Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has announced the replacement of strict curfew with a lockdown till May 31 in the State, while indicating resumption of limited public transport and maximum possible relaxations in non-containment zones from May 18. The containment zones would be strictly sealed to enable the resumption of shops and small businesses in the non-containment areas, he announced, adding that details of all relaxations would be announced by Monday, taking into account the new guidelines of the Centre for Lockdown 4.0. He, however, made it clear that educational institut

The United States is sending many ventilators to India to help the country combat the coronavirus pandemic, President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday. "We are sending quite a lot of ventilators to India. I spoke to Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi and we are sending quite a few ventilators to India. We have a tremendous supply of ventilators," Trump said at the White House. "I am proud to announce that the United States will donate ventilators to our friends in India. We stand with India and Narendra Modi during this pandemic. We're also cooperating on vaccine development. Together we wil

There are 74,613 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada. Quebec: 41,420 confirmed (including 3,401 deaths, 11,039 resolved) Ontario: 21,922 confirmed (including 1,825 deaths, 16,641 resolved) Alberta: 6,515 confirmed (including 125 deaths, 5,317 resolved) British Columbia: 2,407 confirmed (including 140 deaths, 1,908 resolved) Nova Scotia: 1,034 confirmed (including 55 deaths, 918 resolved) Saskatchewan: 590 confirmed (including 6 deaths, 408 resolved) Manitoba: 278 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 254 resolved), 11 presumptive Newfoundland and Labrador: 260 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 24

The B.C. government has announced five more deaths from COVID-19, bringing the province's death toll to 140. The province has also announced 15 new cases, for a total of 2,407. There are 359 active cases in B.C. and 1,908 people have recovered. In a statement, Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry say there has been one new acute-care outbreak at the Abbotsford Regional Hospital. There are 15 long-term care or assisted-living facilities and five acute-care units with active cases.

The union representing Air Canada flight attendants says the airline is set to ask employees to work less, or not at all, as concerns over job security buffet the airline industry. An internal bulletin to members from the Canadian Union of Public Employees says Air Canada will ask workers to slash their schedules, go on leave for up to two years or resign with travel privileges. The bulletin, sent out Thursday night and obtained by The Canadian Press, says CUPE is in discussions with Air Canada over continuing the federal wage subsidy, which the airline has not committed to maintain past June

British Columbia's minister responsible for multiculturalism says she can no longer remain silent about the rising number of hate crimes toward people of Asian heritage during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement, Anne Kang says she is deeply saddened by the recent rise in physical and verbal attacks as well as an increase in vandalism. Kang says she is ``compelled as a government representative, immigrant and British Columbian to speak out against these vicious acts.'' The Vancouver Police Department has reported that the number of anti-Asian, hate-related crimes spiked in April, with 11 oc

British Columbia's workplace safety agency has released new guidelines as businesses across the province get set to reopen. WorkSafe BC's guidelines cover sectors ranging from restaurants to office space. It says specific guidelines for sports and recreation as well as child care will be released later. But before reopening, WorkSafe says businesses need to ensure they have a COVID-19 safety plan to protect workers and it must be displayed. The agency says it will continue developing industry-specific guidelines as more businesses across B.C. begin reopening over the coming months. Provincial

Parents in British Columbia will be given the choice of allowing their children to return to class on a part-time basis in June. The government says its goal is for the return of full-time classes in September, if it is safe. Under the part-time plan, the number of students allowed in schools will be reduced. For kindergarten to Grade 5, most students will go to school half time, such as alternating days, while grades 6 to 12 will go to school about one day a week. The province says there are already about 5,000 students in classrooms, including children of essential workers and those needing

Quebec is reporting an additional 50 deaths today linked to COVID-19, bringing the provincial total to 3,401. Provincial health authorities also reported 41,420 confirmed cases, an increase of 696 in the past 24 hours. Premier Francois Legault noted it has been some time since those numbers have been that low as he wrapped up a two-day visit to Montreal, the epicentre of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the province. Legault says the province will give Montreal one million masks to distribute and provide $6 million to transit agencies in the Montreal area to make masks more widely available.