National unemployment rate hits new record; Bombardier to cut 2500 jobs; Ontario lifting restrictions on short-term rentals - Toronto Star

The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Friday (this file will be updated throughout the day). Web links to longer stories if available.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addresses Canadians from outside his home in Ottawa on the federal government's response to the ongoing COVID-19 (coronavirus disease) pandemic.

11:15 a.m.: A livestream of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s daily news conference is available at thestar.com.

11:00 a.m.: As of 11 a.m. Friday, Ontario’s regional public health units are reporting a total of 31,177 confirmed and probable cases, including 2,419 deaths.

After a large agricultural outbreaks led to dozens of new cases in southwestern Ontario earlier this week, recent case growth is once again focused in the GTA; more than three-quarters of the 336 new cases in the last 24 hours were reported in Toronto and Peel Region.

According to a provincial database of cases, about 75 per cent of the 3,792 Ontarians with an active case of COVID-19 reside in the GTA, with nearly 85 per cent of those in living in Toronto or Peel.

Meanwhile, the 48 fatal cases reported in the province since Wednesday morning was well above a recent falling trend, with most of those new deaths reported in Toronto Thursday afternoon. The rate of deaths is down considerably since peaking at more than 90 deaths in a day earlier this month, about two weeks after the daily case totals hit a first peak in mid-April.

Earlier Friday, the province reported that testing labs had once again completed nearly 21,000 tests in the second day in a row near the provincial capacity.

Premier Doug Ford, who has called for widespread testing as a key part of Ontario’s response to the pandemic, faced criticism last month after the labs reported daily totals far below target for 10 straight days.

The province also reported 749 patients are now hospitalized with COVID-19, including 118 in intensive care, of whom 94 are on a ventilator — numbers that have fallen sharply since early May.

The province says its data is accurate to 4 p.m. the previous day. The province also cautions its latest count of total deaths — 2,583 — may be incomplete or out of date due to delays in the reporting system, saying that in the event of a discrepancy, “data reported by (the health units) should be considered the most up to date.”

The Star’s count includes some patients reported as “probable” COVID-19 cases, meaning they have symptoms and contacts or travel history that indicate they very likely have the disease, but have not yet received a positive lab test.

10:40 p.m.: The White House’s coronavirus task force has all but vanished from public view as President Donald Trump pushes Americans to put the outbreak behind them and resume normal social and economic life.

The task force was once a staple of Trump’s response to the pandemic. From March 4 until late April, the panel held nearly daily, televised briefings at the White House, many headlined by Trump. Its medical experts fanned out across TV networks to share guidance on curbing the spread of the virus.

The last briefing was April 27, when Trump predicted the U.S. would suffer between 60,000 and 70,000 deaths from the outbreak. At least 107,000 Americans have died.

10:00 a.m.: North Durham communities continue to see new reported COVID-19 cases.

In Uxbridge, Durham Region Health has reported 85 confirmed cases of the coronavirus as of Monday, June 1st. 27 people are in isolation. They list 39 of the cases as resolved. One person is in hospital because of COVID-19. 18 people in Uxbridge have died from the virus.

They list Scugog as having 17 cases. Two people are in isolation, and 15 of the cases have resolved.

Brock Township has eight confirmed cases of COVID-19. Five people are in isolation, and three cases have resolved.

Region wide, Durham has 1,472 confirmed cases. 137 people are in isolation, 24 people are in a hospital. 175 Durham residents have died due to the virus. 1,136 cases have resolved.

9:50 a.m.: India’s Health Ministry on Friday reported another record spike in new coronavirus cases — more than 9,800 in 24 hours.

India now has 226,770 confirmed cases with 6,348 deaths, 273 of them in the past 24 hours, the ministry said. It says the overall rate of recovery for coronavirus patients is around 48%.

9:30 a.m.: The U.S. unemployment rate fell unexpectedly in May to 13.3% — still on par with what the nation witnessed during the Great Depression — as states loosened their coronavirus lockdowns and businesses began recalling workers.

The government said Friday that the economy added 2.5 million jobs last month, driving unemployment down from 14.7% in April.

The May job gain, which confounded economists’ expectations of another round of severe losses, suggests that thousands of stores, restaurants, gyms and other companies reopened and rehired more quickly than many analysts had forecast.

9:00 a.m.: Ontario’s for-profit nursing homes employ, on average, 17 per cent fewer full-time and part-time workers compared to non-profit and municipal homes, according to a Star analysis of union staffing data.

The Star found that for every 100 beds in for-profit long-term-care homes there were 99 unionized workers, compared to 115 for every 100 beds in non-profit homes and 124 for every 100 beds in municipal homes. The Star’s analysis is based on pre-pandemic staffing levels.

Read the full Star Exclusive by Brendan Kennedy and Kenyon Wallace.

8:30 a.m. (updated): Statistics Canada reports a record high unemployment rate as the economy added 289,600 jobs in May, with businesses reopening amid easing public health restrictions.

The unemployment rate rose to 13.7 per cent, topping the previous high of 13.1 per cent set in December 1982 in more than four decades of comparable data.

The increase in the unemployment rate came as more people started looking for work.

