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

9:22 p.m.: Fifteen residents of Anson Place Care Centre have now died of COVID-19 as management and staff at the Hagersville, Ontario long-term-care home continue to grapple with a coronavirus outbreak.

Anson Place executive director Lisa Roth said 36 residents in long-term care and 19 in the retirement residence have tested positive, as well as 30 staff members who are in quarantine and no longer working at the facility.

The 55 residents who have contracted COVID-19 represent more than half of the 101 people who called Anson Place home before the pandemic.

9:05 p.m.: Hellenic Home for the Aged, which has two long-term-care facilities, reported 15 cases of COVID-19 among residents at its Scarborough facility on Monday.

There are no reported cases at its Toronto location, where there are 81 beds, and no deaths at the Scarborough location, which has 128 beds.

Hellenic Home said in a statement that residents who have tested positive are managing well, adding it is “closely monitoring any residents and staff showing symptoms as we are awaiting test results.”

8:30 p.m.: A nursing home in Etobicoke has reported a dramatic increase in the number of residents who have died from the novel coronarvirus.

Eatonville Care Centre revealed Monday that the number of COVID-19-related fatalities is now 25 – on Sunday it had reported an additional death, bringing the total then to 14 deaths.

In a media statement Monday, executive director Evelyn MacDonald explained that the increase in COVID-19 deaths reflects changes in provincial testing criteria.

“Public Health has confirmed that nine residents who had previously passed away due to unknown causes have now been attributed to COVID-19,” she said. “This has been reflected in our reported total number of cases, but does not represent new deaths attributed to the virus.” She also noted there are 49 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and six test results are pending. The centre, which is located on The East Mall near Burnhamthorpe Rd. and accommodates 247 residents, is bracing for more positive cases. That’s because it has symptomatic residents who haven’t yet been confirmed to be infected with COVID-19.

Recently broadened criteria for testing by Public Health will provide a better understanding of cases, said MacDonald, adding that will help them manage the outbreak. “These losses are felt by everyone and I understand that this is an extremely difficult and uncertain time for our community and for their loved ones” said MacDonald, who thanked the centre’s front-line staff for its “perseverance, dedication and compassionate care.”

7:27 p.m.: There are 26,698 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada.

- Quebec: 13,557 confirmed (including 360 deaths, 1,982 resolved)

- Ontario: 8,486 confirmed and presumptive cases (including 343 deaths, 3,357 resolved)

- Alberta: 1,732 confirmed (including 46 deaths, 877 resolved)

- British Columbia: 1,490 confirmed (including 69 deaths, 905 resolved)

- Nova Scotia: 474 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 97 resolved)

- Saskatchewan: 300 confirmed (including 4 deaths, 178 resolved), 2 presumptive

- Manitoba: 229 confirmed (including 4 deaths, 99 resolved), 17 presumptive

- Newfoundland and Labrador: 244 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 133 resolved)

- New Brunswick: 116 confirmed (including 74 resolved)

- Prince Edward Island: 25 confirmed (including 23 resolved)

- Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed

- Yukon: 8 confirmed (including 6 resolved)

- Northwest Territories: 5 confirmed (including 1 resolved)

- Nunavut: No confirmed cases

5:58 p.m.: Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says the government may soon release a plan on reopening the economy if COVID-19 case numbers remain low.

The Ministry of Health announced two new cases, bringing the total in the province to 300.

Moe says residents can’t become complacent, but the low infection rate does mean the government can start thinking about what reopening parts of the province will look like.

Moe says this week officials will look at how to reopen the economy.

If cases remain low, he says, the plan will be released sometime next week.

The premier says when officials do start lifting restrictions and reopening businesses, it will be done gradually.

5:46 p.m.: Alberta is reporting 81 new cases of COVID-19.

The province’s chief medical health officer Dr. Deena Hinshaw says the total number of cases is now at 1,732.

She also says there have been two additional deaths, bringing the total fatalities in the province to 46.

She says 877 people with COVID-19 have recovered.

5:45 p.m.: A team of volunteers with the “Stop COVID-19” campaign will deliver 200,000 much-needed medical masks to several GTA hospitals Tuesday.

