Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam says over 576,000 people have now been tested for COVID-19 in Canada.
She says 6.5 per cent of those tests were positive.
Tam says as Canada continues to make progress in slowing the spread, there are bumps in the road that mean the country can't let down its guard.
She says a focus must be placed on stopping outbreaks in places like seniors homes and other places where vulnerable populations live together in close quarters.
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12:10 p.m.
Ontario is expanding COVID-19 testing to every resident and worker in the province's long-term care homes, as nearly 450 residents have died amid growing outbreaks in the facilities.
Provincial health officials have previously resisted calls for such widespread testing of asymptomatic people.
But a new memo from the deputy ministers of health and long-term care, as well as Ontario's chief medical officer of health, tells public health units to immediately develop plans for the broad testing.
As of today, there have been at least 448 deaths in long-term care in Ontario, amid outbreaks at 127 facilities.
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11:50 a.m.
Trudeau says that over the past month about 20,000 Canadians have returned to the country on repatriation flights.
He says he knows there are still Canadians all around the world who still want to come back, and the government continues to work with other countries to make that happen.
All returning Canadians are required to quarantine for 14 days.
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11:30 a.m.
Nova Scotia is reporting two more deaths related to COVID-19, bringing the province's total to 12.
The deaths occurred at the Northwood long-term care home in Halifax.
The province is also reporting 35 new cases of the virus bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 772.
It says 10 licensed long-term care homes and unlicensed seniors' facilities in Nova Scotia are dealing with cases of COVID-19, involving 148 residents and 65 staff.
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11:25 a.m.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is unveiling a $9 billion emergency program aimed at students.
It includes a Canada Emergency Student Benefit worth at least $1250 a month from May to August.
The benefit can be accessed by those in post-secondary school now, headed to post secondary school in September or anyone who graduated after December 2019.
The government is also creating 76,000 job placements for young people in sectors currently dealing with labour shortages.
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10:35 a.m.
Ontario is reporting 510 new cases of COVID-19 today and 37 more deaths.
That brings the total number of cases in the province to 12,245 — a 4.3 per cent increase over Tuesday, which is the lowest growth rate in weeks.
The total also includes 659 deaths and 6,221 cases that have been resolved, which puts the percentage of resolved cases over 50 per cent for the first time.
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8:50 a.m.
The chief of a First Nation in northeastern Alberta says a local curfew has been imposed between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., affecting all members of the Fort Chipewyan, Allison Bay and Doghead reserves.
Chief Archie Waquan of the Mikisew Cree First Nation says he remembers his father's stories about the influenza pandemic of 1918 and he is not going to let COVID-19 devastate his people in the same way.
Waquan says he recognizes there may be opposition to the curfew but he doesn't want a repeat of the Spanish flu outbreak when his father told him the First Nation could not bury its dead fast enough.
The First Nation has no cases of COVID-19 but proactively declared a state of local emergency last month and took other steps to ensure members have access to food and cleaning supplies.
Mayor John Tory, Toronto's Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Eileen de Villa, and Toronto Fire Chief and General Manager of the City’s Office of Emergency Management, Matthew Pegg, provide an update of the current situation and City response to COVID-19 in Toronto.
Mayor John Tory, Toronto's Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Eileen de Villa, and Toronto Fire Chief and General Manager of the City’s Office of Emergency Management, Matthew Pegg, provide an update of the current situation and City response to COVID-19 in Toronto.
Mayor John Tory, Toronto's Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Eileen de Villa, and Toronto Fire Chief and General Manager of the City’s Office of Emergency Management, Matthew Pegg, provide an update of the current situation and City response to COVID-19 in Toronto.
TORONTO — Premier Doug Ford has announced $20 million in funding for Ontario researchers trying to find a vaccine for COVID-19, as cases of the virus climbed passed the 10,000 mark in the province on Saturday.
There were 485 new cases announced by health officials today and 36 more deaths, bringing the toll to 514.
