The latest novel coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Thursday (this file will be updated throughout the day):

10:45 p.m.: The Conservative party is suspending its leadership race in light of the COVID-19 crisis.

The party says it is no longer possible to meet the deadlines to process memberships and donations, and handle the ballots for the scheduled June 27 election.

No new date has been set. The party says it will re-evaluate the decision on May 1.

10:05 p.m.: The federal government is shutting down in-person Service Canada centres over COVID-19 concerns.

The Liberals say the move, announced late Thursday night, shouldn't affect most unemployed workers who seek employment insurance benefits since the vast majority of applications are done online.

The new benefit for those who don’t qualify their EI but lost income amid the pandemic will also be available through an online application which should open early next month.

9:00 p.m. An Ontario regional health unit says two members of a long-term care home have died after developing symptoms following a COVID-19 outbreak.

The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit says one resident died Tuesday and another on Wednesday at the Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon.

The two who died were not tested for COVID-19.

The deaths came after three residents tested positive on March 20. Fourteen staff members also tested positive.

6:53 p.m. Canada has a total of 4,043 COVID-19 cases, 11 presumptive, 4,032 confirmed, including 39 deaths, and 212 resolved, according to The Canadian Press.

Quebec has 1,629 confirmed, including eight deaths, and one case resolved

Ontario has 858 confirmed, including 15 deaths, and eight cases resolved

British Columbia has 725 confirmed, including 14 deaths, and 173 cases resolved

Alberta has 486 confirmed, including two deaths and 27 resolved

Saskatchewan has 95 confirmed, including three cases resolved

Newfoundland and Labrador has 82 confirmed cases

Nova Scotia has 73 confirmed cases

Manitoba has 25 confirmed and 11 presumptive cases

New Brunswick has 33 confirmed cases

Repatriated Canadians account for 13 confirmed cases

Prince Edward Island has nine confirmed cases

Yukon has three confirmed cases

Northwest Territories has one confirmed case

Nunavut reports no confirmed cases.

6:45 p.m. The University of Ottawa announced it’ll be cancelling its spring convocation scheduled for June 7 to the 10. Students will still graduate on time and receive their degrees.

6:40 p.m. Another 66 people in British Columbia have been diagnosed with COVID-19 for a total of 725 cases in the province.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says there are no new deaths. Fourteen people have died from COVID-19 in the province.

5:39 p.m. The U.S. now leads the world in confirmed coronavirus cases, The New York Times reports. In the United States, at least 81,321 people are known to have been infected with the coronavirus, and more than 1,000 of them have died. The total amounts to more cases than China, Italy or any other country has seen, according to data gathered by the Times.

With 330 million residents, the U.S. is the world’s third-most populous nation. It provides a vast pool of people who can potentially get COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

5:35 p.m. Alberta has identified 67 new cases of COVID-19, bringing its total to 486.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province’s chief medical health officer, says the cases include 13 at the McKenzie Towne Continuing Care Centre in Calgary. The virus was linked to one death at that centre earlier this week.

Hinshaw says 27 Albertans have so far recovered from COVID-19.

4:35 p.m. Saskatchewan is reporting nine more cases of COVID-19, increasing the province’s total to 95.

The government says three people have recovered from the virus, while five others have been hospitalized. It says two patients are in intensive care.

4:34 p.m. There are 3,910 confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 cases in Canada, according to The Canadian Press. Eleven of these are presumptive, 3,899 confirmed, and 185 resolved. There have been 39 deaths.

Quebec has 1,629 confirmed, including eight deaths and one resolved

Ontario has 858 confirmed, including 15 deaths and eight resolved

British Columbia has 659 confirmed, including 14 deaths and 173 resolved

Alberta has 419 confirmed, including two deaths

Saskatchewan has 95 confirmed, including three resolved

Newfoundland and Labrador has 82 confirmed

Nova Scotia has 73 confirmed

Manitoba has 25 confirmed, 11 presumptive

New Brunswick has 33 confirmed

Repatriated Canadians account for 13 confirmed cases

Prince Edward Island has nine confirmed

Yukon has three confirmed

Northwest Territories has one confirmed

Nunavut has no confirmed cases.