The team, led by Dr. Joseph Wong, will begin delivering the masks to downtown hospitals in the morning, followed by Sunnybrook, North York General and Markham Stouffville in the afternoon.

A portion of the masks will also be delivered to long-term-care facilities.An additional 300,000 masks are expected to arrive in 10 to 14 days, and will be distributed to all municipalities in the GTA with input from United Way of Greater Toronto.

5:10 p.m.: Ontario has seen another 465 cases of COVID-19, with 23 more deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the Star’s latest count.

As of 5 p.m. Monday, the province’s regional health units were reporting a total of 8,486 confirmed and probable cases of the disease, including 343 deaths.

At 5.8 per cent growth since Easter Sunday evening, the 24-hour jump in cases represents one of the slowest rates of daily growth the Star has counted in more than a month, second only to the percentage growth reported between Saturday and Sunday evenings.

5 p.m.: British Columbia is reporting 11 new COVID-19 deaths, bring the province’s total to 69.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says B.C.’s total number of cases has increased to 1,490, up 45 from Saturday.

Henry says 137 people are in hospital, with 58 of those in intensive care.

She says there remains 20 long-term care facilities with COVID-19 outbreaks.

Henry says a COVID-19 outbreak at the federal Mission Institution is causing concerns, with 35 positive cases and eight people now in hospital.

Henry says all efforts are underway to contain the outbreak at the prison.

4 p.m.: Toronto confirms 2088 cases with 274 probable cases. 210 people have been hospitalized, and 80 are in the ICU. A total of 92 people died of COVID-19 in Toronto since the beginning of the outbreak.

3:47 p.m.: One of Ontario’s top health officials says the province may be approaching the peak of the COVID-19 crisis.

Dr. Barbara Yaffe, the associate chief medical officer of health, says the number of new cases each day has been relatively stable of late.

She says the experts modelling the outbreak have said the peak is likely to come this week.

Yaffe’s comment came just hours after Premier Doug Ford announced the legislature will be recalled tomorrow to extend the province’s state of emergency by another 28 days.

3:45 p.m.: Quebec has placed an additional five private long-term care homes under watch amid concerns that they’re not able to properly respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, Premier Francois Legault said Monday.

The province carried out inspections of 40 private establishments over the weekend after learning that 31 residents died in a three-week period at a single home west of Montreal, without the province’s knowledge.

Legault did not identify the potentially deficient residences but said the concerns could include understaffing, a lack of directives regarding protective equipment and management problems.

3:24 p.m.: Air Canada is suspending most international flights until June, while Air Transat and Sunwing Airlines Ltd. are cancelling all trips until May 31 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The decision extends the suspension of more than 160 Air Canada routes as well as Air Transat and Sunwing trips by another month as closed borders and vanishing travel demand continue to ravage the airline industry.

3:19 p.m.: French President Emmanuel Macron announced the extension of France’s strict lockdown until May 11, on his third televised address to the nation on the virus crisis from the Elysee palace.

France has been under lockdown since March 17.

Macron said he sees “hopeful signs” as the spreading of the virus in the country appears to be stabilizing. But he urged the French to keep respecting strict confinement rules for the moment.

3:00 p.m.: Mayor John Tory and city health officials are expected to give an update on COVID-19 in Toronto at 3:45 p.m. EST. A livestream of the news conference will be available at thestar.com.

2:10 p.m.: Manitoba officials say there are four new cases of COVID-19 in the province as they extend public health orders until the end of the month.

There has been a total of 246 positive and probable cases of coronavirus in the province. Eight people are currently in hospital, and four are in intensive care while four people have died.

Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Brent Roussin says it’s clear efforts are working to flatten the curve.

1:45 p.m.: There are two more confirmed cases of COVID-19 in New Brunswick, bringing the total number of known cases to 116.

Chief medical officer of health Dr. Jennifer Russell says the two new cases are in the Fredericton and Campbellton regions.

The province will now test for a broader range of symptoms including fever above 38 degrees Celsius, a new or worsening cough, a runny nose or headache.

