Worldwide infections from the coronavirus are soaring toward half a million people as health care systems struggle to keep up.American deaths passed the 1,000 mark.Both Italy and the United States appeared set Thursday to pass the number of infections in China, where the outbreak was first reported.The head of the World Health Organization is urging governments not to squander the opportunity to slow the spread of the virus while there is still time. The U.S. Senate passed a $2.2 trillion economic rescue package steering aid to businesses, workers and health care systems, and the House is exp

Prince Charles has tested positive for the new coronavirus but is only showing mild symptoms and is self-isolating.The prince's Clarence House office says his wife Camilla has tested negative.Buckingham Palace says the 93 yearold Queen is in good health and remains at her home in Windsor with the 98 year old Duke of Edinburgh.

At least 25 civilians were killed and 8 were wounded in a terror attack on a Gurudwara in the capital of Afghanistan, Kabul.The attack on Wednesday was claimed by the ISIL (ISIS) armed group.The Interior Ministry says IS gunmen rampaged through a Sikh place of worship, called Gurudwara, in the heart of the Afghan capital on Wednesday.It says that the gunmen held many of the worshippers hostage for several hours as Afghan special forces, helped by international troops, tried to clear the building. Afghan special forces confirmed that all four gunmen were killed.

US President Donald Trump is hoping the United States economy will be reopened by Easter as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread. Trump's optimism contradicted the warnings of some public health officials who called for stricter not looser restrictions on public interactions. Trump says any move to reopen the U-S for business will be rooted in facts.

Ukrainian Ambassador Andriy Shevchenko says about 250 Canadians are scheduled to return to Canada on a flight from Kyiv to Toronto that is scheduled for Wednesday. The Ukraine International Airlines flight was organized by the Canadian and Ukrainian governments. Shevchenko says the plane will then load up with Ukrainians, some of whom are on their way to Toronto Pearson International Airport from as far as Vancouver, and return to Kyiv on Thursday. He says future flights are possible depending on demand.

WestJet Airlines Ltd. says roughly half of its 14,000 employees will leave the company some temporarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 6,900 departures comprise early retirements, resignations and both voluntary and involuntary leaves after WestJet asked staff to choose one of those options or reduce their hours or pay, said CEO Ed Sims. Up to 600 Air Canada pilots will also go on unpaid leave in the coming months due to the fallout from the virus, their union said Tuesday.

The Tokyo Olympics have been officially postponed until 2021. The International Olympic Committee along with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and local organizers have decided that the Tokyo Games cannot go ahead as scheduled this year because of the coronavirus outbreak. The IOC says the games will be held “not later than summer 2021” but they will still be called the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The head of the World Health Organization wants young people to know they are not invincible when it comes to the novel coronavirus pandemic. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says older people are hardest hit by COVID-19, but data from many countries shows people aged 50 and under make up a ``significant proportion'' of patients who need hospitalization. He is also advising people to be mindful of mental health at a time of rising anxiety about the outbreak.

Italy has recorded its highest day to day rise in the number of deaths of people infected with the new coronavirus. Civil Protection Chief Angelo Borrelli said Friday the country recorded 627 more deaths in the 24 hours since Italy surpassed China on Thursday as the nation with the most COVID 19 related deaths. The total now stands at 4,032. Authorities said most of the people who died had existing health problems such as heart disease and diabetes before they were infected with the virus. Borrelli says Italy also saw a staggering increase of 5,986 cases from a day earlier, bringing the offic