Health Minister Patty Hajdu says Canadians looking at whether to travel for March break should consider staying home. Speaking to reporters before question period in the House of Commons today, Hajdu said her advice to Canadians considering travel during school spring break is that they should consider a ``staycation.'' Canadians are being encouraged to continue to check travel advisories before leaving for any international trips.

A daycare in a downtown Calgary office tower has closed after a child tested positive for COVID-19.Suncor Energy spokeswoman Erin Rees says the Pump-Kin Patch Child Care Centre is closed until March 23.She says families of children there have been told to self-quarantine until March 20.Suncor doesn't operate the daycare but the centre is located in Suncor's office building, and Rees says many employees have children that attend.She says the company is responding to the pandemic by cleaning more often, restricting business travel to high-risk areas and preparing for remote working.As of Wednesd

President Donald Trump says he is suspending all travel from Europe to the U.S. for 30 days beginning Friday as he seeks to combat a viral pandemic.Trump made the announcement Wednesday in an Oval Office address to the nation, blaming the European Union for not acting quickly enough to address the novel coronavirus and saying U.S. clusters were ``seeded'' by European travellers.Trump says the restrictions won't apply to the United Kingdom and the U.S. will monitor the situation to determine if travel can be reopened earlier.The White House has also cancelled a planned trip by the president to

Justin Trudeau and his wife Sofie Trudeau are in self-isolation after she exhibited flu-like symptoms on her return from London, U.K. The First Leaders meeting scheduled to begin today has been cancelled after this announcement. Trudeau was supposed to meet the premiers and indigenous leaders in Ottawa today for a two-day meeting to discuss various issues including COVID-19, national unity and financial crisis. Prime Minister Trudeau is not exhibiting any symptoms as of now and is isolating himself just for precaution as Sofie Trudeau awaits her test results.NDP leader Jagmeet Singh also tweet

The Central government on Wednesday announced the suspension of all visas to India till April 15, as part of the measures to contain the spread of novel coronavirus.The suspension, which will come into effect on March 13 at the port of departure, excludes diplomatic, official, United Nations or international organisations, employment, and project visas, as per an official release.The discussion in this regard was taken during a high-level meeting chaired by Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan with several Union Ministers at Nirmal Bhawan in the national capital on Wednesday."All existing visas

The NBA has suspended its season ``until further notice'' after a Utah Jazz player tested positive Wednesday for the coronavirus, a move that came only hours after the majority of the league's owners were leaning toward playing games without fans in arenas. Now there will be no games at all, at least for the time being. A person with knowledge of the situation said the Jazz player who tested positive was centre Rudy Gobert. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the league nor the team confirmed the presumptive positive test.

Tom Hanks and his actress-singer wife Rita Wilson have tested positive for the coronavirus, the actor said in a statement Wednesday. Hanks said the couple were in Australia and felt tired, with colds, body aches and slight fevers. ``To play things right, as is needed in the world right now, we were tested for the coronavirus and were found to be positive,'' Hanks said. The 63-year-old actor said they will be ``tested, observed and isolated for as long as public health and safety requires.'' ``Not much more to it than a one-day-a-time approach, no?'' added Hanks. Hanks, who also posted his mes

The number of cases of the novel coronavirus continues to climb, as New Brunswick reports its first presumptive case. Canada's total now stands at 117. Meantime, a second federal cabinet minister has been tested for COVID-19 and is self-isolating as she waits for results. Minister of small business and international trade Mary Ng says she thinks she's suffering from asthma and a cold, but has been tested as a precaution. Natural Resources Minister Seamus O'Regan is also staying home while he waits for COVID-19 test results.

British Columbia now has 46 cases of COVID-19, including its first one on Vancouver Island. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says seven of the newly diagnosed people include two workers at a long term care home where four other employees have been infected. The North Vancouver facility is also where a man in his 80s died earlier this week. Henry says three of the new cases are linked to Egypt and include a visitor in his 70s whose relatives in the Fraser Valley are now also in isolation. She says the province will put more focus on enhancing prevention of the novel coronavirus at lo