Read The Star’s live coverage of the novel coronavirus pandemic here. This story is no longer updating.

9:46 p.m.: The governors of New York and California are moving to rapidly expand the ranks of health-care workers, as the death toll from COVID-19 in New York surged past 1,200 while hospitalizations in California doubled in the last four days. New York’s governor issued an urgent appeal for medical volunteers.

8:56 p.m.: Ontario is issuing a new emergency order under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act to close all outdoor recreational amenities, such as sports fields and playgrounds, effective immediately.

Premier Doug Ford announced Monday night the government is closing “all communal or shared, public or private, outdoor recreational amenities everywhere in Ontario, including … playgrounds, sports fields, basketball and tennis courts, off-leash dog parks, beaches, skateboard and BMX parks, picnic areas, outdoor community gardens, park shelters, outdoor exercise equipment, condo parks and gardens.”

Parks, trails, ravines, and conservation areas will remain open for walkthrough access only but people must remain at least two metres apart. Scofflaws could face cash fines.

8 p.m.: A Florida pastor who defied emergency orders has been arrested. Before the Rev. Rodney Howard-Browne, the pastor of a Pentecostal megachurch in Florida, held two church services Sunday with hundreds of parishioners — lawyers from the sheriff’s office and local government pleaded with him to reconsider putting his congregation in danger of contracting the coronavirus, the New York Times reports.

The pastor ignored them, proceeding with the services at the River at Tampa Bay Church.

On Monday, Sheriff Chad Chronister of Hillsborough County said he had obtained an arrest warrant for Howard-Browne for “intentionally and repeatedly” defying emergency orders for people to maintain social distance and stay at home. Howard-Browne turned himself in.

7:28 p.m.: Vancouver’s waterfront convention centre is being prepared as a health facility in British Columbia’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, Health Minister Adrian Dix said.

The centre, which hosts about 500 trade shows, conventions and exhibitions annually, is being viewed as a pandemic overflow location that could provide 271 treatment beds, he told a news conference.

6:55 p.m.: Alberta’s chief medical officer says there have been five COVID-19-related deaths in 24 hours in the province.

Alberta now has eight deaths from COVID-19 and 690 confirmed cases.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw says two of the five deaths reported today were at long-term-care facilities.

6:19 p.m.: There are 7,466 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada.

Quebec: 3,430 confirmed (including 25 deaths, 1 resolved)

Ontario: 1,706 confirmed (including 33 deaths, 431 resolved)

British Columbia: 970 confirmed (including 19 deaths, 396 resolved)

Alberta: 661 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 73 resolved)

Saskatchewan: 176 confirmed (including 2 deaths, 3 resolved)

Newfoundland and Labrador: 148 confirmed (including 1 death, 7 resolved)

Manitoba: 96 confirmed (including 1 death, 2 resolved), 47 presumptive

Nova Scotia: 127 confirmed (including 10 resolved)

New Brunswick: 68 confirmed (including 2 resolved)

Prince Edward Island: 18 confirmed (including 1 death)

Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed

Yukon: 5 confirmed

Northwest Territories: 1 confirmed

Nunavut: No confirmed cases

Total: 7,466 (47 presumptive, 7,419 confirmed including 85 deaths, 925 resolved)

5:25 p.m.: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau conceded Monday he’s taking a measure of comfort from early signs that the COVID-19 caseload in Canada is on a different trajectory than the United States.

Trudeau said he's proud that Canadians appear to be taking seriously the importance of staying home and keeping their distance from others — the one measure public health officials say is paramount to slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus.

“I think I would say we're not necessarily on the same trajectory,” Trudeau said in French during the daily fresh-air briefing outside his Rideau Cottage residence. “We were quicker to get the screening done, and I think we have had more success in getting people to self-isolate.”

5:03 p.m.: British Columbia health officials announce 86 new cases of COVID-19 as well as two new deaths, bringing the total number of provincial cases to 970.

Dr. Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer, says B.C.’s measures to flatten the curve appear to be working as the trajectory of new cases in the province changed from a 24 per cent average daily increase to 12 per cent as of March 21.

The province released its current and worst-case scenario data on the COVID-19 pandemic last Friday, showing the province more closely mirrors the South Korean experience than the situation in Italy, where the health-care system has been overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients.

In total, 19 people have died from COVID-19 in B.C., while 459 people have recovered.