There are currently 828 people in hospital with COVID-19, and 250 of them are in intensive care, according to the Ministry of Health.
Ford said Ontario researchers have already made strides in vaccine research by isolating the virus and acquiring blood samples of people who have beat COVID-19, which are two initial steps in development. He also touted Ontario's history of medical achievements, including discovering insulin, as evidence that researchers in the province could develop a vaccine.
Ford said life won't be able to return to normal until a vaccine is found. "Until we find a vaccine, going back to normal means putting lives at risk," said Ford during his daily press conference on Saturday.
"Letting our guard down means potentially exposing millions of people to the virus."
The province is set the unveil new projections about the effect of the coronavirus in Ontario on Monday, which the premier has called encouraging.
But he warned opening up the province carefully will be "twice as hard" as the current lockdown.
"I'm not rushing into this and not opening up the floodgates," said Ford.
"We're going to make sure we're going to do this by the advice of chief medical officer."
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PM under pressure to flesh out promise to top up pay for long-term care workers
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be under pressure today to flesh out his promise to do more to protect seniors in long-term care homes, which have been hardest hit by the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.
Trudeau promised earlier this week that the federal government would provide funding to top up the wages earned by essential workers in nursing homes who earn less than $2,500 a month.
That promise was discussed during a conference call among first ministers late Thursday.
No details of the call were immediately forthcoming, other than a brief summary of the discussion issued by the Prime Minister's Office which said first ministers "agreed on the urgent need to ensure long-term care facilities have the resources they need to protect the health and well-being of their residents and workers."
Since the salaries paid to workers in long-term care homes fall under provincial jurisdiction, Trudeau has been clear that whatever the federal government does must be in collaboration with the provinces.
Seniors Minister Deb Schulte told CBC News late Thursday that the federal government will boost transfer payments to the provinces and territories to allow them to top up wages. She did not say how much money Ottawa is prepared to ante up.
Personal support workers in nursing homes often work poorly paid part-time jobs in multiple facilities, which has contributed to the spread of COVID-19.
Topping up their wages is intended to compensate them for orders in some provinces that ban them from working in more than one facility. It's also intended to encourage them to stay on a job that has become increasingly risky as COVID-19 sweeps like wildfire through long-term care homes across Canada.
About half of Canada's more than 1,000 deaths from COVID-19 have involved residents of long-term care facilities.
Quebec has already announced it will top up the wages of essential workers in nursing homes; Ontario Premier Doug Ford indicated Thursday that his province will follow suit but first he wanted to see what financial assistance Ottawa would offer.
Trudeau's government will also be under pressure today from the Conservatives to have in-person sittings of the House of Commons throughout the crisis.
Parliament has been adjourned since mid-March, except for two single-day sittings to pass emergency aid legislation. It is to resume business as usual on Monday, unless all four recognized parties in the Commons agree to a further suspension of business.
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer is insisting that a small group of MPs must sit up to four days each week in the Commons in order to hold the government to account for what he contends is a sloppy response to the health crisis.
Until the logistics for a virtual Parliament can be worked out, Trudeau's Liberals have offered to sit one day a week, with two or three hours devoted to what's called committee of the whole, which would allow for longer questions and more thorough answers than are allowed during the normal 45-minute daily question period.
In a letter late Thursday to Commons Speaker Anthony Rota, Conservative whip Mark Strahl argued that regular sittings could be done safely without putting at risk the health of MPs or Commons staff at a time when all Canadians are being advised to keep two-metres physical distance from one another and stay home as much as possible.
Strahl said only essential staff necessary for the operation of the Commons should be required to work, they should be issued with masks and gloves where necessary and hand sanitizing stations should be set up at entrances and exits of the Commons and other strategic locations throughout the parliamentary precinct.
The latest numbers on COVID-19 in Canada
The latest numbers of confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 4 a.m. ET on April 17, 2020:
There are 30,106 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada.
