us to do more.''Cineplex represents about 75 per cent of the Canadian film exhibitor market across the country. The company had been reluctant to close down its ope

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is declaring a state of emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.The state of emergency prohibits organized public events of 50 or more people in Ontario until March 31.Effective immediately, all public libraries, private schools, licensed child daycares, theatres, cinemas and other public venues in the province must close.All bars and restaurants must close except to provide takeout food and delivery.Essential services such as grocery stores and pharmacies will continue to operate.

Amid the coronavirus crisis, quarantine facilities have been set up in various places including Jaisalmer, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Gorakhpur with the help of Navy and Air Force, a senior Army official said on Monday. "Quarantine facilities have been set up in Jaisalmer, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Gorakhpur, Chennai, Surat, Jhansi, Jodhpur and other places with the help of Navy and Air Force," Director General Medical Services (Army) Lieutenant General RS Grewal said. The Union Health Ministry on Monday informed that a total of 114 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported in India so far includi

The latest numbers of confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases in Canada as of March 16, 2020: Ontario: 177 confirmed, 5 resolved. British Columbia: 103 confirmed (including 4 deaths) 5 resolved Alberta: 74 confirmed. Quebec: 50 confirmed. Canadians quarantined at CFB Trenton: 8 confirmed. Manitoba: 7 confirmed, 1 presumptive. New Brunswick: 2 confirmed, 5 presumptive. Saskatchewan: 2 confirmed, 5 presumptive. Nova Scotia: 1 confirmed, 4 presumptive. Prince Edward Island: 1 confirmed. Newfoundland and Labrador: 1 presumptive. Total: 425 confirmed (including 4 deaths,) 16 presumptive, 10 resol

Scientists at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Research Institute in Seattle have administered first shots of an experimental coronavirus vaccine to four healthy volunteers. The test is leading off a worldwide hunt for protection, even as the pandemic surges. Doctor Lisa Jackson says the vaccine cannot give participants the novel coronavirus. But even if the research goes well, a vaccine wouldn't be available for widespread use for 12 to 18 months.