Punjab Health Minister BS Sidhu, said on Monday that the state has requested the Centre to release Rs 150 crore for building isolations wards and other buildings necessary to treat coronavirus patients. "As we have so many NRIs in Punjab and 90,000 people have come here in the last three-four months, we have asked for Rs 150 crore from the Centre to help us build infrastructure as well as for isolation wards and other things if there are more cases," said Sidhu. He also said that five MPs met Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Health Minister, regarding the matter. According to the Union Ministry of Hea

Ottawa's medical officer of health says the public health authority may use cellphone data to find out whether people really are self-isolating. Dr. Vera Etches says the agency is trying to get a better handle on whether people are following the advice to stay home and away from others. She says one way to do that is with polling, but they are also looking at ways to use ``electronic data'' to see if people are congregating in public spaces or moving about.

Canada's chief public officer Dr. Theresa Tam is warning against using any medication, including hydroxychloroquine, to try to treat COVID-19 until scientific evidence confirms its efficacy. The warning follows reports on social media that hydroxychloroquine can cure the respiratory illness. Among those who have repeated the claim is U.S. President Donald Trump. Tam says there is a large number of pre-existing medications that scientists are looking at to see whether they can treat COVID-19, but people should not take anything until the results are confirmed. Tam adds that some of the medicat

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the Canadian Olympic Committee made the right decision in announcing Canadian athletes will not go to the Tokyo Olympics or Paralympics if they start on the scheduled date in July. Trudeau says the move is heartbreaking for athletes, coaches, staff and fans, but feels it's the right call in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak. He called on all Canadians to follow the lead of the COC. The Tokyo Olympics are scheduled to start July 24. The International Olympic Committee announced Sunday that it will make a decision on if the Games are postponed in the next fou

The latest numbers of confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 4.51pm on March 29, 2020: There are 6320 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada. Ontario: 1355 confirmed (including 23 deaths, 8 resolved) British Columbia: 884 confirmed (including 17 deaths, 396 resolved) Alberta: 661 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 73 resolved) Quebec: 2840 confirmed (including 22 deaths, 1 resolved) Saskatchewan: 156 confirmed (including 3 resolved) Nova Scotia: 122 confirmed Manitoba: 25 confirmed, 47 presumptive (including 1 death) New Brunswick: 66 confirmed Canadians quarantined at CFB Tr

Alberta now has 42 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total in the province to 301. Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical health officer, says 18 people are in hospital. She also says 11 of 47 people, many of them physicians, have tested positive for the virus since attending a curling bonspiel in Edmonton earlier this month. She says some of those doctors returned to work and saw patients before they were notified that they had been exposed.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says there's ``a special place in hell'' for hoarders and scammers during the COVID-19 crisis. Kenney says officials are continuing to hear about cases of hoarding food and other vital supplies, along with Internet scams stoking fears about the novel coronavirus to obtain credit card information. He says such behaviour is un-Canadian and anyone caught scamming will face the full weight of the law. Kenney says he was at a soup kitchen where demand is soaring but the kitchen is having trouble getting supplies because of bottlenecks at grocery stores. He says the pro

Former Kelowna mayor Jim Stuart, a farmer who became a politician and oversaw a period of rapid growth in the city, has died. He was 84. Stuart was mayor from 1986 to 1996, winning election twice and being acclaimed twice. He was also an alderman, first winning a council seat in 1973. Mayor Colin Basran confirmed Stuart's death in a news release. City officials say Stuart's 30 years in office served as a bridge between Kelowna's farming origins and the mid-sized municipality it was becoming. In a statement, Basran said the city's current expansion gives him some insight into what Stuart was d

Canada's most populous province says that non-essential businesses must close for at least 14 days starting at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday in efforts to stem the new coronavirus pandemic. Ontario Gov. Doug Ford said Monday he will release the list of businesses that will be allowed to stay open, but food will remain on the grocery store shelves and people will still have access to medication. Ford also acknowledged students will not going back to school on April 6, the date initially set for a return to classes. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier that ``Enough is enough. Go home and stay h