The latest: 

With just over 12,500 cases of COVID-19 reported across Canada, including 219 deaths, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to announce more financial support Saturday aimed at helping the most vulnerable Canadians cope with the pandemic.

The new announcement follows Friday’s commitment of $100 million for organizations that help get food to Canadians who can’t afford groceries or who have uncertain access to food and other basic necessities in remote northern regions.

People who are already food insecure are going to see their situation worsen because of an expected increase in supply shortages, said Elaine Power, a food security expert at Queen’s University.

Global cases of the novel coronavirus have shot past 1 million with more than 54,000 fatalities, a Reuters tally showed on Friday.

The pandemic has also brought the global economy to a standstill and plunged the world into a recession that will be “way worse” than the global financial crisis a decade ago, the head of the International Monetary Fund said on Friday.

Global stock markets sank on Friday following another sign the pandemic would take a huge toll on economic growth. The U.S. economy shed 701,000 jobs in March, ending a historic 113 straight months of employment growth, while U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Congress will work on another relief bill, with healthcare topping the list of priorities.

Also on Friday, Ontario released its provincial projection and modelling information related to the pandemic, with Premier Doug Ford saying that he wants the province’s residents to know “what I know.”

WATCH | Public Health Ontario head projects between 3,000 and 15,000 deaths over pandemic’s full course: 

The modelling projects the coronavirus crisis could last 18 months to two years and kill 3,000 to 15,000 people, even with public health measures in place.

“Had we done nothing, Ontario may have suffered 100,000 deaths,” said Public Health Ontario CEO Peter Donnelly, referencing the province’s physical distancing and other measures.

Three of Atlantic Canada’s four provinces say they will attempt to provide COVID-19 modelling projections sometime next week. Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and P.E.I. all say they will provide numbers, although Newfoundland and Labrador says it doesn’t have sufficient data to do so.

WATCH | Trudeau talks about controversy around cross-border flow of critical supplies:

At his daily briefing on the pandemic, Trudeau will likely also face more questions about U.S. President Donald Trump’s request that Minnesota-based 3M stop supplying surgical-grade face masks, known as N95 respirators, to Canada and Latin America. Trump wants the masks, which are critical to protect frontline health-care workers, reserved strictly for American use.

Trudeau said the federal government was making the point “very clearly” to the Trump administration that it is critical not to disrupt the two-way flow of essential goods and services — including Canadian health care professionals who work in American hospitals — that cross the border every day.

Trudeau also said Friday that the Canadian Armed Forces will assist in northern Quebec to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in isolated communities, at the provincial government’s request. The Rangers, which are part of the Canadian Armed Forces Reserve and provide a Canadian Armed Forces presence in northern and isolated communities, will help set up tents and other medical equipment, as required by the communities.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. But for others, especially older adults and people with health problems, it can cause severe symptoms like pneumonia. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) says the situation is evolving daily but that the risk to Canadians from COVID-19 is “considered high.”

Here’s a look at what’s happening in Canada, the U.S. and around the world.

Here’s a look at what’s happening in the provinces and territories

As of midnight ET on Friday, Canada has 12,549 confirmed and presumptive cases, with 219 deaths. The provinces and territories that list information about recovered cases have reported 2,296 cases as resolved or recovered. There have also been two reported COVID-19-related deaths of Canadians abroad — one in Japan and one in Brazil. 

Public health officials caution that reported case numbers don’t provide a complete picture of the scale of the outbreak as that data doesn’t capture people who haven’t been tested and cases that are still under investigation. Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, has urged people nationwide to practise physical distancing and behave as though there is COVID-19 in their community, even if there is no known case. 

In British Columbia, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry on Friday announced that the number of people hospitalized with the novel coronavirus had actually dropped by three to 146. In the same time period, four COVID-19 patients died, bringing the province’s total to 35 so far. Read more about what’s happening in B.C.

BC Ferries says service reductions will go into effect beginning Saturday on major ferry routes for 60 days, including the Horseshoe Bay-Departure Bay route between West Vancouver and Nanaimo, B.C.

Alberta has declared coronavirus outbreaks at nine seniors’ facilities. Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province’s chief medical officer of health, said there are now 74 confirmed COVID-19 cases in continuing-care facilities “and I expect that more will be confirmed in the coming days.” The province reported five more people have died. That brings the death toll to 18, and the total number of cases to 1,075. Read more about what’s happening in Alberta.