5:01 p.m.: There are 7,465 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada. The latest numbers:

Quebec: 3,430 confirmed (including 25 deaths, 1 resolved)

Ontario: 1,706 confirmed (including 33 deaths, 431 resolved)

British Columbia: 970 confirmed (including 19 deaths, 396 resolved)

Alberta: 661 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 73 resolved)

Saskatchewan: 176 confirmed (including 2 deaths, 3 resolved)

Newfoundland and Labrador: 148 confirmed (including 1 death, 7 resolved)

Manitoba: 96 confirmed (including 1 death, 2 resolved), 47 presumptive

Nova Scotia: 127 confirmed (including 10 resolved)

New Brunswick: 68 confirmed (including 2 resolved)

Prince Edward Island: 18 confirmed (including 1 death)

Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed

Yukon: 4 confirmed

Northwest Territories: 1 confirmed

Nunavut: No confirmed cases

Total: 7,465 (47 presumptive, 7,418 confirmed including 85 deaths, 925 resolved)

4:50 p.m: The TSX moved higher on gains by the key energy sector even though the price of crude oil dropped to its lowest level since 2002.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 350.76 points or 2.8 per cent at 13,038.50.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 690.70 points at 22,327.48. The S&P 500 index was up 85.18 points at 2,626,65, while the Nasdaq composite was up 271.77 points at 7,774.15. The May crude contract was down $1.40 at $20.09 (U.S.) per barrel.

4:35 p.m.: The TTC announced that a fourth transit agency employee had tested positive for COVID-19. The worker performs bus maintenance at the TTC’s Old Davenport Building and was last on the job on March 13. The agency said he was at home resting and his condition was improving.

4:30 p.m.: The federal government says it has arranged for Canadians to fly home from several countries today, including Honduras, El Salvador and Haiti.

It has also arranged flights for Canadians in Sudan, Ghana and Cameroon, who will travel to Addis Ababa today to catch an overnight flight to Toronto.

4:20 p.m.: Air Canada will temporarily lay off more than 15,000 unionized workers beginning this week as the airline struggles with fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The layoffs will continue through April and May amid drastically reduced flight capacity from the Montreal-based airline.

Air Canada says the two-month furloughs will affect about one-third of management and administrative and support staff, including head office employees, in addition to the front-line workers.

The carrier is also cutting between 85 per cent and 90 per cent of its flights, cancelling most of its international and U.S. routes in response to the global shutdown.

Earlier this month Air Canada's flight attendant union said 5,149 cabin crew would be temporarily laid off due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

3:57 p.m.: Toronto announces two new deaths from COVID-19 and 50 new cases, bringing the city’s total to 591. Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health, says roughly 24 per cent of Toronto cases are now attributed to community spread. “Our city still has a chance to limit the impact of this disease,” she said, imploring people to stay home and continue to practise social distancing.

De Villa says that about 12 doctors, 13 nurses, six other health-care staff and eight Toronto Public Health staff in the city have tested positive.

3:55 p.m.: Toronto Mayor John Tory says time is up for people violating social distancing rules in parks and other areas. He says “many could pay a price” for the actions of a few, pointing to what happened in Italy and Spain. He also announces a contract with five hotels with hundreds of rooms to help Toronto’s homeless population and is looking for more.

He says a site is opening to test homeless people for COVID-19.

3:20 p.m.: Ontario health units are reporting 10 new deaths from COVID-19 today, provincial officials have just revealed, bringing the death toll to 33.

“This is a very fluid situation,” Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Ontario’s associate medical officer of health, told a briefing, noting outbreaks at several nursing homes are proving a challenge.

To date, at least nine fatalities are linked to an outbreak of the new coronavirus at the Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon.

There are 100 people in intensive care units right now who are confirmed to have COVID-19 and 61 of them are on ventilators, said associate chief medical officer of health Dr. Barbara Yaffe.

Meanwhile, the number of Ontarians with confirmed cases of COVID-19 soared by 351 cases or almost 26 per cent as the testing backlog continues to come down.

2:20 p.m.: The Manitoba government is forcing non-essential businesses to close to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Salons, spas, bars and other establishments will be closed starting Wednesday. Restaurants can remain open for takeout or delivery only.

The measures are similar to those already in place in some other provinces, and are in place until at least April 14.

2 p.m.: An Ontario health unit says one nursing home has seen seven COVID-19 deaths and at least 24 staff members infected.

The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit has said the outbreak at Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon is believed to be the largest in the province.

