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.

Alberta is reporting 117 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number in the province to 871. Premier Jason Kenney also announced two additional deaths for a total of 11. He says it's been a tough week in Alberta, and things will get worse before they get better. The province says 142 people have recovered.

Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says the health care system has the potential to be overwhelmed in all of the COVID-19 scenarios projected by the federal government. The government has not shared any of its projections related to how the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to play out in Canada. But Tam says the health system is not designed to deal with this kind of surge, and could be facing difficult decisions about how to allocate scarce resources in all those scenarios. She says in some of the worst case scenarios, the health care system will not be able to cope.

Health Minister Patty Hajdu says the government has created a mobile app to provide direct updates on COVID-19. The app will provide updates on the latest government measures and public health advice to limit the spread of the virus. It will also include a self-assessment tool for people experiencing symptoms of COVID-19.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he's asked the government house leader to reach out to opposition parties about bringing back parliament. He says the entire government needs to be involved in the largest economic program in Canada's history. Canada's parliament was suspended on March 13 to limit the spread of the virus and allow the cabinet to focus on the COVID-19 response. It briefly reconvened last week to pass the government's emergency COVID-19 response bill.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland has appealed to the nation's landlords to not evict tenants who cannot pay their rent today. The government is planning to provide benefits to people who have lost their income due to COVID-19 but that money has not started to flow yet, leaving many people unable to pay their rent. Freeland says it would be heartless for landlords to evict tenants during this crisis. She says for those landlords who need rent money to pay their mortgage, the federal government has worked with banks to try to give homeowners some breathing room.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau says wage subsidies for large and small businesses will cost about $71 billion. The program is expected to offset the cost of emergency benefits for workers, and reduce spending on those benefits to $24 billion. The wage subsidy will be available to large and small businesses who have lost significant revenue due to COVID-19. Morneau has encouraged businesses to rehire employees they may have laid off in the wake of COVID-19, and says the wage subsidy will be available in six weeks.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault says the number of COVID-19 cases in the province is now 4,611, an increase of 449 over yesterday. There were also two new deaths, bringing the provincial total to 33. Legault says there are 519 seniors' residences with at least one case, which he described as a source of concern for the province.

Six planes carrying Canadians stranded in Africa and Europe are to touch down today in the government's effort to repatriate travellers stranded by COVID-19. Global Affairs Canada says the planes will arrive from Algeria, Ecuador, Senegal, Democratic Republic of Congo, Hungary and Spain. The department says the government is planning more flights from Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Peru, Algeria, Poland and Pakistan in the coming days. Plans are also being made for several fights from India, starting on April 4 and continuing for the next four days until April 7. The government is rei