The longest undefended border between two countries is now closed to non-essential traffic, such as tourists and people looking to do some shopping, in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. The new normal at Canada-U.S. border crossings went into effect at midnight.
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The latest:
- Border no longer open for routine, casual traffic between Canada and U.S.
- Canadians stuck in Peru in limbo on getting help to leave the country.
- Flight bringing Canadians home from Morocco is expected to land in Montreal.
- Cruise ship approaches Genoa, Italy amid virus fears.
- Governors of Illinois, New York and California order people to stay home.
- Starbucks to close stores, move to drive-thru and delivery.
- Why it’s so difficult to get tested in Canada.
The longest undefended border between two countries is now closed to non-essential traffic, such as tourists and people looking to do some shopping, in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. The new normal at Canada-U.S. border crossings went into effect at midnight.
Under the bilateral agreement, truckers and workers essential to maintaining supply lines are exempt from the travel order. Also exempt are health professionals and others who work on one side of the border but live on the other. Students who hold valid visas, temporary foreign workers and anyone with valid work responsibilities may also cross.
The ban on non-essential cross-border travel will stay in place for at least 30 days. Ottawa has also agreed to bar all asylum seekers entering Canada through irregular crossings for the duration of the agreement. Washington has enacted a similar arrangement with Mexico.
At midnight tonight, we’re restricting all non-essential travel across the Canada-US border to slow the spread of COVID-19 and keep you safe. But we’ll preserve supply chains so food, fuel, and life-saving medicines can continue to reach people on both sides of the border.
An Air Canada flight bringing a group of Canadians home from Morocco amid the global coronavirus pandemic is expected to land in Montreal on Saturday. The repatriation flight, arranged with the help of the federal government, is due to depart from Casablanca at 1:50 p.m. ET, or 6:50 p.m. local time.
WATCH | ‘A lot of stuff is by chance,’ says Canadian trying to get out of Morocco:
Despite a stressful few days trying to leave Morocco, Canadian Keenan Orrange is grateful for the help he has received and expects to be back in Canada soon. 4:37
The government has urged all Canadians who are abroad to return home quickly, but some have struggled to find flights as they face border restrictions and limited travel options as airlines cut capacity. For Canadians stranded in Morocco, they will have to pay for repatriation because it’s a commercial flight — not a rescue flight chartered by the Canadian government. In India, Canadians are scrambling to get home as India prepares to ban all incoming international flights for a week.
For more than 800 Canadians stuck in Peru, there is new pressure from the Peruvian government to leave this weekend. Peru, which shut down all borders and airports on March 16, said that as of Sunday, it will no longer support any repatriation efforts by foreign governments.
- Why some Canadian travellers can’t come home despite Trudeau’s plea to return
- Time running out for more than 800 Canadians stuck in Peru with deadline to fly home hours away
The number of cases of the respiratory illness in Canada has increased beyond 1,000, for a total of 1,087. There were 214 new cases on Friday, the most in one day in Canada since the pandemic was declared on March 11.
Worldwide, more than 274,800 people have been infected and 11,389 have died, according to a Reuters tally.
In the United States, Connecticut, Illinois and New York have joined California in ordering non-essential workers to remain at home to slow the spread of the virus, which has claimed more than 200 lives in the U.S.
In business, Air Canada is laying off more than 5,100 flight attendants as the airline cuts routes and parks planes due to COVID-19, a union official said on Friday. The airline had already said it plans to “gradually suspend the majority of its international and U.S. transborder flights” by March 31.
Wesley Lesosky, president of CUPE’s Air Canada component, said he has “never seen layoffs like this.”
- Canada to ramp up production of medical supplies, turn back asylum seekers to fight COVID-19
- Prepare for multiple waves of COVID-19 over 12 months: military chief to troops
WestJet has said it is suspending international travel as of Sunday for a 30-day period. Swoop, the discount carrier owned by WestJet Airlines, will do the same, and said it is now working to bring home more than 2,300 Swoop passengers who are still outside of Canada.
Sunwing Airlines said it expects to have all of its customers, most of whom are at Mexican or Caribbean resorts, back home by Monday. Sunwing is also offering vacant seats on its repatriation flights free of charge to any Canadians stranded in sun-kissed parts of the hemisphere, including non-Sunwing customers.