Champagne, Ukraine reject Iran crash report suggesting immunity for Tehran
OTTAWA — Canada and Ukraine flatly rejected a report suggesting the Iranian regime was seeking immunity from future legal action after shooting down a passenger jet in January.
The Iranian military shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 on Jan. 8 shortly after it took off from Tehran, killing all 176 people aboard, including 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents.
Iran has yet to deliver on its promise to surrender the flight recorders from the downed airliner to the Ukrainian government, a pledge that came during the March 11 meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organization in Montreal.
Earlier this week, a report from Radio Farda said Iran wants Ukraine to sign a memorandum of understanding in which the families of the crash victims would sign away their future rights for legal compensation.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard fired two missiles at the commercial airliner, but Radio Farda says Iran wants Ukraine to accept that "human error" was the cause of the plane's downing.
Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says he has not seen the proposed Iranian memo, and that there is no chance that Canada, Ukraine or any of the other countries that lost citizens would ever agree to waive their rights to hold Iran to account.
"That would not be in line with the discussion we have had so far and the resolve we have shown to stand up for justice for the families," Champagne said Thursday in an interview with The Canadian Press.
"Some entities may want to spread some information that may not be accurate," the minister added.
"I would be a little bit careful at this time that there might be actors that might want to spread rumours, at a time where the grieving families are looking for facts. They are grieving, and they want to be reassured that we are all working in a similar fashion to achieve that."
Radio Farda is a Persian-language broadcaster that is part of the independent Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty network funded by the U.S. Agency for Global Media.
Thursday marked 100 days since the crash, and Ukraine's ambassador to Canada said his country is losing patience with Iran, regardless of the formidable challenges the country has faced in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Andriy Shevchenko, the Ukrainian envoy, said his government may consider other "mechanisms" to force Iran to hand over the black boxes but he declined to say what those might be.
"We are very dissatisfied with the non-progress on this," he said in an interview Thursday. "We've had more than enough time to have some action and some concrete steps on this."
Shevchenko confirmed that his government received a memo from Iran that he called "a working document that does not address all the issues we want to be covered." He said the memo deals with the issue of compensation.
Shevchenko said Thursday's anniversary of the incident was significant.
"It's 100 days today. We have had too much grief, too few answers and too little action."
On Wednesday, the international group comprised of the countries that lost nationals in the crash — Canada, Ukraine, Sweden, Afghanistan and Britain — held a teleconference during which they discussed another avenue of compensation for the grieving families.
Champagne said the group received an update from the lawyer representing Ukraine International Airlines and its insurance company to check on the progress of the statutory compensation that the airline is required to pay to the families of the victims under international civil aviation rules.
"It's a private matter between the families and the airline. But since the beginning I've paid a particular interest," Champagne explained. He said he and his fellow foreign ministers want to do what they can to help the process along.
"We got a status report from the law firm," said Champagne, but he had no timeline on when that process might bring results for grieving families.
Last month, the government appointed former Liberal cabinet minister Ralph Goodale as its special adviser to the Ukraine plane crash investigation. The former Saskatchewan MP held many portfolios, including Public Safety, which oversees the RCMP.
Champagne said Goodale has been talking to the victims' families "for a good part of the week."
Grieving families have previously complained the government became too preoccupied with the pandemic to deal with them.
Trump wants some states to reopen soon but new outbreaks continue in nursing homes and food processing plants
President Donald Trump told governors they can reopen their states soon if they want but health officials across the country are still battling numerous coronavirus outbreaks.
"Our national shutdown is not a sustainable long-term solution," Trump told reporters.
Trump unveiled new guidelines on Thursday to help states loosen social distancing restrictions and restart the economy. The guidelines, which won't be mandatory, suggest a phased approach that will still keep schools closed and allow some restaurants and gyms to operate under social distancing protocols. Each governor will ultimately decide on how and when to open.
We are not opening all at once, but one careful step at a time," Trump said. "And some states will be able to open up sooner than others. Some states are not in the kind of trouble that others are in.
