Costco says it has had a surge of business since the COVID-19 outbreak, and is going to start controlling the number of customers allowed in its warehouses in response. The company is also reducing some services and is asking customers and employees to practice social distancing in its stores. Limits have been placed on the number of certain items customers are allowed to buy at once and the company is working with suppliers to make sure in-demand items are available. Costco has also stepped up sanitation of its carts, cashes and product shelves.

US President Donald Trump says discussions are ongoing with Canada about keeping the border open between the two countries. Trump says the U-S is working very closely with Canada and is calling the relationship between the two countries ``outstanding.'' The opposition parties are criticizing the Trudeau government for its decision yesterday to keep letting Americans into Canada even though it has closed the border to most other foreign nationals. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says the government is urgently reviewing the issue.

Scientists at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Research Institute in Seattle have administered first shots of an experimental coronavirus vaccine to four healthy volunteers. The test is leading off a worldwide hunt for protection, even as the pandemic surges. Doctor Lisa Jackson says the vaccine cannot give participants the novel coronavirus. But even if the research goes well, a vaccine wouldn't be available for widespread use for 12 to 18 months.

British authorities have dramatically ramped up measures to combat the new coronavirus. The government is urging all UK residents to avoid unnecessary contact with others. And they say people in the most vulnerable groups should be isolated for almost three months. Prime Minister Boris Johnson says ``now is the time for everyone to stop non-essential contact with others and to stop all unnecessary travel.''

Idris Elba says he has tested positive for the coronavirus. The actor tweeted Monday that he has no symptoms so far and has been isolated since Friday when he found out about his possible exposure. He says he sought out the test after discovering he had come into contact with someone who had been diagnosed with the new coronavirus. Elba is the latest high profile celebrity to have tested positive for the virus. Last week, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson said they had also tested positively in Australia. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and co

The U.S. Federal Reserve is taking emergency action and slashing its benchmark interest rate by a full percentage point to nearly zero. It's also purchasing more Treasury securities to encourage lending in a bid to offset the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.Ottawa has made 10-billion-dollars available to businesses through a credit facility program. The Bank of Canada earlier cut its trend-setting interest rate by half-a-percentage point to three-quarters of a per cent.

Concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic saw global markets in freefall, with New York's Dow Jones industrial average posting its biggest loss since 1987, closing down almost 10 per cent to 21,200.62. Canada's main stock index plunged 1,761.64 points, or 12.34 per cent, to 12,508.45, with every sector in the red. European stock markets have had one of their worst days in history, with investors worried about a US travel ban that covers much of Europe.

President Donald Trump says he is suspending all travel from Europe to the U.S. for 30 days beginning Friday as he seeks to combat a viral pandemic.Trump made the announcement Wednesday in an Oval Office address to the nation, blaming the European Union for not acting quickly enough to address the novel coronavirus and saying U.S. clusters were ``seeded'' by European travellers.Trump says the restrictions won't apply to the United Kingdom and the U.S. will monitor the situation to determine if travel can be reopened earlier.The White House has also cancelled a planned trip by the president to

The NBA has suspended its season ``until further notice'' after a Utah Jazz player tested positive Wednesday for the coronavirus, a move that came only hours after the majority of the league's owners were leaning toward playing games without fans in arenas. Now there will be no games at all, at least for the time being. A person with knowledge of the situation said the Jazz player who tested positive was centre Rudy Gobert. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the league nor the team confirmed the presumptive positive test.