The health unit says 10 other staff members are awaiting test results, and another person in the community has died in a case linked to the nursing home.

1:55 p.m.: Two inmates have tested positive for COVID-19 at a maximum-security prison in Quebec, the first confirmed cases involving prisoners in a federal institution.

The Correctional Service of Canada says that prior to the two inmates being diagnosed, nine employees who work at Port-Cartier Institution also tested positive for the virus.

The service says in a news release all of these employees are in isolation at home and are following direction from local health officials.

As of Saturday, 50 tests were conducted on inmates in institutions with 45 negative and two positive results, with three others pending.

1:50 p.m.: New Brunswick chief medical officer of health, Dr. Jennifer Russell says there are two new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the province, bringing the provincial total to 68.

So far in the province, one person has been hospitalized and two people have recovered.

1:20 p.m.: Premier Doug Ford said it was “unacceptable” for so many people to be out and about over the weekend despite the beautiful weather. Warns that the government will take more stringent measures if need be.

1:20 p.m.: The first reported death related to COVID-19 in Atlantic Canada has been linked to a cluster that originated at Caul’s Funeral Home in St. John’s earlier this month and has since been traced to 111 known cases of the illness.

Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, Newfoundland and Labrador’s chief medical officer of health, says the 78-year-old man had underlying health conditions.

Fitzgerald announced 13 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the provincial total to 148.

1:15 p.m.: Ontario’s chief medical officer Dr. David Williams ramped up advice for all Ontarians to leave home only for essential reasons to help keep the new coronavirus from spreading and jeopardizing the most vulnerable.

Essential reasons for leaving home include medical appointments, grocery shopping, picking up medicines, walking pets and helping the vulnerable.

1:10 p.m.: Quebec is reporting another spike in the number of cases in the province to 3,430 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

In addition to 590 positive cases compared to Sunday, the province says three more people have died as a result of the virus, bringing the total number of deaths to 25.

Legault says the brightest stat of the day was that 78 people were in intensive care, an increase of just six cases.

The premier says today that to give retail employees a break, stores will be closing on Sundays in April, with only pharmacies, gas stations, convenience stores and takeout restaurants remaining open on those days.

12:55 p.m.: Ontario’s chief medical officer Dr. David Williams is also “strongly recommending” anyone with a compromised immune system, underlying medical conditions or over age 70 begin self-isolating now and stay home to avoid increased risk of COVID-19. Go out for essentials only or have them delivered, Williams says.

12:55 p.m.: The federal government appears to be setting aside — for now — the use of powerful legislation to declare a national state of emergency.

Pablo Rodriguez, leader of the government in the House of Commons, says invoking the Emergencies Act is not currently on the table.

He says daily discussions with the provinces and territories provide confidence they have the tools they need.

The act can only be used in emergency situations where the federal government feels the need to override the provinces.

12:55 p.m.: The federal government is warning people not to stockpile their prescriptions to avoid local shortages of medications.

While the government had encouraged people to make sure they were supplied with their usual medications, it now says people shouldn’t be hoarding more than they typically need.

The government has advised pharmacies not to dispense more than necessary, and is monitoring the supply of drugs.

12:45 p.m.: Prince Edward Island’s chief public health officer Dr. Heather Morrison says there are seven new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on the Island Monday, bringing the provincial total up to 18.

Morrison says all seven of the new cases are related to international travel.

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12:40 p.m.: Nova Scotia is reporting five new confirmed cases of COVID-19 for a total of 127 confirmed cases in the province.

Health officials say while most of the province’s cases have been connected to travel or a known case, public health now believes that one of its investigated cases is due to community spread of the virus.

The individuals affected range in age from under 10 to mid-70’s with four patients currently in hospital. Ten people have now recovered in Nova Scotia and their cases of COVID-19 are considered resolved.

12:15 p.m.: Canada’s chief public health officer says 220,000 people have been tested for COVID-19.

Dr. Theresa Tam says three per cent have been confirmed positive, and 93 per cent confirmed negative.

She says of the over 6,000 cases diagnosed so far, seven per cent have required hospitalization, three per cent are critical, and one per cent have been fatal.

12:05 p.m.: The government of the Northwest Territories says it will help Indigenous families who want to head out on the land as an alternative to physical distancing.

The N.W.T will administer a $2.6 million grant to help families buy the proper gear and supplies to head out to fishing and hunting camps.