Saskatchewan’s top doctor says six more health workers have contracted COVID-19. “We are aware of at least six instances where individuals may have been working in a health-care setting but it’s not clear where the exposure was,” said Dr. Saqib Shahab. Read more about what’s happening in Saskatchewan, including a call from health-care workers for more transparency from the provincial government.

WATCH | Canadians still crowding in public parks despite orders to stay home:

In Manitoba, unions representing Health Sciences Centre workers say at least 70 staff members — including doctors, nurses, clerks and security guards  — are self-isolating after COVID-19 exposures. Read more about what’s happening at the Winnipeg health facility and across Manitoba.

Ontario reported 462 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday. The province now has a total of 3,255 reported cases, of which 1,023 are listed as resolved. The province’s case tally puts the COVID-19 death toll at 67. But based on our own reporting and after gathering data from local public health units, CBC News has counted 97 deaths in the province.

The announcement of the new figures came just hours before health experts released projections for how the COVID-19 outbreak could unfold in the province.

Quebec’s premier said health-care workers who are in contact with COVID-19 cases will get an increase in pay. “I don’t think there is a group that has ever been more deserving of a pay raise,” said Premier François Legault, who also announced a smaller raise for health workers not in direct contact with the virus, as well as a raise for workers in long-term care facilities. Read more about what’s happening across Quebec, and get the details of the planned pay hikes.

Health officials in New Brunswick are worried about a potential shortage of COVID-19 test supplies. Premier Blaine Higgs told CBC’s Power & Politics if the province “ramped up a bit we could be within like a week of running out of test supplies.” Read more about what’s happening in N.B.

Nova Scotia on Thursday extended its state of emergency for another two weeks. The province also announced help for small businesses and a temporary program to help workers who don’t qualify for employment insurance. Read more about what’s happening in Nova Scotia.

Prince Edward Island has announced a $1-million fund to help people not covered by other support programs announced since the COVID-19 crisis began. Read more about what’s happening on P.E.I, and get the latest update from Premier Dennis King.

WATCH | What the COVID-19 pandemic looks like across Canada

Newfoundland and Labrador’s health minister is urging people to prepare for an increase in cases. “We are, from experience of our other jurisdictions, not yet into our likely surge period. This is likely to come over coming weeks, and we are working hard to understand when that might be,” John Haggie said. Read more about what’s happening in N.L.

Northwest Territories health officials have reported two travel-related COVID-19 cases, including one in a small community. The latest cases bring the territory’s case count up to four. Read more about what’s happening across the North.

Here’s a look at what’s happening in the U.S.

From Reuters and The Associated Press, updated at 6:15 p.m. ET

The American Medical Association (AMA) is urging all U.S. governors to impose stay-at-home orders to fight the spread of COVID-19.

“It is vital that states keep residents at home to avoid overwhelming our health-care systems and depleting the equipment, resources and manpower needed to care for the influx of critically ill patients,” the AMA said in a letter to the governors signed by the group’s CEO, Dr. James Madara.

The AMA also wants governors to enact emergency orders to close non-essential businesses, limit non-essential activities and prohibit gatherings.

WATCH | Debunking COVID-19 myths about lemons, masks and holding your breath:

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Physical distancing is the only effective mechanism to stop the spread of the virus, the group said.

Meanwhile, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday that the state had recorded its highest single-day increase in deaths and hospitalizations due to COVID-19. The death toll climbed to 2,935, an increase of 562 people, while 1,427 new hospitalizations pushed that overall total to nearly 15,000 statewide.

Cuomo has warned that New York could run out of breathing machines in less than a week. He has consistently expressed concern that states are competing against each other for protective gear and breathing machines with private suppliers, or are being outbid by the federal government.

“People are going to die in the near term because they walk into a hospital and there are no ventilators,” he said on Friday.

WATCH | Online sobriety meetings pop up during the pandemic:

In Washington D.C., President Donald Trump on Friday said his administration is encouraging many Americans to wear face masks in public, though he stresses that the recommendation is optional and conceded that he will not be complying with it. 

The latest guidance suggests that Americans use makeshift coverings, such as T-shirts, scarves or bandanas to cover their noses and mouths. Medical-grade masks, especially N95 masks, are to be reserved for those on the front lines of trying to contain the pandemic.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease official, said Friday physical distancing is still the best practice where possible to mitigate the spread of coronavirus. The mayor of Los Angeles has already recommended its citizens there wear masks or cover their faces when out in public.

