Coronavirus: What’s happening in Canada on Tuesday | CBC News

CBC News Network showcases the best of CBC journalism, covering breaking stories with speed, and adding context and meaning along the way. CBC News Network is also the destination for original journalism, with added depth from CBC News bureaus across the country and around the world. 0:00

The latest:

• Thousands still flying into Canadian airports despite COVID-19 restrictions.
• Why can I go grocery shopping but not see my friends? Your COVID-19 questions answered.
• From hanging out in parks to getting groceries, how can you navigate day-to-day risks of COVID-19?
• COVID-19 disinformation being spread by Russia, China, say experts.
• The lives behind the numbers: What we know about the first 1,000 COVID-19 deaths in Canada.

Quebec reported its sixth consecutive daily decrease in the number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 on Monday, as retail stores across the Montreal area reopened following weeks of shutdowns to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Authorities had repeatedly pushed back the reopening day for Montreal-area stores because they worried the province’s health-care system couldn’t handle a sudden increase in COVID-19 cases.

Premier François Legault told reporters in Montreal on Monday that in the past seven days, 114 COVID-19 patients had left Montreal-area hospitals, while about 1,194 patients remain. The situation is improving but, “It’s still fragile,” he said.

“That’s why we are reopening gradually.” Legault also announced Monday that shopping centres outside the greater Montreal area could reopen as of June 1. The manufacturing sector was also permitted to operate at 100 per cent capacity across the province starting Monday.

• Malls are reopening — but will shoppers come back?
• Quebec premier mulls immigration applications for asylum seekers working in long-term care homes

“We have to continue to be careful because we cannot afford to have large increases in the next few days or weeks in the number of people in our hospitals in Montreal.”

Quebec — which like Ontario has struggled to meet its own COVID-19 testing goals — finally met its target of conducting 14,000 daily tests for COVID-19. Authorities conducted roughly 15,000-16,000 tests per day on Thursday and Friday, said Dr. Horacio Arruda, the province’s director of public health.

That number dropped to fewer than 12,000 on Saturday, and Arruda said he expected the testing figure to be even lower on Sunday, noting fewer people visit testing clinics on weekends.

WATCH | COVID-19 — Balancing the risk of reopening with harm of extended lockdown:

An infectious disease specialist and a psychiatrist answer questions about how to balance the risks of reducing COVID-19 restrictions with the harm of extended lockdowns. 6:39

As of 7 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Canada had 85,711 confirmed and presumptive coronavirus cases, with 44,651 of those considered recovered or resolved. A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial data, regional health information and CBC’s reporting stood at 6,637.

Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, said Monday that the first wave of the pandemic didn’t exceed the capacity of Canada’s health system. But she warned a second wave is potentially on the way and Canada must be prepared for that.

“I think you can never be overly prepared and that we need to just keep going with some of these capacity developments,” she said.

• INTERACTIVE | See the latest data on coronavirus cases in Canada

The federal government is expected to update Canadians Tuesday on the results of the scramble to procure personal protective equipment — just as demand is poised to skyrocket with more people returning to work and public health officials preparing for a potential second wave of COVID-19 infections.

Here’s what’s happening in the provinces and territories

British Columbia’s provinc