4:15 p.m. Vancouver is opening two emergency response centres in its downtown to provide additional spaces for homeless people.

4:10 p.m. Prince Edward Island is reporting four more cases of COVID-19, raising the provincial total to nine. Chief public health officer Dr. Heather Morrison says the latest cases are all travel related.

4:01 p.m. Toronto has 339 confirmed cases of COVID-19, an increase of 31 over the last 24 hours. Twenty-two people are in hospital, 10 are in the ICU. There have been four deaths overall so far.

Twenty-five per cent of Toronto COVID-19 cases are attributed to community spread, says Dr. Eileen de Villa, medical officer of health for the City of Toronto.

There have been three outbreaks of two or more cases in long-term-care homes.

De Villa says some homeless shelters continue to hold beds that are less than six feet apart, and that they are working to address the issue.

Hotels in the city have already received individuals from the shelter population who need to isolate and be tested, de Villa said.

She pointed out that in Nova Scotia and Quebec people are being fined for failing to comply with social-distancing orders and that some European cities have banned leaving home except for weekly shopping trips.

De Villa warned that if Toronto residents fail to follow the protective measures, they may see stronger ones, “affecting our civil liberties,” put in place.

3:54 p.m. Toronto Mayor John Tory, freshly out of travel-triggered isolation, tells the daily news conference he strongly urges all property owners to help tenants stay in their homes amid the COVID-19 crisis.

3:20 p.m. Ontario says it will ramp up capacity to conduct around 18,900 COVID-19 tests a day by mid-April.

The government says it will gradually increase testing by 3,000 to 4,000 per week as it moves toward that target.

The province does 3,000 COVID-19 tests a day, and will increase to 5,000 a day later this week.

There is a testing backlog of nearly 11,000 cases, which the province hopes to have cleared by early next week.

3:15 p.m. Luminato Festival, Toronto’s international “festival of arts and ideas,” announced it’s cancelling its festival scheduled for June 11 to the 28.

2:45 p.m. Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister is pushing back a promised cut to the provincial sales tax, because of the financial strain of fighting COVID-19.

Pallister says the novel coronavirus is taking a toll on the economy, and the province will drain hundreds of millions of dollars from its rainy day fund within three months.

Pallister also says the province is looking at borrowing more than a billion dollars.

2:30 p.m. Saskatchewan is temporarily suspending eviction hearings over COVID-19.

The government announced starting immediately the Office of Residential Tenancies will not accept applications for missed or late rent.

2 p.m.: New Brunswick is reporting seven new cases of COVID-19 in the province Thursday, bringing the provincial total to 33.

Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Jennifer Russell says all seven new cases are travel-related. She says the current testing regime is focused on testing those most at risk.

Russell says she expects more people to be tested once the province sees any cases of community transmission.

1:50 p.m.: Global cases of COVID-19 have now eclipsed 500,000, according to Johns Hopkins’ ongoing tally. China, Italy and the U.S. lead the way, accounting for roughly 235,000 of the confirmed cases.

1:48 p.m.: Premier Doug Ford says it is “disgusting” that Pusateri’s is charging $30 for hand wipes. A “furious” Ford says cabinet will impose measures to stop price gouging.

1:30 p.m.: Newfoundland and Labrador chief medical officer Dr. Janice Fitzgerald confirmed 15 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday afternoon.

This brings the total number of cases to 82. Fitzgerald says all of those cases are recovering at home.

The majority of cases have come from the province’s Eastern health region. Minister John Haggie added that nine of the cases are health workers from the region.

1:25 p.m.: A 91-year-old man from Quebec’s Laurentians region who lived in a seniors’ home is the eighth person to succumb to COVID-19 in the province.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault says the province now has 1,629 confirmed cases of COVID-19, an increase of 290 from the day before.

1:20 p.m.: Premier Doug Ford says 72 COVID-19 assessment centres are open across Ontario.

1:18 p.m.: The TTC will likely require at least tens of millions of dollars in financial assistance to cope with what the agency describes as an unprecedented ridership drop caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more from the Star’s Ben Spurr.