Here’s a look at what’s happening in hard-hit Italy, Spain and parts of Europe

From The Associated Press and Reuters, updated at 6:30 a.m. ET

Spain saw its coronavirus cases rise to 124,736 on Saturday, up from 117,710 the previous day, the Spanish health ministry reported. The country’s virus-related death toll rose to 11,744, a jump from 10,935 on Friday.

Spain’s health workers have been contracting the COVID-19 virus at a faster rate than any other country, with around 15 per cent of its cases being doctors, nurses and other medical staff. It’s believed the workers have been exposed to contagion due to a shortage of medical supplies.

In Italy, more than 11,000 medical personnel have been infected — just under 10 per cent of the official total — and some 73 doctors have died, according to the National Institutes of Health and the association of doctors, which has kept a running tally of the dead.

The head of Germany’s disease control agency says the number of people who die of COVID-19 is likely being undercounted. Lothar Wieler of the Robert Koch Institute said Friday that he believes “we have more dead than are officially being reported.”

It wasn’t immediately clear whether Wieler was suggesting that deaths are being undercounted only in Germany, or worldwide, and reporters were unable to ask follow-up questions during his online news conference. Germany’s low death rate from coronavirus has drawn international attention. Experts say the difference compared to other countries is partly due to mass testing and well-equipped hospitals, but they caution that the number of deaths is likely to rise.

In the U.K., a scientist advising the government on the pandemic says it might be possible to loosen some lockdown measures by the end of May. Britain has been in effective lockdown since March 23, with schools, bars, many shops and gathering places shut and people told to go out only for essentials or exercise.

Imperial College London epidemiologist Neil Ferguson told the BBC that if the number of cases began to fall soon, the country will likely move toward relying more on testing and becoming “somewhat more relaxed in terms of social distancing.” On Saturday, the number of cases in the country stood at 38,168, with 3,605 deaths, according to a Reuters tally.

Greece has quarantined a migrant camp after 20 asylum seekers tested positive, the country’s first such facility hit since the outbreak. Police in Greece say they have issued 17,358 fines for people breaking the new restrictions on leaving home since a lockdown began on March 23.

France’s death count has jumped to more than 6,500 — up by more than 1,000 — as authorities are now including victims in homes for the aged. The chief of the country’s national health agency, Jérôme Salomon, says reports from 3,000 establishments for the aged — still far from the total — show 1,416 residents died in the facilities from COVID-19.

The rising figures were announced as 160,000 police officers were deployed to ensure France’s strict confinement measures are respected at what normally would be the start of spring vacation.

The Netherlands is not in a full lockdown, but bars, restaurants, museums, schools and universities are closed and the government is urging people to stay home and practise social distancing.  Amsterdam is banning boats from its central canals beginning Sunday as authorities fear warm spring weather will lead to overcrowding on the famed waterways. The country’s public health institute on Friday reported 148 new deaths in the outbreak, bringing the Dutch death toll to 1,487.

Here’s a look at China, South Korea and some other areas of concern around the world

From The Associated Press and Reuters, updated at 6:00 a.m. ET

Throughout much of China, people observed a three-minute moment of reflection on Saturday to honour those who died of COVID-19. Air raid sirens wailed and flags were at half-mast. The pandemic was first detected in Wuhan in December.

The city was placed under complete lockdown on Jan. 23 in an effort to stem the spread of the virus and has been lauded as a “heroic city” by the nation’s communist leadership for the sacrifices made by its 11 million citizens.

People have gradually been allowed to travel in and out of Wuhan under strict conditions. The quarantine in the city is to be formally lifted on Wednesday.

China recorded a total of 81,639 cases and 3,326 deaths, although those figures are generally considered to be
understated because of a lack of testing and a reluctance to report the scale of the original outbreak.

Thailand will temporarily ban all passenger flights from landing in the country to curb the outbreak of the virus, starting Saturday. The measure is set to continue until the end of Monday, the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand said in an order published late on Friday.

The South Korean capital of Seoul says it will ask more than 8,500 theatre-goers to self-monitor at home after Canadian and American cast members of The Phantom of the Opera were found to have the coronavirus.