Seventy-four people have recovered from the illness.

1:44 p.m.: Sunwing is donating more than 46,000 unused in-flight meals to Second Harvest as the grounded vacation airline partners with the largest food-rescue organization in Canada.

Sunwing has suspended all flights in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the airline says it didn’t want its unused meals to go to waste.

“We know Canadians are worried about their health and safety, but they shouldn’t have to worry about putting food on the table,” Stephen Hunter, CEO of Sunwing Travel Group, said in a news release. “As a Canadian family-run business, we know what it means to look out for one another during moments of need, which is exactly what this partnership is all about.”

The in-flight meals include smoked meat sandwiches, pizza, sausage rolls and breakfast sandwiches, among other items.

1:15 p.m.: Quebec is reporting 32 more COVID-19 deaths today, bringing the provincial total to 360. Premier Francois Legault says there are 13,557 confirmed cases of the virus in the province, an increase of 711 cases in one day. There are 879 cases requiring hospitalization, of which 226 are in intensive care.

Legault says 40 privately owned long-term care homes were inspected across the province over the weekend after 31 deaths were reported at a Montreal-area private residence.

He says the situation is stable in the residences, and most are providing adequate care, but four or five are being monitored.

1:12 p.m.: Premier Doug Ford says “we are seeing a glimmer of light” but when the legislature resumes tomorrow it will be to extend the state of emergency in Ontario for another 28 days.

1:04 p.m.: Premier Doug Ford says over the past five days the province has acquired more than 13 million masks, including 200,000 N95 masks.

“The global competition to secure critical personal protective equipment and medical supplies is fierce, yet our team of procurement specialists continues to locate the masks, gloves and ventilators we need to keep our front-line workers and patients safe,” said Premier Doug Ford.

12:55 p.m.: Ontario Premier Doug Ford to provide COVID-19 update at 1 p.m. EST. A livestream of the news conference will be available on thestar.com

12:55 p.m.: Prince Edward Island is reporting no new cases of COVID-19 keeping the province’s total of confirmed cases at 25.

Chief public health officer, Dr. Heather Morrison, says 23 of the Island’s 25 cases are considered recovered.

Morrison says 175 negative tests were conducted over the Easter weekend.

She says the numbers are a reinforcement that social and physical restrictive measures are working, but stresses the province needs to “keep going.”

12:45 p.m.: There are two more confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Newfoundland and Labrador, both in the Western Health region.

The province has confirmed 244 cases of the illness and 133 people have recovered.

Nine people are in the hospital due to the illness and three are in intensive care.

The province has expanded its testing protocols by including a wider range of symptoms.

It is also testing staff and attendees at hospitals, long-term care homes, correctional facilities, home support workers and other centres.

12:35 p.m.: Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam says deaths from COVID-19 will continue to rise even as the number of cases overall in Canada may go down.

Tams says that’s because of outbreaks in long-term care facilities.

She says close to half of the deaths being tracked are linked to long-term care facilities.

Tam says all jurisdictions are trying to deal with those outbreaks but as people learn more about how to respond, new measures are being put in place.

12:30 p.m.: Minister of Seniors, Deb Schulte, also announced new “evidence-based” federal guidelines to slow the spread of the virus in long-term care homes. The guidelines were made in concert with provincial governments, Schulte said.

The new guidance include the following recommendations:

Restrict volunteers and visitors to only those deemed “essential”

Screenings before every shift for workers

Ensuring staff don’t report to work with symptoms and if they are, to have them tested and excluded if they do test positive for COVID-19

Providing masks for visitors

Ensuring proper hand hygiene

Establishing routine additional cleaning, especially for high-touch surfaces Schulte noted that, “it will take much more than these guidelines to keep these seniors safe… it is essential that individuals practise social distancing to keep everyone safe.”

12:20 p.m.: The federal government is providing $50 million to help farmers and food processors cover the costs associated with mandatory quarantine rules for workers coming in from outside the country.

Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau says the labour shortage on farms is acute and depends on foreign temporary workers.