While the number of new cases is dropping in some states, health officials have identified new outbreaks. In New Hampshire, clusters were identified at three long-term care facilities, according to Lori Shibinette, health commissioner with the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.
Meanwhile, more than half of the 143 new cases of Covid-19 in South Dakota were linked to the Smithfield Foods plant, one of the country's largest pork processing facilities, a spokesman with the state's health department said.
An influential model previously cited by the White House shows that number of new cases has dropped on a national level while "places like New York seem to be stuck at the peak for longer than we originally expected."
Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, told CNN's Anderson Cooper during CNN's coronavirus town hall those hot spots are seeing longer peaks than what Spain and Italy experienced. He noted that Southern states will not be hit as hard as initially estimated.
More than 670,000 people have tested positive in the US with at least 33,101 deaths linked to the virus, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. About 4,811 deaths were reported Wednesday alone.
It's unclear whether the latest death toll includes probable cases. Federal health officials have said they'll start including probable cases, which meet clinical criteria for symptoms and evidence of Covid-19 -- but with no lab test confirming the disease.
Governors extended stay-at-home orders and formed pacts
Seven states -- Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky -- will work together to reopen the Midwest regional economy, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced.
"We will make decisions based on facts, science, and recommendations from experts in health care, business, labor, and education," Whitmer said in a statement.
New York and six other Northeast states extended stay-at-home orders through at least May 15. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has said his city will likely not permit public sporting events and concerts until next year.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards announced the creation of the "Resilient Louisiana" task force, which will work toward the reopening of the state's economy.
Edwards says experts will make recommendations on how to reopen businesses in a way that adequately protects public health.
More testing is needed before reopening, officials say
Before social distancing mandates are relaxed, authorities and experts say that increased coronavirus testing will have to be conducted nationwide to track how much the virus has penetrated communities and enable officials to separate those who are infected.
Following Trump's call with the governors, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper emphasized the need for testing and personal protective equipment, noting the federal government should step in.
"We will continue working with our federal and local partners to beat this virus, protect people's health and recover our economy," Cooper said in a statement.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee called rapid testing the key to determining when emergency restrictions can be lifted. "We need to build the equivalent of a fire brigade," he said.
In total, 22 million people have filed first-time claims since mid-March as the pandemic forces businesses to close and lay off workers.
The Small Business Administration said it had run out money for the Paycheck Protection Program and was unable to accept new applications.
With the $349 billion emergency small business lending program out of funds, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Democrats will reconvene Thursday on a package to increase funding immediately.
Former Vice President Joe Biden called choosing between reopening the economy and ending the pandemic a "false choice."
"Look, I think it's a false choice to say you have to choose between the economy and our health. If you don't fix the health side of it, the economy is never going to get right," he said during CNN's coronavirus townhall on Thursday.
Protesters rally against restrictions in two states
Medical experts have emphasized that the key to fewer coronavirus cases is for people to practice social distancing. As a result, all but seven states are under stay-at-home orders from their governors.
In Lansing, Michigan, vehicles jammed several streets around the Capitol in a protest organized by conservative groups against Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
"It's time for our state to be opened up. We're tired of not being able to buy the things that we need," Brenda Essman of Kalamazoo told CNN affiliate WLNS. "We need to open our businesses."
And in Raleigh, North Carolina, demonstrators gathered outside the state legislative building Tuesday to protest the state's stay-at-home order, CNN affiliate WRAL reported. Police officers told them they were defying social distancing rules by standing too close together, and asked them to disperse. Most left.
Michigan is one of the hardest-hit states with nearly 2,000 deaths reported while North Carolina has had 135.
Companies report changes in testing
Some commercial lab companies say they've seen some recent decline in demand for coronavirus tests following weeks of increases.
Quest Diagnostics said demand declined in recent days, allowing the company to wipe out the remnants of its coronavirus test backlog. Its average turnaround time is now less than two days.