Seoul City official Na Baek-ju said Friday the musical’s international tour was halted following the positive test of an unidentified Canadian actress, who began experiencing throat pain and dry coughs days after she began performing at the city’s Blue Square theatre on March 14. She last appeared on stage on Monday, a day before her test.

Officials have since tested 138 of her contacts, including colleagues and guests at the downtown Somerset Palace hotel, and confirmed the infection of an American actor on Thursday. Na said officials were still awaiting test results for 48 people while the other 89 tested negative. He said the hotel was ordered to prevent guests from leaving the property and stop taking new customers.

South Korea earlier on Friday reported 86 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing its nationwide total to 10,062.

Singapore will close schools and most workplaces for a month as it moves to curb the increase of COVID-19 transmissions in the country. Most workplaces, except for essential services and key economic sectors, will be closed from next Tuesday, and schools will be closed from Wednesday. Essential services such as food establishments, markets and supermarkets, clinics, hospitals, utilities, transport and banking services will remain open.

“Looking at the trend, I am worried that unless we take further steps, things will gradually get worse, or another big cluster may push things over the edge,” said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Lee urged residents to stay home and only leave to buy essential items.

The country has seen a spike in COVID-19 cases over the last two weeks, and has routinely reported more than 50 new cases daily. As of Thursday, Singapore had 1,049 cases and five deaths. Singapore has also reversed its recommendations that people should wear masks only if they are feeling unwell.

“We will no longer discourage people from masks. Wearing a mask may help to protect others in case you have the virus but don’t know it,” said Lee, adding that the government will distribute reusable masks to all households as of Sunday.

Indonesia’s coronavirus death toll rose to 170, passing South Korea as the country with the highest number of recorded fatalities in Asia after China.

More than half of Africa’s 54 countries have closed their land, air and sea borders, while fears rise that the coronavirus-related restrictions are delaying access to critical aid. Humanitarian organizations are now in the extraordinary situation of negotiating humanitarian corridors in peaceful regions. And in Kenya, travel restrictions have delayed the delivery of pesticides needed to fight the most devastating locust outbreak some East African countries have seen in 70 years. A World Food Program official says lockdowns and other restrictions “may affect us very, very much” on a continent where millions of poor people must now stay at home.

India will pull out of a three-week lockdown in phases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said as officials battle to contain the country’s biggest cluster of infections in New Delhi.

The Middle East has confirmed over 85,000 cases of the virus and over 3,700 deaths, most of them in Iran. Iran state TV reported Friday the virus killed another 134 people, pushing the country’s death toll to nearly 3,300 amid more than 53,000 confirmed cases. Iran’s parliament speaker is among those who have contracted the disease.

Pakistan, with 2,450 confirmed cases and 35 deaths, has been sharply criticized for moving too slow to curb large gatherings, including a gathering of tens of thousands of Muslims from several Islamic countries in March. A gathering of Tableeghi Jamaat missionaries in India is blamed for several outbreaks of the new virus elsewhere in the world. The first confirmed cases that emerged in Gaza were traced to the gathering.

Australian officials closed internal borders on Friday and warned people to stay home over the upcoming Easter holiday as the country seeks to capitalize on a further fall in the rate of new coronavirus cases.

Turkey is preparing to treat COVID-19 patients with blood donated from people who have survived the disease. Kerem Kinik, the head of the Turkish Red Crescent organization, late Thursday called on “heroes who have come out victorious from the ‘Corona War”‘ to donate blood for the treatment, which uses plasma from people who have recovered to help seriously ill patients. Meanwhile, the Health Ministry sent a circular to the country’s 81 provinces setting out guidelines for the volunteer blood plasma donations, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Cuban officials say a shipment of coronavirus aid has been blocked by the six-decade U.S. embargo on the island.

Cuba was one of 24 countries in the region meant to receive the donations announced March 21 by a foundation started by China’s richest person, Jack Ma, but officials say the cargo carrier of Colombia-based Avianca Airlines declined to fly the aid to Cuba because its major shareholder is a U.S.-based company subject to the trade embargo on Cuba.

The embargo has exceptions for food and medical aid, but companies are often afraid to carry out related financing or transportation due to the risk of fines or prosecution.

Human-rights groups have been calling for the U.S. to lift sanctions on Venezuela, Cuba and Iran during the pandemic in order to permit the flow of more aid. The Trump administration has argued only the countries’ governments would benefit from the sanctions relief.

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