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The members of the mayor’s task force are: Mark Kaluski, chair of the Ottawa Coalition of BIAs; Sueling Ching, president and CEO of the Ottawa Board of Trade; Lise Sarazin, executive director of the RGA; Carole Anne Piccinin, executive director of the Ottawa Festival Network; and, Michael Crockatt, president and CEO of Ottawa Tourism.

The Ottawa Senators have joined Canada’s six other Canadian-based NHL teams in announcing plans to compensate part-time arena staff for the shifts lost due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

A statement from the Senators late Monday said that the club “is committed to developing a program based on the individual needs of our staff. These programs will help any part-time employee who requires support to avoid financial hardship during the coronavirus pandemic.”

–Canada is screening for the novel coronavirus more widely than many countries in the world, and at a far greater rate per capita than in United States.

The latest figures available Monday indicated 34,000 had been swabbed for traces of the pathogen across the country, compared to 23,000 tests in the U.S., which has 10 times the population and number of COVID-19 cases.

-Ontario’s top doctor is recommending that all bars and restaurants — except those that offer takeout — now close. That announcement came hours after the Premier of Ontario said the province wasn’t yet ready to take that step.

-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada is closing its borders to most people who are not citizens or permanent residents to slow the spread of COVID-19. He says the country is taking “increasingly aggressive steps” to keep everyone safe. The American land border will remain open and Canadians abroad can return into the country.

-Canada imposed tougher screening requirements for visitors on Monday in a bid to contain the spread of the coronavirus. The Canada Border Services Agency said all travelers arriving from any international destination would now need confirm they knew they were being asked to self-isolate for 14 days following their trip.

Also, La Presse cited sources as saying only Toronto, Calgary, Montreal and Vancouver would be able to process flights from abroad.

#COVID19: New enhanced measures continue to be added at all of #Canada's international airports including these new screening questions for ALL travellers arriving from ANY international destination. #FlattenTheCurve pic.twitter.com/kGZaDPt28N — Canada Border Services Agency (@CanBorder) March 16, 2020

– B.C. has three more deaths from COVID-19 as 30 more cases reported, British Columbia is reporting three additional deaths from COVID-19, all stemming from an outbreak at a care home in North Vancouver.

-Coronavirus victims in Italy could be left to die if they are aged 80 or more, or in poor health, under draft plans drawn up for the next phase of the crisis.

The victims will be denied access to intensive care should pressure on beds increase, according to a new regional protocol, seen by The Sunday Telegraph, from the government’s crisis management unit in Turin.

The document lays out in cold detail which patients receive treatment in intensive care and which do not if there are insufficient spaces.

-The NHL has told players they can return to their homes anywhere in the world with the schedule on hold in the wake of concerns about the novel coronavirus. The NHL is still hopeful it will be able to reopen rinks after a self-isolation period so players can resume regular workouts.

-The Ontario government announced planned legislation Monday that would protect workers affected by COVID-19. The proposed legislation would ensure workers who are in self-isolation or who have to care for family members because of the infection will not lose their jobs.

-Canadian telecoms announced that they are waiving roaming and long-distance fees and are suspending data caps in response to the coronavirus pandemic. As the global pandemic crisis relating to the COVID-19 virus intensifies, public health officials are requesting that people work from home whenever possible and self-quarantine where necessary to slow the spread of the virus.

–Tim Hortons will close its dining rooms in Canada and only provide take-out and drive-thru service in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the chain told franchisees on Monday morning.

This morning I tested positive for Covid 19. I feel ok, I have no symptoms so far but have been isolated since I found out about my possible exposure to the virus. Stay home people and be pragmatic. I will keep you updated on how I’m doing 👊🏾👊🏾 No panic. pic.twitter.com/Lg7HVMZglZ — Idris Elba (@idriselba) March 16, 2020

–British actor Idris Elba says he has tested positive for coronavirus, “This morning I tested positive for Covid 19. I feel ok, I have no symptoms so far but have been isolated since I found out about my possible exposure to the virus.”

-Dr. Vera Etches, Ottawa’s medical officer of health, appealed to city residents to stay home and to strictly limit social gatherings of any kind. “We do assume that the coronavirus, COVID-19, is circulating in Ottawa, that there is local community transmission of the virus,” Etches said at a dramatic afternoon news conference. “That means we will benefit from more social distancing between people and cancelling events of all sizes.”

-Provincial statistics show the number of people infected with COVID-19 more than doubled in the city in a single day. The provincial government issued new figures Sunday that show the number of people officially diagnosed with COVID-19 in Ottawa doubled to 10 active cases from five.

-The University of Ottawa has cancelled all classes on Monday and Tuesday and starting Wednesday, classes and exams will be held online through to the end of the semester, the university announced Sunday night.

-The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a recommendation on Sunday that any gatherings of 50 or more people over the next eight weeks across the country should be postponed or canceled.

-The Quebec government ordered the closing of bars, theatres, gyms, ski hills, sugar shacks, arcades, and pools to impede the spread of COVID-19 in the province.

-Spanish ministers said that a state of emergency over the coronavirus which has shut down much of the country will have to be extended beyond an initial 15-day period, and the government was also considering closing borders. “Obviously we will have to extend this situation…in 15 days I do not think that we will be in a position to win this battle,” Transport Minister Jose Luis Abalos told RNE radio.

-New York City’s Mayor Bill de Blasio on Sunday said he was ordering the city’s famed restaurants, theatres, bars and movie houses closed in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Any restaurant, bar or cafe selling food will only be able to do so via delivery or take-out, according to the mayor.

–Several African governments on Sunday closed borders, canceled flights and imposed strict entry and quarantine requirements to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, which has a foothold in at least 26 countries on the continent as cases keep rising.

-People in Britain aged over 70 face up to four months in isolation and the public risk being taken into custody or fined pounds 1,000 ($1,700) should they refuse to be tested or quarantined for coronavirus.

Photo by Angel Garcia / Bloomberg

-With files from Reuters, CP, The Telegraph, Christopher Nardi, Andrew Duffy, Steph Crosier, Jesse Snyder, James McLeod, Paul Cherry, Aaron Derfel, Andy Riga, Tiffany Crawford, Tom Spears, Elizabeth Payne and Taylor Blewett.