Territorial chief public officer of health Kami Kandola says maintaining safe distances between people will be in many cases easier in such camps than in the overcrowded homes seen in northern communities.

The program, supported by Indigenous governments, will help pay for wood, fuel, food, First Aid equipment, transportation and other suitable items.

11:58 a.m.: A new reporting format from Ontario also shows that more than 61 per cent of all cases are in the Greater Toronto Area.

Information on how people became infected is still pending for nearly half of all cases in Ontario. About 16 per cent are attributed to community spread, 26 per cent to recent travel, and nearly 10 per cent to close contact with another confirmed case.

About 10 per cent of people in the province who have tested positive for COVID-19 have been hospitalized.

The median age of people infected is 50, with cases ranging in age from under one year old to 100 years old.

11:35 a.m.: Two cruise ships carrying nearly 250 Canadians is on the move after being stranded off the coast of Panama after the novel coronavirus made its way on board.

The MS Zaandam has passed through the Panama Canal after being anchored on the west side of the canal with four dead and nearly 200 passengers and crew exhibiting flu-like symptoms.

Holland America says several people on its ship have tested positive for COVID-19.

11:30 a.m: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Armed Forces personnel will be available if the provinces request them. So far, the federal government has received no request from the provinces or territories to call in the military to aid with COVID-19 response efforts. He says senior military officials will provide more details later today.

11:20 a.m.: Trudeau announces further details of wage subsidy. Will be available to any business that has seen a 30 per cent drop in revenue; will cover portion of salary up to $58,000, working out to $847 per week, PM says. It will also be available to non-profits. Trudeau says businesses should pay the 25 per cent top-up if they can. He warns against anyone trying to “game” the system.

10:57 a.m.: In Ontario’s latest report, 431 cases have been deemed “resolved,” a huge increase from eight on Sunday.

There are 23 deaths, which remains the same as Sunday afternoon, but presumably doesn’t include the seven additional deaths at the Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon.

Of the 1,706 patients who tested positive, 857 are listed as male and 837 are female.

In addition, 42 patients are under 19; 343 are 65 or over; while 1,319 are between 19 and 64 years of age.

10:46 a.m.: Ontario reports 351 new cases of COVID-19 cases, bringing the provincial total to 1,706. It’s the largest single-day increase since the province started reporting numbers when the outbreak began. Health officials say the jump is at least partly due to clearing a large backlog of pending test results.

10:40 a.m.: Toronto Public Health employees got an emergency message Sunday night to to stay home after several staff at the health unit’s 277 Victoria St. headquarters downtown tested positive for COVID-19. Anyone who worked at building from March 20-29 to self-isolate.

9:30 a.m.: Nine residents of Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon have now died of COVID-19. Dr. Steve Oldridge, an area doctor who provides care to residents of the home with Dr. Michelle Snarr, told MyKawartha.com on Monday morning nine of the 66 residents at Pinecrest have now succumbed to the novel coronavirus.

At least 14 staff members of the home have also tested positive for COVID-19 since the outbreak began on March 18. Health officials have called it the largest outbreak in the province and had previously warned that there’d be more deaths to come.

9:25 a.m.: Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting its first death from COVID-19.

The Department of Health and Community Services says further details will be provided at a news conference this afternoon.

9:20 a.m.: The Canadian Ferry Association is flagging concerns that Canadians displaying symptoms of COVID-19 have not been banned from boarding ferries as they have been barred from planes and inter-city trains.

Association president Serge Buy says people with COVID-19 should be banned from ferries except in emergency situations such as going to the hospital.

Buy says the respiratory illness has already worsened already severe work shortages in the ferry sector.

9 a.m.: Statistics Canada is providing a detailed view of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in this country. The data posted online this morning shows information such as whether the source was travel or community exposure, the person’s hospitalization status and health outcome status.

The information is available by age and sex for cases between Jan. 15 and March 27, but the agency says it will be updated with help from the Public Health Agency of Canada.

8:54 a.m.: Spain on Monday became the third country to surpass China in infections after the United States and Italy. Spain reported 812 coronavirus deaths on Monday, a slight decline on the previous day’s record toll but taking the number of fatalities well past 7,000.

The number of confirmed cases increased to 85,195 over the past 24 hours, with a total of 7,340 deaths, according to Health Ministry data. The number of new cases declined slightly to 6,398 compared with 6,549 on Sunday.