8:15 a.m.: Europe could have its free travel zone up and running again by the end of the month, but travellers from further afield will not be allowed in before July, European Union Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said Friday after talks among the bloc’s interior ministers.

Panicked by the coronavirus outbreak in Italy in February, countries in the 26-nation Schengen area — where people and goods move freely without checks — imposed border restrictions without consulting their neighbours to try to keep the disease out. The moves caused traffic jams and blocked medical equipment.

6:30 a.m.: Bombardier says it will lay off 2,500 workers from the aviation side of the company because of the pandemic’s impact on its markets.

The transportation firm said the majority of the reductions will impact manufacturing operations in Canada and will take place progressively throughout the year.

Bombardier says it has to adjust its operations to ensure it emerges from the COVID-19 crisis in a strong position.

It says industry-wide business jet deliveries are forecast to be down by 30 per cent year-over-year due to the pandemic.

5:50 a.m.: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is to offer premiers billions in federal funding to help them safely reopen provincial and territorial economies without triggering an explosive second wave of COVID-19 cases.

Precise details, including how to allocate each province’s share of the cash, are to be negotiated in the coming days, but federal officials hope agreements can be reached quickly to get the money flowing fast.

5:50 a.m.: Ontario is lifting restrictions on short-term rentals today.

Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli says the facilities were able to resume operations as of 12:01 a.m.

Get the latest in your inbox

Never miss the latest news from the Star, including up-to-date coronavirus coverage, with our email newsletters

Sign Up Now

Lodges, cabins, cottages, homes, condominiums and bed-and-breakfast rentals are all included in the reopening.

Ontario’s tourism minister said Thursday the sector had been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and the province may not see its visitor levels return to 2019 levels until 2024.

5:45 a.m.: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has cancelled an earlier decision to impose a new, two-day weekend curfew in 15 of the country’s provinces.

Erdogan said on Twitter Friday that the curfew would “lead to different social and economic consequences.”

5:00 a.m.: Across Toronto, many neighbourhoods known for their independent, distinctive characters are at risk of seeing local institutions close, businesses owners and analysts say.

A survey published April 23 by Restaurants Canada found that one in two independent restaurants didn’t expect to survive the following three months without improved conditions.

Read the full story from the Star’s Rosa Saba.

4:00 a.m.: There are 93,726 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada, according to The Canadian Press, including 7,637 deaths, 51,501 resolved.

This breaks down as follows (NOTE: The Star does its own count for Ontario, updates to come later this morning):

• Quebec: 52,143 confirmed (including 4,885 deaths, 17,098 resolved)

• Alberta: 7,091 confirmed (including 146 deaths, 6,611 resolved)

• British Columbia: 2,632 confirmed (including 166 deaths, 2,265 resolved)

• Nova Scotia: 1,058 confirmed (including 61 deaths, 995 resolved)

• Saskatchewan: 648 confirmed (including 11 deaths, 608 resolved)

• Manitoba: 287 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 284 resolved), 11 presumptive

• Newfoundland and Labrador: 261 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 256 resolved)

• New Brunswick: 136 confirmed (including 1 death, 120 resolved)

• Prince Edward Island: 27 confirmed (including 27 resolved)

• Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved)

• Yukon: 11 confirmed (including 11 resolved)

• Northwest Territories: 5 confirmed (including 5 resolved)

• Nunavut: No confirmed cases

3:33 a.m.: South Africa has seen its largest daily jump in new coronavirus cases.

The 3,267 new cases bring the country’s total to 40,792. More than 27,000 of those are in the Western Cape province centred on the city of Cape Town.

South Africa has the most virus cases in Africa, where the total number is now above 163,000.

The continent still represents less than 3% of the global total of cases but South Africa and Egypt are hot spots, and Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is another growing concern with more than 11,000 cases and relatively little testing for the virus.

Shortages of testing and medical equipment remain a challenge across the 54-nation continent, where just 1,700 tests are being carried out per 1 million people.

3 a.m.: Muslims in Indonesia’s capital held their first communal Friday prayers as mosques closed by the coronavirus outbreak for nine weeks reopened at half capacity.

Authorities checked temperature and sprayed hand sanitizers at the entrance to the mosques, and police and soldiers ensured the faithful observed social distancing and wore masks.

Thursday 5 p.m.: Ontario health units report 31,153 cases of COVID-19, up 346, and that 2,419 people have died, which is an increase of 46, the highest total of deaths since May 20; 38 of these were in Toronto. With 183 new COVID-19 cases, the city also accounted for more than half the province’s of total cases today.

Thursday 2:45 p.m.: The Pittsburgh Penguins announce that one of their players has tested positive for COVID-19. The player, who wasn’t identified, is recovering and doing well, the team said. He’s isolating himself at home.

The NHL is working toward a plan to resume the 2019-20 season with 24 teams playing out of two hub cities. The league has said it plans to test players on a daily basis if play resumes.

Read more of Thursday’s coverage here.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMia2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRoZXN0YXIuY29tL25ld3MvY2FuYWRhLzIwMjAvMDYvMDUvY29yb25hdmlydXMtY2FuYWRhLWNvdmlkLTE5LXVwZGF0ZXMtanVuZS01LWxhdGVzdC10b2RheS5odG1s0gEA?oc=5

2020-06-05 14:31:20Z
52780833674070