1:15 p.m.: Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster said in a message to employees Thursday that the transit agency is “donating” 18,000 face masks to health workers. The regional transit agency, which oversees GO Transit, had been stockpiling the equipment as part of its pandemic planning, but in a March 20 letter Ontario Associate Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Barbara Yaffe advised Verster that masks were not recommended for GO workers.

In a March 24 letter to Yaffe, Manny Sforza, international vice president of Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents 2,000 Metrolinx employees, accused the transit agency of reneging on its promise to provide the masks to bus drivers and other front line workers, and claimed provincial health officials weren’t being transparent.

Sforza wrote that he accepted masks that had been intended for transit workers might need to be redirected to the health care sector, but “there needs to be an honest discussion about this reality rather than manoeuvres behind the backs of the workers whose (personal protective equipment) is being ‘donated.’ ”

1:05 p.m.: Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says any move by the United States to send American soldiers to the border to intercept illegal migrants would be seen as damaging to Canada’s relationship with the United States.

Freeland says Canada has made its position clear at a number of levels, including at the health and political levels that such a step would be unnecessary and not appropriate, given the current public health situation in Canada involving the coronavirus.

She said keeping the border free of military presence is an important symbol of the close ties between the Canada and the U.S. and their close military partnership.

12:58 p.m.: The British Columbia government is taking what is says are “unprecedented steps” to protect supply chains for goods and services, and stop the resale of food and medical supplies.

Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth issued a series of orders today to establish a unit to co-ordinate the distribution of goods and services, and he is allowing deliveries to be made at any time of the day.

The resale of food, medical supplies, personal protective equipment and cleaning products has also been banned.

12:50 p.m.: Prince Edward Island’s top medical official said one person is considered to have recovered from COVID-19 and that there were no new cases of the virus on Thursday. Five people have contracted the illness in the province.

12:45 p.m.: Canada’s chief public health officer says random checks will be done to ensure Canadians returning to Canada from abroad are following the new mandatory 14-day quarantine.

Dr. Theresa Tam says contact information about travellers will be collected when they arrive at the border to allow for followup, which could include visits to their homes.

She says federal health officials will be working closely with local public health agencies to enforce the mandatory quarantine, which could lead to fines or prison time if breached.

Tam also said recent data on COVID-19 cases in Canada show one per cent of cases have been fatal, which means Canada’s health system is not yet overwhelmed.

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12:45 p.m.: Ontario is liberalizing liquor licensing laws to allow restaurants to temporarily sell beer, wine, and spirits to go.

Tourism Culture and Heritage Minister Lisa MacLeod told 1,250 industry participants on an electronic town hall Thursday that “our government is helping bars, restaurants and pubs by allowing the sale and delivery of alcohol.

12:30 p.m.: Nova Scotia is reporting five new confirmed cases of COVID-19 for an overall total of 73 confirmed cases in the province.

The province says most of the cases are travel-related or connected to earlier cases, although one of the new cases can’t currently be linked to travel or an earlier case. The 73 individuals affected range in age from under 10 to mid-70s and two patients are currently in hospital.

12:28 p.m.: Canada is discouraging the United States from sending American soldiers to the border to intercept illegal migrants who could spread the COVID-19 contagion, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday.

Trudeau confirmed that the two countries are discussing the possibility, which was first reported by Global News.

“Canada and the U.S. have the longest unmilitarized border in the world, and it is very much in both of our interests for it to remain that way,” Trudeau said during his daily briefing outside Rideau Cottage in Ottawa.

“We have been in discussions with the U.S. on this.”

12:21 p.m.: China says it is temporarily barring most foreigners from entering the country as it seeks to curb the number of imported coronavirus cases.

The foreign ministry announced late Thursday that even foreign citizens with residence permits will be prevented from entering starting on Saturday. All visa-free transit policies will also be temporarily suspended.

It said diplomatic workers will be exempt, and foreign citizens coming to China for “necessary economic, trade, scientific or technological activities or out of emergency humanitarian needs” can still apply for visas.