But rules designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 mean this year’s incoming workers must quarantine for 14 days.

Bibeau says employers are committed to making sure workers follow those rules but they do come at a cost.

She says the money is designed to help offset those and will give employers $1,500 per worker to help put quarantine measures in place.

12:10 p.m.: In her afternoon briefing to the nation, Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, announced that there were 24,804 reported cases of COVID-19 across the country, which include 734 deaths. Tam said that more than 428,000 people across Canada have been tested for COVID-19. “Though this challenge is nowhere near over… how soon we get there, and what that new normal looks like, will depend on our actions right now,” Tam said. “We need to protect our seniors, so stay home and save lives.”

(Updated) 12:05 p.m.: Nova Scotia is reporting 29 new cases of COVID-19 and the province’s third death as a result of the virus.

Health officials say a man in his 80s died Monday in Halifax as a result of complications related to the novel coronavirus.

As of today, Nova Scotia has 474 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

While most cases have been connected to travel or a known case, there is now community spread in the province.

11:55 a.m.: Federal ministers and health officials to provide COVID-19 update at noon EST. A livestream of the news conference will be available on thestar.com.

11:54 a.m.: New York’s death toll from coronavirus topped 10,000, with hospitals still seeing 2,000 new patients a day, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday.

The state tallied 671 new deaths on Sunday. It was the first time in a week daily toll dipped below 700. Still, the governor noted people are still dying at a “horrific level of pain and grief and sorrow.”

“This virus is very good at what it does. It is a killer,” Cuomo said during a state capitol news briefing.

Cuomo said almost 2,000 people were newly hospitalized with the virus Sunday, though once discharges and deaths are accounted for, the number of people hospitalized has flattened to just under 19,000.

11:19 a.m.: As of 11 a.m. Monday, Ontario’s regional health units are reporting 8,117 confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19 and a total of 320 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the Star’s latest count.

Those totals would represent relatively slow growth in the 24 hours since the same time Easter Sunday, up 416 cases or 5.4 per cent and 6 deaths, or just 1.9 per cent. However, unusually few of the province’s 34 health units had reported a daily update by the time of the Star’s morning tally.

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Earlier Monday, the province reported it had completed COVID-19 tests for 5,068 patients the previous day, its second day in a row above 5,000 and up significantly from last week, when Premier Doug Ford said his patience had “worn thin” with the low number of tests being completed in the province. On Friday the province pledged to ramp up testing to 16,000 a day by May 6.

According to the province, 760 patients are now hospitalized with COVID-19, including 263 in an intensive care unit, of whom 203 are on a ventilator — totals that are significantly less severe than Ontario’s worst-case projections. The province also says 3,357 patients have now recovered after testing positive for COVID-19.

The province says its data is accurate to 4 p.m. the previous day. The province also cautions its latest count of deaths — 291 — may be incomplete or out of date due to delays in its reporting system.

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.

11:11 a.m.: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tested negative for COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, his spokesman said on Monday.

The test on leaving hospital was standard medical practice, the spokesperson said, according to the Press Association news agency.

Johnson spent a week in hospital including several days in intensive care after contracting the virus, and said he owed his life to the medical staff who treated him.

With the number of coronavirus deaths in Britain hitting 11,329 —a rise of 717 compared to the previous day —the Ministry of Defense said it was deploying 200 military personnel across the country in support of ambulance services, PA cited the prime minister’s office as saying.

Downing Street said the soldiers would carry out a variety of roles including driving vehicles, taking calls, manning response centers and supporting paramedic crews.

10:13 a.m.: The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it will hold arguments by teleconference in May in key cases, including President Donald Trump’s bid to shield his tax and other financial records.

The court will make live audio of the arguments available for the first time. It had previously postponed courtroom arguments for March and April because of the coronavirus.

10:04 a.m.: Spanish authorities have let some workers begin returning to their jobs, but Health Minister Salvador Illa says the government will move carefully on allowing others to end their self-isolation amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Illa said officials will proceed with “the utmost caution and prudence ... and always based on scientific evidence” in easing restrictions.

