Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the government is moving forward with the private sector on agreements to purchase equipment for the response to COVID-19. He says production of ventilators, masks and test kits is now underway.One company, Thornhill Medical, says it is making 500 ventilators and hopes to have them ready within weeks.Trudeau says the government has signed letters of intent with five other firms to bolster the national stockpiles of badly needed equipment.The government is also allocating $2 billion to purchase personal protective equipment for health care professionals.

COVID-19 has caused thousands of temporary layoffs, and massive flight cancellations at Air Canada. The carrier will temporarily lay off more than 15-thousand unionized workers beginning this week. It will also cut between 85 per cent and 90 per cent of its flights. The layoffs will continue through April and May. The two-month furloughs will also affect about one-third of management and administrative and support staff.

The Tokyo Olympics will open next year in July, the same slot scheduled for this year's games. Tokyo organizers say the opening ceremony will take place July 23, 2021. That is almost exactly one year after the games were due to start this year. The IOC and Japanese organizers last week postponed the Olympics because of the coronavirus pandemic. The rescheduled Olympics will start July 23, with the closing ceremony on Aug 8. The Paralympics were rescheduled to Aug 24-Sept 5.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is remaining in self-isolation at his home in Ottawa for close to two more weeks to ensure he does not have COVID-19. His wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau tweeted news of her recovery from the respiratory illness Saturday, but Trudeau says public health advice is that he remain in isolation for two weeks following her recovery. Trudeau, who first went into self-isolation on March 13 after Gregoire Trudeau was diagnosed with the illness, says there is still a chance he has the illness, and he is following the lead of many Canadians now working at home. The prim

The B.C. government says there are 92 new cases of COVID-19 in the province, for a total of 884. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says 81 people are hospitalized, including 52 in intensive care, and there has been one additional death. She says cases are continuing to increase among people who have been exposed in the last two weeks, and physical distancing remains critically important. Henry says on a positive note, nearly 400 people have recovered from the disease in B.C.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the government is increasing a payroll subsidy to small business from 10 to 75 per cent to halt layoffs due to COVID-19. The subsidy will be retroactive to the middle of this month. Trudeau says the government still needs to hammer out the details on the implementation of this latest measure to shore up the economy. When it comes to paying for all of this, the prime minister says the government's economic foundations were strong before the pandemic and he is confident the economy will bounce back after COVID-19 passes. He hopes to provide more details by Mond

Another 66 people in British Columbia have been diagnosed with COVID-19 for a total of 725 cases in the province. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says there are no new deaths. Fourteen people have died from COVID-19 in the province. Henry says there are also new guidelines that will allow doctors to prescribe drugs to illicit drug users, giving them a safe supply to ensure they're able to comply with self-isolation requirements. Health Minister Adrian Dix says staff at the government's 811 health helpline managed to answer 5,070 calls on Wednesday, dealing with the anxiety and the

The British Columbia government is taking what is says are ``unprecedented steps'' to protect supply chains for goods and services, and stop the resale of food and medical supplies.Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth issued a series of orders today to establish a unit to co-ordinate the distribution of goods and services, and he is allowing deliveries to be made at any time of the day.The resale of food, medical supplies, personal protective equipment and cleaning products has also been banned.Municipal bylaw officers will be allowed as well to enforce orders limiting the size of gatherings

Worldwide infections from the coronavirus are soaring toward half a million people as health care systems struggle to keep up.American deaths passed the 1,000 mark.Both Italy and the United States appeared set Thursday to pass the number of infections in China, where the outbreak was first reported.The head of the World Health Organization is urging governments not to squander the opportunity to slow the spread of the virus while there is still time. The U.S. Senate passed a $2.2 trillion economic rescue package steering aid to businesses, workers and health care systems, and the House is exp