Another company, Eurofins USA, said its labs have excess testing capacity, in part because many hospitals are now testing in-house. A company spokesperson said another contributing factor is some of its labs have been denied entry into some insurance plan networks.
Breaking News & Community response to COVID19, from City Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The latest developments on COVID-19 in Canada 1:45 p.m.
The Vancouver Aquarium says it could be forced into bankruptcy and permanent closure because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The aquarium has been closed since March 17 but faces monthly costs in excess of $1 million for animal care and habitat maintenance.
Ocean Wise Conservation Association, which operates the aquarium, says bankruptcy is likely by early summer if funding is not found.
The not-for-profit aquarium currently houses more than 70,000 animals.
It has laid off 60 per cent of its staff while it says the remainder are working reduced hours.
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1:25 p.m.
Quebec Premier Francois Legault says 143 more people have died of COVID-19, bringing the provincial total to 630.
He says most of the deaths did not occur in the past 24 hours, but have been added the list following a change of data collecting methods by the public health department as well as post-mortem investigations.
There were also 997 new cases, for a total of 15,857.
Legault said 2,000 doctors responded to his call yesterday to come help in the province's overburdened long-term care homes.
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1:25 p.m.
The British Columbia government is offering cash-strapped communities relief measures that include tax payment delays, debt-borrowing initiatives and a 25 per cent commercial property tax cut, but not an outright financial bailout some cities have requested.
Finance Minister Carole James says most commercial property tax bills will be cut by a further 25 per cent with a second reduction in school property tax payments, which have already been chopped by 50 per cent.
James says in order to give businesses and landlords more time to pay commercial property taxes, the late payment date has been extended to October 1 from July.
She says to better address municipal cash flow and revenue shortfall issues, the province will allow local governments to borrow, interest-free, from their existing capital funds and carry debt into next year.
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12:58 p.m.
Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting five new cases of COVID-19 today for a total of 252 confirmed cases.
Chief medical health officer Doctor Janice Fitzgerald says the new cases are in the province's Eastern Health zone.
Fitzgerald says 170 cases are considered recovered or resolved.
She's urging people to "stay in their bubble" in order to stay safe.
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12:57 p.m.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says Canada is talking with the United States about the agreement keeping the border closed to non-essential crossings.
Freeland says Canada's position is that the agreement should be extended.
She says regardless of what U.S. President Donald Trump says about wanting to re-open the border, decisions about opening Canada's side will be made by Canadians only.
Freeland says there are also discussions between premiers about interprovincial travel restrictions.
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12:52 p.m.
Prince Edward Island is reporting no new cases of COVID-19 Thursday, keeping the provincial total at 26 cases.
The province's chief public health officer, Dr. Heather Morrison, says there is a collective sigh of relief every time there are no new cases on the Island.
Twenty-three cases are considered recovered.
Morrison says all cases on P.E.I. have been travel-related with no cases of community transmission.
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12:35 p.m.
Dr. Theresa Tam, the chief public health officer of Canada, says models are now predicting between 1,200 and 1,620 deaths from COVID-19 by April 21.
Last week the projections expected between 500 and 700 deaths this week, and Canada today has confirmed 1,048 deaths.
Tam says the overall curve is "bending" when it comes to the number of new infections being confirmed in Canada but the death rate is higher than expected because such a high proportion of outbreaks are in long term care centres.
Tam says more than 90 per cent of the patients confirmed to have died from COVID-19 are over the age of 60, and half of them lived in long term care centres.
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12:25 p.m.
Public Procurement minister Anita Anand says 1.1 million more N95 respirator masks will arrive in Canada from China this week.
She says six flights from China have already arrived, and four more are coming this week.
Anand says already 17 million surgical masks and 800,000 N95 respirators have arrived.
Anand also said Irving Oil is the latest Canadian company that is shifting its business to help in the pandemic, adjusting some of its operations to produce hand sanitizer
12:15 p.m.
