Melania Trump says she has spoken with Sophie Gregoire Trudeau to wish her good health as she recovers from COVID-19. The U.S. first lady says on Twitter that she spoke with her Canadian counterpart earlier today and expressed gratitude for what she calls the special relationship between the two countries as they address pandemic-related challenges. A readout of the call from the White House says Trump and Trudeau discussed the importance of maintaining the economic links between Canada and the U.S., and noted the $1.7 billion US worth of daily trade that crosses their shared border. The two

Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada's chief public health officer, says almost half of the deaths attributed to COVID-19 in Canada have occurred in long term care homes. Tam says at least 50 of the 111 deaths already confirmed took place in these high risk settings. She says we need to double down on efforts to keep the novel coronavirus from spreading. The number of Canadians testing positive for COVID-19 has now surpassed 10-thousand. Canada's chief medical officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, revealed the latest numbers today at an Ottawa news conference.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault is encouraging police to be less tolerant with people refusing to follow the COVID-19 rules of engagement. Legault says he's hearing of people who are flouting physical distancing rules or companies that remain open and is warning who aren't following public health regulations will be hit with fines ranging between $1,000 and $6,000. Quebec has seen another spike of the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19, reporting 5,518 cases in the province today. That number represents an increase of 907 cases in the province since Wednesday. Authorities also reported thr

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he will soon be able to give Canadians a better sense of the impact COVID-19 is going to have on this country but he isn't able to do it yet.As countries like New Zealand and the United States project the numbers of people in their countries who might die from COVID-19, Canada has thus far refused to release any of the modelling done with the data here.Trudeau says he knows Canadians want to be able to plan and see what is working and what is not and promises that information will be ready soon.Trudeau says he is chairing a first-ministers meeting with premie

Two cruise ships experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak are waiting to learn when they'll be allowed to dock at a Florida port.About 250 Canadians are on board the M-S Zaandam and M-S Rotterdam.Holland America says it has received approval from a health system in Fort Lauderdale to treat fewer than 10 people ``who need immediate critical care.''It says guests have been self-isolating in their rooms since March 22nd.

RCMP in Surrey say charges have been laid in relation to more than $458,000 in fraudulent credit card transactions. Police say the Surrey RCMP Economic Crimes Unit began investigating in late June 2017 after a report from a local business that believed their customers' credit card data had been compromised. They say incidents of fraud affecting numerous victims in Surrey were connected to similar incidents in Richmond. 31 year old Gagandeep Dhillon from Surrey has now been charged with 28 counts of fraud related offences.

There are 9,729 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada. Quebec: 4,611 confirmed (including 33 deaths, 155 resolved) Ontario: 2,392 confirmed (including 37 deaths, 689 resolved) British Columbia: 1,066 confirmed (including 25 deaths, 606 resolved) Alberta: 871 confirmed (including 11 deaths, 142 resolved) Saskatchewan: 193 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 21 resolved) Newfoundland and Labrador: 175 confirmed (including 1 death, 10 resolved) Nova Scotia: 173 confirmed (including 10 resolved) Manitoba: 109 confirmed (including 1 death, 4 resolved), 18 presumptive New Brunswick: 81 con

RCMP in Nova Scotia say four people have been charged under the Health Protection Act in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. Police say two people were charged for failing to self quarantine after returning from abroad, and two others were charged for not maintaining a social distance of two metres. Police say all four were fined $697.50. They did not say where in the province these charges were laid.

BC's provincial health officer is reporting 53 new cases of COVID-19 and one new death in the Fraser Health region. Doctor Bonnie Henry says there are now one thousand and 68 cases in the province, with a total of 25 deaths. Henry says 142 people are hospitalized and 67 of them are in intensive care. Two of the new cases are at the long term care centre in North Vancouver where many of the province's fatalities have occurred but Henry says she hopes strict new control measures are now beginning to take effect.