“We’re in no position to be setting dates” about when isolation might end, he told a Madrid news conference Monday. “We can’t get ahead of ourselves.”

The Spanish government, looking to get the economy moving again, has allowed workers to return to some factory and construction jobs. But retail stores and services must remain closed and office workers have to keep working from home.

He said Spain, a country of 47 million people where the death toll officially attributed to the coronavirus is 17,489, is carrying out some 20,000 tests a day and plans to increase that number.

Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said a program to distribute 10 million face masks began Monday.

9:59 a.m.: Health Canada has approved the use of a portable, rapid-testing device for COVID-19.

The Spartan Cube from Ottawa’s Spartan Bioscience is expected to help provide rapid tests for health services in rural and remote areas such as Indigenous communities.

The hand-held device, about the size of a coffee cup, eliminates the need for swab samples to travel to the nearest lab, which can be a logistical challenge.

The federal, Alberta and Ontario governments are among those who have contracts for the testing kits, which can confirm results in less than one hour.

Ontario has ordered nearly 1 million testing kits, while Alberta’s contract is for 100,000 kits. The Cube uses Spartan’s COVID-19 test cartridges and proprietary swabs, manufactured in Ottawa.

Health Canada greenlit the device on Saturday and Spartan says it will begin shipments “immediately.”

9:52 a.m.: A member of the crew of the coronavirus-infected USS Theodore Roosevelt warship died Monday of complications related to the disease, the Navy said, adding to setbacks for the sidelined aircraft carrier.

The sailor, whose name and other identifying information were not publicly released pending notification of relatives, had tested positive for coronavirus on March 30 and was taken off the ship and placed in “isolation housing” along with four other sailors at the U.S. Navy base on Guam. On April 9 he was found unresponsive during a medical check and was moved to a local hospital’s intensive care unit.

The Roosevelt has been in a coronavirus crisis that prompted the Navy’s civilian leader, Thomas Modly, to fire the ship’s captain on April 2. Five days later, after flying to the ship and delivering a speech in which he insulted the skipper, Capt. Brett E. Crozier, and criticized the crew for supporting Crozier, Modly resigned.

As of Sunday, 585 members of the Roosevelt crew had tested positive for coronavirus. Nearly 4,000 crew members had been moved ashore.

An investigation of the Roosevelt’s coronavirus outbreak and related events is ongoing. The carrier has been docked at Guam since March 27.

9:40 a.m.: Anthony Causi, a highly skilled and exceedingly popular sports photographer for The New York Post who covered the city’s teams for 25 years, died Sunday from the new coronavirus. He was 48.

The newspaper reported Causi’s death on its website Sunday night and included an image of Monday’s back page. It featured a photo of Causi holding a camera with a long lens and the words “Our Eyes, Our Heart” and then below: “And our city’s loss.”

Causi was married with two young children. Many of New York’s professional teams and several players posted messages on Twitter expressing sadness, condolences and paying tribute to him.

“Do you know how many athletes reached out when they heard he was sick?” said Stephen Lynch, Editor-in-Chief at The Post. “Players from every team, sending thoughts, hoping he was going to be all right.”

The Post said Causi is survived by his wife, Romina, and their children, John, 5, and Mia, 2, as well as his parents, Lucille and John Causi, and sisters Maria Marangelli and Dianna Marotto.

9:35 a.m.: “Good Morning America” host George Stephanopoulos announced Monday morning on his show that he has tested positive for coronavirus, more than a week after his wife was diagnosed.

“I’ve never had a fever, never had chills, never had a headache, never had a cough, never had shortness of breath,” he said on “GMA.” “I’m feeling great.”

Stephanopoulos, 59, said it came as “no surprise” that he got coronavirus after his wife, actress Ali Wentworth, tested positive.

The couple, along with their two daughters, 14-year-old Harper and 17-year-old Elliott, had been self-isolating at home in New York, with Wentworth quarantined to her own room.

Wentworth, 55, described her symptoms when she revealed her diagnosis, including a “high fever, horrific body aches and heavy chest.”