Nova Scotia is reporting 30 new cases of COVID-19 today for a total of 579 confirmed cases.
Health officials say that as of yesterday, there are seven licensed long-term care homes in Nova Scotia with cases of COVID-19, involving 42 residents and 23 staff.
While most cases in the province have been connected to travel or a known case, officials say there is now community spread.
To date, Nova Scotia has 18,453 negative test results and three deaths.
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11:35 a.m.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it would be "absolutely disastrous" to reopen the economy too early and allow another explosion of cases that would undo all efforts to date.
Trudeau says reopening is also not possible until Canada has a plan for responding to cases that arise in second or third waves.
He says that response would include "massive" levels of testing, and rapid response plans to trace contacts and isolate patients immediately.
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11:30 a.m.
The federal government is expanding a loan program for small businesses and introducing a new program to help small businesses pay their rent for the next three months.
The Canada Emergency Business Account was introduced previously to help businesses with payrolls between $50,000 and $1 million. Trudeau says more than 195,000 loans have been approved already, worth more than $7.5 billion.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the program will be opened to those with payrolls as low as $20,000 or as high as $1.5 million.
He says there will be more details coming on the rent assistance for small businesses but it has to be done with the provinces because they have jurisdiction over rental relationships.
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11:25 a.m.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Quebec formally requested federal help for its health care workers Wednesday night.
He says the two governments are working on a response, which could involve the Canadian Red Cross, military or volunteers.
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11:20 a.m.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke this morning to other G7 leaders to discuss the ongoing global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trudeau says they are committed to working together to find a vaccine, develop new treatments and expand testing, as well as helping developing nations respond better to the crisis.
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10:40 a.m.
Ontario is reporting 514 new COVID-19 cases today, and 38 more deaths.
That brings the province to a total of 8,961 cases, including 423 deaths and nearly 4,200 cases that have been resolved.
The province completed 9,001 tests in the previous day, surpassing a target the health minister set last week after the premier expressed frustration that Ontario had been testing well below its capacity.
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10:30 a.m.
WestJet Airlines Ltd. says it will lay off 1,700 pilots as the company continues to struggle with fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Air Line Pilots Union says 700 employees received layoff notices effective May 1, with 1,000 more kicking in on June 1, depending on seniority.
One week ago, the Calgary-based company announced it would bring back nearly 6,400 laid-off workers to its payroll using Ottawa's emergency wage subsidy program.
The earlier layoffs did not affect pilots, who had signed a memorandum of understanding to stay on board through April. WestJet says the 1,700 laid-off pilots will be placed on inactive status and be able to access the federal wage subsidy.
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9:10 a.m.
The 2020 RBC Canadian Open has been cancelled, a casualty of the PGA Tour's announced shortened schedule because of the novel coronavirus.
The four-day competition was scheduled to begin June 11 at St. George's Golf and Country Club in Toronto.
The Canadian Open was first contested in 1904 and is the third-oldest continuously running tournament on the PGA Tour behind the British Open and the U.S. Open.
Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy won the title last year at the Hamilton Golf and Country Club.
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6:50 a.m.
The Toronto Transit Commission says 38 of its bus drivers refused work on Wednesday over safety concerns related to COVID-19.
TTC spokesperson Stuart Green said five of the drivers initiated work refusals on Wednesday morning, followed by another 33 in the evening.
The Ministry of Labour said the report by the five workers did not meet the requirements of a work refusal, and the inspector is still ruling on the second round of claims.
Green said the Ministry of Labour cited the TTC's practices of rear-door boarding on busses, blocking of seats nearest to the driver and availability of hand sanitizer as examples of physical distancing measures in place to protect workers
The latest numbers of confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 10:41 a.m. on April 16, 2020: There are 28,893 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada. _ Quebec: 14,860 confirmed (including 487 deaths, 2,146 resolved)
Thursday April 16, 2020
Breaking News & Community response to COVID19, from City Toronto, #Ontario, #Canada
Cause for cautious optimism in Canada's COVID-19 fight, top doctor says
OTTAWA — While there's reason to believe the spread of COVID-19 is slowing, Canadian leaders warned Wednesday it was too soon to ease distancing measures, even as the country's central bank warned the downturn tied to the virus could be the worst on record.