12:20 p.m.: The Manitoba government is reporting another probable case of COVID-19, bringing the total of probable and confirmed cases to 36. The latest case is a Winnipeg man in his 20s who is believed to be linked to a previously known patient.

The provincial lab has been able to ramp up testing, and ran 734 tests on Wednesday. Health officials are expanding testing to include people with respiratory symptoms who work in health care, who live in remote communities, or who live in group settings such as nursing homes and shelters.

11:45 a.m.: According to the province’s data Thursday morning, of the 22 new cases reported in Toronto, 13 are younger than 40 years old. This includes a female under 20, three women in their 20s and two men in their 20s. Three men and three women in their 30s also tested positive.

11:40 a.m.: The federal government is asking banks and credit-card companies to lower interest rates on Canadians struggling financially because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Finance Minister Bill Morneau is in talks with Canadian banks asking them to look at ways to help Canadians struggling to pay their bills.

Trudeau says the government is also looking at extending lower-interest credit directly to consumers.

The prime minister also said he is in talks with the United States about ensuring the Canada-U.S. border remains free of military presence after Global News reports the U.S. may be looking at deploying troops to the border to stop illegal border crossers. “We have highlighted that the fact that the Canada-U.S. border is the longest unmilitarized border in the world” that has benefited both countries. It should stay that way, Trudeau says.

11:27 a.m.: Trudeau says if travellers returning to Canada don’t go into quarantine for two weeks, they could face huge fines and even jail time. The maximum penalty is a $1 million fine and three years in prison.

11:25 a.m.: Among the 170 new COVID-19 cases in Ontario are people who had travelled to Spain, Egypt, Germany and the U.K. At least 12 of the new patients have been hospitalized, including a Toronto woman in her 20s. Five of the hospitalized patients hail from Lambton, Ont., and are all aged over 60. According to the latest update, 38,550 people have been tested — 26,727 are negative; 10,965 cases are under investigation and eight cases are resolved.

11:15 a.m.: Ontario reports 170 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the provincial total to 858. It’s the biggest one-day spike in new cases since the outbreak begin. The number of deaths reported in the province is 13, the same as Wednesday.

10:30 a.m.: Toronto Coun. Joe Cressy announces TOArtist COVID-19 Response Fund established by Toronto Arts Council and Toronto Arts Foundation to offer grants up to $1,000 “to support Toronto artists dealing with the profound economic impacts of COVID-19.”

9 a.m.: The Blue Jays had today circled on the calendar for months. The season opener was going to be the moment Toronto unveiled its biggest free-agent acquisition — at least in terms of dollars — in franchise history. A diminished Boston team, fresh off an off-season fire sale, was positioned to become Hyun-Jin Ryu’s first victim. Instead the MLB season has been put on hold. Read the column from the Star’s Gregor Chisholm.

8:20 a.m. New signs will be posted at City of Toronto parks Thursday. All playgrounds and parks amenities are closing in the wake of coronavirus.

7:58 a.m.: The number of coronavirus infections was set to top a half-million worldwide Thursday as both Italy and the United States appeared poised to surpass China, where the pandemic began, and Spain’s death toll climbed to more than 4,000. Health care systems in Europe and New York buckled under the strain.

Faced with the spread of the pandemic, the U.S. Senate passed a $2.2 trillion economic rescue package steering aid to businesses, workers and health care facilities.

At least 2.8 billion people are under severe travel restrictions. But the head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, scolded world leaders for wasting precious time in the fight against the virus that has already killed more than 22,000 people and infected over 480,000, thrown millions out of work and ravaged the world economy.

“The time to act was actually more than a month ago or two months ago,” he said Wednesday. “We squandered the first window of opportunity. . . . This is a second opportunity, which we should not squander and do everything to suppress and control this virus.”

5:10 a.m.: The City of Pitt Meadows, B.C., is asking for tax deferrals and financial supports from the province.

Mayor Bill Dingwall, along with 19 other mayors in the region have requested, in writing on March 23, an expansion of the Provincial Property Tax Deferment Program to include residential, business and non-profit organizations.