8:50 a.m.: The Aamjiwnaang First Nation is closing part of the St. Clair Parkway in an effort to reduce traffic in the community and slow the spread of COVID-19.

Aamjiwnaang Band Council ordered the closure of St. Clair Parkway with the exception of local residents and emergency services only until further notice. The road will be closed from Marlborough Avenue to the Suncor gate. All traffic will be diverted to Highway 40.

River Road is a county road, Sarnia and Lambton County agreed to the road closure. The presence of several businesses along the road factored in, as these locations are at higher risk for transfer of the virus.

Sarnia Police says worker access to plants and facilities along the road will not be restricted, including Suncor’s Sarnia Refinery.

8:28 a.m.: New York City is in danger of running out of swabs for COVID-19 tests and should only test hospitalized patients, the city health department said in a memo to health care providers over the weekend.

“As the swab supply continues to decline, there is a real possibility hospitals will completely run out,” the April 11 health alert said. “At this time, providers are reminded to only test hospitalized patients in order to preserve resources that are needed to diagnose and appropriately manage patients with more severe illness.”

8:24 a.m.: Serbian police have arrested the head of a nursing home in the southern city of Nis after 139 people were infected with the new coronavirus at the institution.

The manager, identified only by his initials M.S., is suspected of “committing a grave criminal act against public health,” police said in a statement on Monday. The suspect did not undertake all necessary measures and actions to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 disease, the statement added.

Police say that those infected include 135 residents and four staff. Serbia has banned all people over 65 years old from leaving their homes to protect the elderly population from getting infected with the new coronavirus. Other strict measures include daily and weekend curfews.

7:30 a.m.: Toronto Mayor John Tory says the city will open two more child care centres for children of essential and critical service workers. The city has opened four other child care centres to help out those who are helping on the frontline during the COVID-19 pandemic. The centres will open downtown where there has been the most demand.

7:30 a.m.: Egypt’s chief prosecutor late Sunday ordered 23 people to remain in detention for 15 days pending an investigation into blocking a road to a cemetery in a Nile Delta village to prevent the burial of a physician who died from the coronavirus.

Public Prosecutor Hamada el-Sawy described preventing her burial as a “terrorist act.”

The 64-year-old physician died on Friday in a quarantine-designed hospital in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia, and her body was being transferred to her husband’s village of Shubra el-Bahou in the Nile Delta when dozens of villagers tried to stop her burial. They feared that the burial would spread contagion. Police fired tear gas to displace the protesters and arrested 23 of them.

Egypt has reported at least 159 fatalities, and 2,065 confirmed cases.

7:27 a.m.: Athletes completing doping bans over the next year will be eligible to compete in the postponed Tokyo Olympics, an unintended effect of the coronavirus pandemic that has some crying foul.

Turkish runner Gamze Bulut, for example, will now have plenty of time to qualify for a games she likely would have missed had they gone ahead as scheduled.

“It doesn’t seem like a fair punishment,” Irish race walker Brendan Boyce told The Associated Press in a phone interview. “They haven’t really missed the events they were supposed to miss.”

The 2020 Olympics were officially postponed last month for one year, with the opening ceremony now set for July 23, 2021.

7:05 a.m.: As the COVID-19 pandemic forces remote British Columbia communities to close their borders to outsiders, Indigenous tourism companies along the coast say the federal government is leaving them behind.

Tours for Haida Gwaii are normally booked well in advance due to high demand and the quota system placed on the area. The remoteness of the region also means it has a shorter tourism high season than other locations in the province.

But the pandemic has forced tourism companies in the area to shut down their operations, with little economic relief for their owners.

“The current packages offered by the Canadian government don’t meet the need of most operators,” said James Cowpar, with Haida Style Expeditions, a Haida-owned tourism company specializing in cultural eco-tours. “Anything is better than nothing but as it stands, our industry has fell through the cracks.”

Cowpar said all of his tours planned for May have been cancelled, resulting in $210,000 in lost deposits and preventing him from hiring staff.

7:03 a.m.: Pope Francis says he prays for all the countries struggling with COVID-19 cases, the United States and European nations among them.