On the day Canada passed the grim milestone of 1,000 deaths, chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam nonetheless said there is cause to be "cautiously optimistic" that the rate of growth is slowing.
Tam noted the number of cases in the country is now doubling every 10 days or so, compared to every three days in late March.
But she said Canada still hasn't reached the peak of the outbreak, and it's too soon to back off physical distancing measures.
"Coming down from this epidemic curve will be like making our way down from a mountain in the darkness," Tam said during her daily briefing in Ottawa.
"We mustn't rush or let go of our safety measures, or the fall will be hard and unforgiving."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned it would still be several more weeks before the country will be able to consider loosening restrictions that have caused businesses to shutter and put the economy in a tailspin.
Widespread testing and the ability to rapidly track down the contacts of infected people will be key to an eventual return to normal activities, he said.
"We have to be through this first wave sufficiently to be able to know we have the capacity to stamp out and restrict any future outbreaks as they come along," Trudeau said.
"That means technology, that means better testing capacity, that means continued vigilance — not just by governments but by all Canadians.... We're still a number of weeks away from that."
Trudeau announced New Brunswick company LuminUltra was increasing production of chemicals needed to provide the required weekly supply for COVID-19 tests in all provinces. The country has also received more shipments of the swabs needed for the tests, he said.
Millions have lost their jobs as the pandemic has forced the closure of businesses, and consumer spending has plummeted as people have been urged to stay home to stop the spread of the virus.
Economic activity dropped a record nine per cent in March alone, preliminary data released by Statistics Canada suggested.
The estimate, which is to be refined over time, would be the sharpest decline in the nearly 60 years the agency has kept such data.
Despite the bleak economic news, Trudeau was blunt as he warned that easing restrictions too soon could unleash a second wave of infections just as damaging as the first.
"If we reopen too soon, everything we're doing might be for nothing," the prime minister said.
Provinces including Manitoba, P.E.I., New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador each reported three or fewer new cases on Wednesday, but devastating outbreaks continued to sweep through long-term care centres in other jurisdictions, killing vulnerable seniors by the dozens.
The death toll across the country surpassed the 1,000 mark with the announcement of 51 more fatalities in Ontario and 52 in Quebec.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the country counted more than 28,200 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with over half of them in Quebec.
Premier Francois Legault made a desperate plea for family doctors and medical specialists to help out in long-term care homes, where major outbreaks have exacerbated long-running staffing issues.
Quebec has released a five-page list of seniors residences and care homes with at least one COVID-19 case, including 25 institutions where at least a quarter of residents are infected.
Those include a long-term care home in Laval, north of Montreal, which counted 26 dead and 120 infected.
Ontario, meanwhile, had 98 facilities reporting COVID-19 outbreaks that have together killed at least 145 residents, including 29 who died at Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon, and 27 at Eatonville Care Centre in Toronto.
On the economic front, the Bank of Canada on Wednesday kept its key interest rate target on hold at 0.25 per cent, saying that it is effectively as low as it can go.
It warned the downturn tied to COVID-19 will be the worst on record and the economic recovery will depend on the effectiveness of current measures to bring the pandemic under control.
By Sunday night, some six million people had applied for a $2,000-a-month emergency benefit.
To give a boost to struggling workers, Trudeau expanded the criteria of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit on Wednesday to include seasonal workers, those who are still working but earning less than $1,000 a month and those whose employment insurance has run out.
He said he would also be working with the provinces to raise the salaries of essential workers who earn less than $2,500 a month, which includes many working in care homes.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 15, 2020. By Morgan Lowrie in Montreal.
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