Health Canada says it has authorized the first COVID-19 serological test for use in the country to detect antibodies specific to the virus.DiaSorin, an Italian multinational biotechnology company, had developed the LIAISON test that was also recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.In a statement Tuesday, Health Canada says it will be used in Canadian laboratories to detect COVID-19 antibodies and help contribute to a better understanding of whether people who have been infected are immune to the virus.Health Canada says further research will also help understand the relation

Former Olympic gold medallist and hockey legend Balbir Singh Senior on Tuesday, suffered a cardiac arrest and is currently on ventilator support. Balbir's grandson Kabir said doctors will continuously assess the condition of the former player over the next two days. "Balbir Singh suffered a cardiac arrest today morning. He is currently in ICU at Fortis Hospital, Mohali. He was admitted here on May 8 in a very serious state. His condition had improved slightly but he's still critical," Kabir said in a statement. "Doctors will be continuously assessing his condition over the next 24-48 hours be

There are 71,157 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada. Quebec: 39,225 confirmed (including 3,131 deaths, 10,056 resolved) Ontario: 20,907 confirmed (including 1,725 deaths, 15,391 resolved) Alberta: 6,345 confirmed (including 118 deaths, 4,866 resolved) British Columbia: 2,360 confirmed (including 131 deaths, 1,832 resolved) Nova Scotia: 1,020 confirmed (including 48 deaths, 864 resolved) Saskatchewan: 573 confirmed (including 6 deaths, 374 resolved) Manitoba: 278 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 251 resolved), 12 presumptive Newfoundland and Labrador: 261 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 24

Metro Vancouver Transit Police are searching for a man accused of attacking a woman who defended two Asian woman in a racially motivated incident last month. Police say it began when a man aboard a bus made discriminatory remarks directed at two Asian women who got on wearing masks. They say the suspect kicked another woman and punched her in the head after she told him to leave the other women alone before he got off the bus and ran away. Vancouver police have reported an increase in anti-Asian assaults and vandalism in the last several weeks amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

A University of British Columbia marine biologist has won the world's top award for animal conservation. UBC says Amanda Vincent won this year's Indianapolis Prize for her trail-blazing work to protect seahorses and other marine life. It says Vincent is the first marine biologist to win the prize that recognizes conservationists who've made significant progress in saving a species from extinction. Vincent says she's thrilled to receive the closest honour someone can get to a Nobel Prize in animal conservation.

B.C. is reporting just seven new cases of COVID-19 and no new community outbreaks. Provincial health officer Doctor Bonnie Henry says another resident of a long-term care home in the Fraser Health region has died, raising the death toll to 131. Out of the 2,360 confirmed cases, Dr. Henry says 397 are still considered to be active. She says B.C. is launching a province-wide survey to gather feedback on how people have been affected by the pandemic to help prepare for the future.

Canada's chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam is advising extreme caution when it comes to reopening the Canada-United States border. She says Canada needs to see what happens when it eases its own public health measures to contain the virus before allowing foreign travel again. It will also depend on the international epidemiology. She says Canada should be looking carefully at the United States' COVID-19 situation before allowing cross-border travel. Next phase will involve testing people with a wider range of potential symptoms Dr. Theresa Tam says the next phase of Canada's COVID-1

The body of a 22 year old man who was last seen swimming with friends in a Chilliwack, B.C., river has been found. RCMP say the man's friends reported that he entered the Vedder River on Monday night and became distressed. Police say the friends tried to pull the man from the water without success. The body was discovered by Chilliwack Search and Rescue crews on Tuesday. Police say the man is a South Asian national from India. Both the RCMP and the BC Coroners Service are investigating the death.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will be very cautious when it comes to reopening international travel. He would not say whether he expects the Canada-U.S. border to reopen when a mutual ban on non-essential travel expires next week. But rather he says preventing transmission of COVID-19 into Canada from other countries will be an essential part of preventing a second wave of the outbreak. He says Canada will need to see a decrease in the number of new cases in the country, and will need to have the ability to detect and track new cases.