He has also expressed his closeness and affection to these nations, “several with great numbers of the infected and the deceased.

“Italy, the United States, Spain, France, the list is long,’’ said Francis before giving a blessing to mark what is celebrated in many places Monday as “Little Easter.” He also hailed the contribution of women working in hospitals, on police forces or in stores during the pandemic while juggling care of children, elders or disabled relatives at home. He noted during weeks of stay-at-home orders, women are at risk of suffering domestic violence.

At an early morning Mass in the Vatican hotel where he lodges, Francis prayed for “rulers, scientists, politicians, who have begun to study the way out, the post-pandemic, this ‘after’ that has already begun.” He urged them to “find the right path, always in favour of the people.”

6:56 a.m.: Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray are among 12 players confirmed to play in the virtual Madrid Open tennis tournament this month.

David Goffin, John Isner, Karen Khachanov, Eugenie Bouchard, Kristina Mladenovic and Kiki Bertens will also participate from their homes in the April 27-30 online competition that is expected to be broadcast live on TV and social media channels.

Khachanov says “this initiative is interesting and it will bring back some competition in our sport. I’m looking forward to challenge my fellow players and show my skills to the tennis fans around the world.”

Each draw is expected to have 16 players competing.

The Madrid Open was one of more than 30 professional tournaments cancelled or postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. It had been scheduled for May 1-10.

6:37 a.m.: Social restrictions aimed at stopping the spread of the coronavirus could have saved lives if they’d been started earlier, and when they’re eased new cases are certain to arise, said the U.S.’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, seeming to draw the ire of President Donald Trump.

Trump, who has been chafing at criticism that he didn’t do enough early on to fight the virus, reposted a tweet that referenced Fauci’s comments and that said “Time to #FireFauci.” The Republican president again pointed to his decision in late January to restrict travel from China, writing, “Sorry Fake News, it’s all on tape. I banned China long before people spoke up.”

Fauci said Sunday that the economy in parts of the country could have a “rolling reentry” as early as next month, provided health authorities can quickly identify and isolate people who will inevitably be infected. Fauci also said he “can’t guarantee” that it will be safe for Americans to vote in person on Election Day, Nov. 3.

When asked on CNN if earlier action on social distancing and “stay at home” policies could have saved lives, Fauci responded in part: “It’s very difficult to go back and say that. I mean, obviously, you could logically say that if you had a process that was ongoing and you started mitigation earlier, you could have saved lives. Obviously, no one is going to deny that. But what goes into those kinds of decisions is complicated.”

Trump’s tweet referencing Fauci was one of several that Trump posted on Sunday that defended his handling of the virus outbreak and blamed others for missteps.

4 a.m.: Federal officials are due to provide an update on measures for seniors, home care and temporary foreign workers during the COVID-19 crisis today.

The Prime Minister’s Office says the news will come from public health officials and cabinet ministers — not Justin Trudeau, who’s taking the day off from public appearances.

The expected update comes after a weekend that saw Quebec’s premier rebuke a long-term care home where 31 residents have died in less than a month.

Francois Legault says there was “gross negligence” at Residence Herron, where five of the deaths are definitively linked to COVID-19.

Authorities first inspected Residence Herron on March 29, three days after word of the first death, and found the residence “deserted” as staff had walked off the job.

6:45 p.m. Sunday: Alberta is reporting four new deaths from COVID-19.

The province says two were residents at the McKenzie Towne continuing care facility in Calgary, bringing the home’s coronavirus death toll to 20.

The other two were residents at Manoir du Lac, an independent living and assisted living facility for seniors in McLennan, in northern Alberta.

It brings the total number of deaths at Manoir du Lac from COVID-19 to four.

Alberta’s total number of COVID-19 cases now stands at 1,651, including 44 deaths.

6:08 p.m. Sunday: The Quebec coroner’s office has launched an investigation into a long-term-care home in a suburb of Montreal, where 31 people have died in conditions the province’s premier has described as “deplorable.”

The investigation was announced after Montreal police on Saturday night entered the Résidence Herron, a privately run home with 150 beds in the west-end suburb of Dorval.