WATCH | Montreal hospitals launch global challenge to design new ventilator:
Two hospitals in Montreal are offering a $200,000 prize to design a new low-cost and easy-to-use ventilator to help with the COVID-19 outbreak. 7:58
Starbucks is temporarily reducing service in both Canada and the United States as well, closing cafes and moving to drive-thru and delivery instead. Some exceptions will be made, such as locations in and around hospitals, and the closure doesn’t directly affect licensed stores. In a news release, Starbucks Canada president Lori Digulla said stores will remain closed for two weeks, while staff will continue to be paid for the next 30 days, whether they work or not.
- ICU chief contacts cosmetic surgeons, carpenters in search of supplies for COVID-19 battle
- Sign up for the Coronavirus Brief, a daily newsletter about the outbreak
Italy, with its 60 million citizens, increased its death toll by 627 on Friday, to 4,032 lives lost to the virus. It is the largest daily rise in absolute terms since the contagion emerged in the country a month ago. On Thursday, Italy’s death toll surpassed that of China, a country with a population more than 20 times larger and where the outbreak first began.
WATCH | New York City’s empty streets:
The CBC’s Steven D’Souza shows how New York City’s once-bustling streets have quietened amid the coronavirus pandemic 2:08
More than 86,000 people have recovered from the virus, mostly in China, but the pace is much slower than its spread. Recovery takes two weeks or so for mild cases, but can be up to six weeks for those that turn serious, according to the World Health Organization.
Though the illness is mild in most people, the elderly are particularly susceptible to serious symptoms. Italy has the world’s second-oldest population, and the vast majority of its dead — 87 per cent — were over 70.
WATCH | More young people testing positive for coronavirus:
While seniors have been widely reported as the age group most vulnerable to the coronavirus, there have been a rising number of people under 65 falling ill. 2:06
People with underlying health issues may also have an increased likelihood for developing serious complications. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, says Indigenous people also face a higher risk because of health inequities, higher rates of underlying conditions and the difficulties that come with living in remote communities.
- Why it’s so difficult to get tested for COVID-19 in Canada
- Why mass COVID-19 testing — even of those who are symptom-free — is key to stopping spread
Read on for a look at what’s happening in Canada, the U.S. and other areas of the world dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. Plus, track the latest numbers here.
Here’s what’s happening in the provinces and territories
British Columbia announced 77 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 348. At the same time, the City of Vancouver said all playgrounds will shut down and all restaurants must stop any dine-in services by the end of Friday or face prosecution, as part of a host of new policies unveiled a day after the province declared a state of emergency. “The changes being announced today are major. They mean … many, many people will be laid off,” said Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart. Read more about what’s happening in B.C.
Ontario’s latest confirmed case is in Windsor, a man in his 60s who is self-isolating at home with mild symptoms after returning home from a Caribbean cruise on March 10, Dr. Wajid Ahmed, the chief medical officer of health for Windsor-Essex said on Saturday. “He did all the things right,” Ahmed said of the city’s first known case of COVID-19. The province saw 60 new cases reported Friday, pushing the provincial total past 300. It comes a day after officials said a man in his 50s with an underlying health condition, no recent travel history outside Canada or known contact with a COVID-19 case had died. The Milton, Ont., man’s death is the second that health officials in the province have linked to the virus.
- In Toronto, the city is offering people extensions on things like water bills and property taxes. Sources have told CBC Toronto that a guard at the Toronto South Detention Centre tested positive for COVID-19.
- In Ottawa, the city’s top doctor took questions from the public on COVID-19 and how the nation’s capital is handling it.
- In the Kitchener-Waterloo area, hospitals are saying they have enough masks and sanitizers for now, but are working with suppliers and accepting donations to try and increase their stock.
Health Minister Christine Elliott — who has faced increased questions over test availability, wait times for testing and hospital capacity — said Thursday the province has added more telehealth lines and is working on improving lab testing. Read more about what’s happening in Ontario.
Alberta’s credit rating was downgraded after a global credit agency said its budget is ‘no longer valid,’ and the province hasn’t done enough to respond to economic pressures from the COVID-19 pandemic. The day before, the province’s top doctor urged people to take the risks from COVID-19 seriously as the province reported its first death. Dr. Deena Hinshaw said Thursday that an Edmonton man in his 60s died late Wednesday. The province is doing “all we can to fight the spread of the virus,” Hinshaw said. “But to do this, we will