8:30 a.m.: According to the Toronto Star’s tally as of Sunday night, Ontario’s regional public health units were reporting 1,636 confirmed or presumptive cases of COVID-19, with 24 deaths.

The total — the Star’s count of the latest public numbers and news releases posted to the websites of Ontario’s 34 public health units — was up 197 cases from Saturday night, a 13.7 per cent single-day increase.

A Star analysis published Friday found Ontario may have missed one-third or more of COVID-19 cases as the testing backlog has grown.

According to the latest count from the province on Sunday afternoon, Ontario had recorded 1,355 cases of the new coronavirus, including 23 deaths.

8 a.m.: A loud and beloved Vancouver tradition is being altered for the first time in its 164-year history to show the city’s appreciation for health care workers on the front lines of the battle against COVID-19.

The Vancouver Park Board says starting tonight and continuing for the month of April, the Nine O’Clock Gun — a 12-pound cannon in Stanley Park fired every night at 9 p.m. — will be fired two hours earlier, at 7 p.m.

That matches the time each evening when residents across the city stand on porches, balconies and street corners to honk horns, cheer, clap and bang pots in a show of support for health care workers.

The park board says the Nine O’Clock Gun has been silent just a handful of times since it was given to the city in 1856 and the firing schedule has never been altered, but the change reflects widespread public appeals.

7:25 a.m. The Tokyo Olympics will open next year in the same time slot scheduled for this year’s games.

Tokyo organizers said Monday the opening ceremony will take place on July 23, 2021 — almost exactly one year after the games were due to start this year.

Last week, the IOC and Japanese organizers postponed the Olympics until 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

This year’s games were scheduled to open on July 24 and close on Aug. 9. But the near exact one-year delay will see the rescheduled closing ceremony on Aug. 8.

There had been talk of switching the Olympics to spring, a move that would coincide with the blooming of Japan’s famous cherry blossoms. But it would also clash with European soccer and North American sports leagues.

5:11 a.m.: Businesses and employees across Canada reeling from the COVID-19 crisis are expected to hear more about Ottawa’s proposed wage subsidy program Monday.

When the federal government announced on Friday that it was boosting the subsidy to 75 per cent from the original 10 per cent, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he hoped the details would be hammered out by Monday.

The government has responded, so far, by rolling out a bailout package totalling more than $200 billion.

5:08 a.m.: Days after U.S. President Donald Trump said he hoped the country would be “opened up and raring to go” by Easter, he instead announced on Sunday evening an extension of federal guidance on social distancing until the end of April, in a continued effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.

The U.S. government’s top infectious-disease expert says the country could see 100,000 to 200,000 deaths from the coronavirus outbreak.

Dr. Anthony Fauci said millions could become infected in the United States.

The tally kept by Johns Hopkins University shows the U.S. had over 140,000 infections and 2,400 deaths.

5 a.m.: There are 6,320 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada.

Quebec: 2,840 confirmed (including 22 deaths, 1 resolved)

Ontario: 1,355 confirmed (including 23 deaths, 8 resolved)

British Columbia: 884 confirmed (including 17 deaths, 396 resolved)

Alberta: 661 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 73 resolved)

Saskatchewan: 156 confirmed (including 3 resolved)

Newfoundland and Labrador: 135 confirmed (including 4 resolved)

Nova Scotia: 122 confirmed

Manitoba: 25 confirmed (including 1 death), 47 presumptive

New Brunswick: 66 confirmed

Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed

Prince Edward Island: 11 confirmed

Yukon: 4 confirmed

Northwest Territories: 1 confirmed

Nunavut: No confirmed cases

Total: 6,320 (47 presumptive, 6,273 confirmed including 66 deaths, 485 resolved)

2:58 a.m.: Shopkeepers in the city at the centre of China’s virus outbreak were reopening Monday but customers were scarce after authorities lifted more of the anti-virus controls that kept tens of millions of people at home for two months.

Sunday night: Quebec’s premier and public health director struck a cautiously optimistic tone on Sunday, saying aggressive physical distancing measures appear to be working to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Horacio Arruda, the province’s director of public health, said the number of cases announced in recent days falls below what was originally projected.

Premier Francois Legault said there were 2,840 cases of COVID-19 in the province on Sunday, which is an increase of 342 from the day before.

He noted that the percentage increase was smaller than in recent days, and the number of people hospitalized, at 192, remains far below the capacity of 6,000. The number of deaths remained unchanged at 22.

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