Dr. Theresa Tam, the chief public health officer of Canada, says models are now predicting between 1,200 and 1,620 deaths from COVID-19 by April 21. Last week the projections expected between 500 and 700 deaths this week, and Canada today has confirmed 1,048 deaths. Tam says the overall curve is ``bending'' when it comes to the number of new infections being confirmed in Canada but the death rate is higher than expected because such a high proportion of outbreaks are in long term care centres. Tam says more than 90 per cent of the patients confirmed to have died from COVID-19 are over the age

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says Canada is talking with the United States about the agreement keeping the border closed to non-essential crossings. Freeland says Canada's position is that the agreement should be extended. She says regardless of what U.S. President Donald Trump says about wanting to re-open the border, decisions about opening Canada's side will be made by Canadians only. Freeland says there are also discussions between premiers about interprovincial travel restrictions.

Ontario is reporting 514 new COVID-19 cases today, and 38 more deaths. That brings the province to a total of 8,961 cases, including 423 deaths and nearly 4,200 cases that have been resolved. The province completed 9,001 tests in the previous day, surpassing a target the health minister set last week after the premier expressed frustration that Ontario had been testing well below its capacity.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault says 143 more people have died of COVID-19, bringing the provincial total to 630. He says most of the deaths did not occur in the past 24 hours, but have been added the list following a change of data collecting methods by the public health department as well as post-mortem investigations. There were also 997 new cases, for a total of 15,857. Legault said 2,000 doctors responded to his call yesterday to come help in the province's overburdened long-term care homes.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government is expanding a loan program for small businesses suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic and is working on a new support for companies having trouble paying rent.The loan program will now be open to businesses that had payrolls last year between $20,000 and $1.5 million.The Canada Emergency Business Account previously offered up to $40,000 in loans to business with payrolls between $50,000 and $1 million.Trudeau also says a program is coming to help businesses cover rents for at least three months but the details still need to be worked ou

WestJet Airlines Ltd. says it will lay off 1,700 pilots as the company continues to struggle with fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.The Air Line Pilots Union says 700 employees received layoff notices effective May 1, with 1,000 more kicking in on June 1, depending on seniority.The layoffs come amid an ongoing collapse of global travel triggered by border shutdowns and tanking demand, with WestJet and Air Canada slashing the vast majority of their flights through April and May.WestJet calls the impact ``colossal'' and says the layoffs are a ``last resort'' that make up part of broader cost re

There are 28,379 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada. Quebec: 14,860 confirmed (including 487 deaths, 2,146 resolved) Ontario: 8,447 confirmed (including 385 deaths, 3,902 resolved) Alberta: 1,996 confirmed (including 48 deaths, 914 resolved) British Columbia: 1,561 confirmed (including 75 deaths, 955 resolved) Nova Scotia: 549 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 137 resolved) Saskatchewan: 304 confirmed (including 4 deaths, 205 resolved) Newfoundland and Labrador: 247 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 149 resolved) Manitoba: 231 confirmed (including 5 deaths, 108 resolved), 15 presumptive New

Alberta is reporting 126 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 1,996 Premier Jason Kenney says there have been no new deaths in the province. So far, 49 Albertans have died as a result of the novel coronavirus. Kenney also announced $53 million in additional funding for mental health and addiction services. Alberta is reporting an outbreak of COVID-19 at an oilsands work site north of Fort McMurray. The province's chief medical officer, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, says three people have tested positive for the illness at Imperial's Kearl work camp.

Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says there is cause for cautious optimism that the COVID-19 epidemic is slowing down. In late March, the number of cases doubled every three days. More recently, it takes about 10 days for the number of cases to double. But Tam says that doesn't mean that Canada can ease up on physical distancing measures. She says coming down the other side of the epidemic curve will be like coming down a mountain in the dark. It must be done carefully and slowly, or the fall will be hard.