Pope Francis delivered Easter Sunday Mass from a nearly empty St. Peter's Basilica due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pontiff appealed for solidarity the world over to confront the ``epochal challenge'' posed by virus, saying ``this is not a time for self-centeredness.'' Police checkpoints in Europe and closed churches around the globe forced the faithful to watch Easter services online or on TV.

A man is apologizing after facing a backlash over a video of him appearing to spit on a Vancouver condo elevator. The video, posted to Twitter, shows the man spitting on the elevator's control panel before disembarking. In a statement released by his lawyer, the man says the incident was fuelled by a dispute he had with other owners in the building. The man who has not been identified says the incident occurred eight days ago and he has no health issues related to COVID-19. He says he will also seek counselling.

After almost a week in hospital, three nights of which were spent in the intensive care unit, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been discharged. His office says Johnson will continue his recovery from COVID-19 at Chequers, the prime minister's country house, and will not immediately return to work. In his first public statement since being moved out of the I.C.U. on Thursday, Johnson praised staff at the National Health Service, saying he owes them his life.

The Canada Border Services Agency says it is working with the Public Health Agency of Canada to ensure that long-haul truckers aren't bringing COVID-19 with them as they transport supplies into Canada. The mayor of Coutts, Alberta, says he is worried some truckers may not be telling the truth about if they have symptoms. The community sits at one of Western Canada's busiest border crossings, and he would like to see more stringent measures.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other leaders across the country are taking a rare day off from updating the nation on the COVID-19 crisis as Canadians celebrate Easter today. Yet even as people gather with their families both physically and virtually for the holiday, the pandemic continues to cause pain and grief for many Canadians whose health and livelihoods have been devastated by the illness. The federal government is expected to release later today updated figures on the number of Canadians who have tested positive for COVID-19 as well as the number that have died from the respiratory

Quebec has registered 39 new deaths due to COVID-19, for a total of 328. The province reports 554 new cases, for a total of 12,846. There are a total of 824 in hospital in Quebec, including 217 in intensive care, while 1,745 people are listed as recovered. The Quebec government has not scheduled a briefing today, after weeks of daily updates on the progression of COVID-19.

The Quebec coroner's office will investigate the deaths of 31 seniors at a private long-term care facility west of Montreal. The office says in a statement that it will probe the circumstances surrounding the deaths and issue recommendations if needed. Premier Francois Legault said yesterday that at least five of the deaths at the Residence Herron in Dorval, Que., were due to COVID-19. A police investigation was launched after regional health authorities obtained an order to access patient files at the residence and learned of the dozens of deaths that had occurred since March 13.

Ontario is reporting 401 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the province's total to 7,049. The province now has 274 deaths after 21 were reported today. Ontario says 261 people are in intensive care, while 3,121 cases have been marked as resolved.

The House of Commons has approved a massive $73-billion wage subsidy program aimed at helping businesses and workers survive the economic ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill was passed ``on division,'' meaning there was some opposition among the handful of MPs in the chamber but there was no recorded vote. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is calling it the most significant economic program since the Second World War. The bill is expected to be passed by the Senate and receive royal assent later today.