Dingwall says the pandemic has caused a financial strain on everyone, particularly families and small business.

The province, under the Community Charter, has the authority to defer property taxes for municipalities, which are due on the first regular business day after Canada Day.

4:59 a.m.: Turkey’s trade minister says the country is restricting the export of respirator-related medical equipment in order to meet domestic needs.

Ruhsar Pekcan said on Twitter Thursday that the export of equipment including ventilators, intubation devices and intensive care monitors would be subject to government authorization.

The measure aims to ensure that a “disruption to the health services does not occur and the existing capacity is used effectively,” the minister said.

Turkey has reported 59 COVID-19 deaths and at least 2,433 infections.

4:41 a.m.: U.S. deaths from the coronavirus pandemic topped 1,000 in another grim milestone for a global outbreak that is taking lives and wreaking havoc on economies and the established routines of ordinary life.

In a recognition of the scale of the threat, the U.S. Senate late Wednesday passed an unparalleled $2.2 trillion economic rescue package steering aid to businesses, workers and health care systems.

4:01 a.m.: There are 3,409 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada.

Quebec: 1339 confirmed (including 6 deaths, 1 resolved)

British Columbia: 659 confirmed (including 14 deaths, 173 resolved)

Ontario: 688 confirmed (including 13 deaths, 8 resolved)

Alberta: 419 confirmed (including 2 deaths)

Saskatchewan: 86 confirmed

Nova Scotia: 68 confirmed

Newfoundland and Labrador: 4 confirmed, 63 presumptive

Manitoba: 25 confirmed, 10 presumptive

New Brunswick: 26 confirmed

Canadians quarantined at CFB Trenton: 13 confirmed

Prince Edward Island: 5 confirmed

The territories: 4 confirmed

Total: 3,409 (73 presumptive, 3,336 confirmed including 35 deaths, 182 resolved)

4 a.m.: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will confer today with leaders of the world’s biggest economies about the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He’ll be taking part in a video conference with leaders of the G20.

They are expected to talk about co-ordination of international efforts to contain the deadly virus and cushion the devastating blow to the world’s economy.

He’s also expected to use his daily news conference outside his residence to highlight the billions worth of direct financial aid the federal government is providing to help Canadians and businesses weather the crisis.

Legislation enacting $52 billion worth of financial aid and another $55 billion worth of tax deferrals was approved yesterday by Parliament but the money won’t actually start flowing for another few weeks.

4 a.m.: Advocates and front-line workers say the COVID-19 pandemic could explode within Toronto’s homeless population.

They say government actions to curb the spread of the illness may have the opposite effect on those who live without housing.

A number of drop-in and respite sites have closed, while others must limit their numbers inside.

Many feel people cannot practise safe social distancing inside those sites, nor can they easily go the bathroom or wash their hands because many food banks, restaurants and coffee shops have shut.

4 a.m.: Canada’s agriculture sector is warning of higher prices and potential food shortages if it isn’t designated an essential service.

Todd Hames, president of the Alberta Wheat Commission, says they have concerns about potential problems.

Hames says railways, the Port of Vancouver and companies that supply fuel and farm implements also need to remain open with spring seeding only weeks away.

He says it’s especially important since there have been delays in getting grain to market due to strikes and rail blockades.

4 a.m.: Canada’s cattle industry has stabilized after seeing a sharp drop in prices when the coronavirus pandemic was declared.

The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association’s executive vice-president Dennis Laycraft says the industry has been working with Agriculture Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to ensure meat-packing plants remain open.

He says the association wants to make sure that market isn’t affected and is relieved that borders are still open to beef as an essential good.

But first and foremost, he says there must be recognition of efforts to keep an adequate supply of food available to Canadians.

4 a.m.: Bill George, chair of the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association, says workable safety rules need to be developed for migrant farm workers.

He says they view farm work as an essential service, but sometimes it would be hard to maintain the six feet minimum separation.

He says either they to find a way around the separation distance or potentially look at relying on other countries to supply produce.

George says each day of delay increases the risk of crops not being planted in time — something that Canadians could see reflected at the grocery store.

With files from The Canadian Press.

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