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

10 p.m.: Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador says his country hopes to build ventilators domestically, but is also seeking to buy 5,000 abroad as the number of coronavirus cases rose to 1,890 and the death toll reached 79 during the pandemic.

Mexico also faces a shortage of specialized doctors and has started a recruitment campaign.

9:35 p.m.: President Donald Trump warned the United States could be headed into its “toughest” weeks yet as the coronavirus toll mounts, but at the same time expressed growing impatience with social distancing guidelines.

The number of people infected in the U.S. has exceeded 300,000, with the death toll climbing past 8,100 — more than 3,500 in the state of New York.

“There will be a lot of death, unfortunately,” Trump said in a sombre start to his daily briefing on the pandemic.

Trump also spoke by phone with leaders of most of North America’s professional sports leagues.

“I want fans back in the arenas,” he said. “Whenever we’re ready, as soon as we can.”

8:55 p.m.: Chinese health authorities reported 30 new coronavirus cases, including 25 people who had arrived from overseas. The other five cases were in southern China’s Guangdong province, which borders Hong Kong.

The National Health Commission said that three more people had died, bringing the country’s death toll to 3,329. The deaths were in Wuhan, where the pandemic began.

8:50 p.m.: New York secured a planeload of ventilators from China, and Oregon was sending a shipment of its own to battle the pandemic at its U.S. core, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

The governor’s plan to force hospitals elsewhere in the state to give spare ventilators to the fight in New York City hadn’t yet materialized, however, a day after he ordered them to surrender 20 per cent of any unused supply to the National Guard for temporary redistribution.

The state got 1,000 ventilators after the Chinese government facilitated a donation from billionaires Jack Ma and Joseph Tsai, co-founders of the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, Cuomo said. He added that the state of Oregon had volunteered to send 140 more breathing machines.

4 p.m.: Premier Doug Ford stopped short of calling for retaliation against the United States in response to American restrictions on the export of much-needed supplies for front-line health-care workers. Ford, however, reminded U.S. President Donald Trump that about 1,000 health-care workers live in Windsor and cross the border to work in Detroit every day.

“How would the people in Michigan feel … if all of a sudden we said, ‘OK, the 1,000 nurses, we’re in desperate need and you need to stay here in Ontario and you aren’t going down to Michigan,’” Ford said during Saturday’s briefing.

3:55 p.m.: British Columbia’s medical health officer says she’s heartened by a decrease in the rate of people diagnosed with COVID-19 in the province. There have been 29 new cases since Friday.

Dr. Bonnie Henry says if B.C. had continued to see the previous acceleration of about 25 per cent she would have been very concerned, but the curve appears to be flattening. There were three more deaths, for a total of 38 from among 1,203 cases.

3:40 p.m.: Public health officials in Manitoba reported 12 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 194. The number of deaths remained at two.

The province is opening what it calls “alternative isolation centres” for people who may need extra support, and says housekeeping staff at acute care centres will start collecting “gently used” N95 masks for sterilization and re-use if the masks are deemed safe.

Alberta reported 1,181 confirmed cases, 106 more than Friday, with 20 deaths, an increase of two.

Saskatchewan reported 231 confirmed cases, 55 resolved, with three deaths.

2:54 p.m.: Toronto Public Health announced there are 1,026 cases of COVID-19 in the city — 823 confirmed, 203 probable — an increase of 101 from Friday. Of that total, 66 have recovered while 125 are in hospital, 53 in intensive care. There have been 25 deaths. Community spread is responsible for 27 per cent of the cases.

2:20 p.m.: The Vancouver Park Board has issued more than 1,400 warnings regarding the two-metre distance rule at city parks and beaches. More than two dozen city staff will join park rangers to help enforce the rule, after the city announced recreational areas would remain open during the COVID-19 pandemic in an effort to promote personal wellness.

2:10 p.m.: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he plans to talk to U.S. President Donald Trump about White House orders to Minnesota-based 3M to stop exporting its surgical-grade face masks.

Trudeau says he is not looking at counter-measures against this move by the U.S., but rather he believes the countries can come to a diplomatic solution.

2:05 p.m.: Ontario sent a push notification emergency alert for the second time, cautioning the public with regards to COVID-19. Premier Doug Ford reiterated in a morning press conference that everyone except essential workers should stay home, except to buy groceries or pick up medication.

1:50 p.m.: Quebec is announcing 14 more deaths connected to COVID-19, bringing the province’s total to 75. Another 896 cases of the virus have been reported in one day, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in Quebec to 6,997.

In Prince Edward Island, no new cases of COVID-19 have been reported today. Dr. Heather Morrison, the province’s chief medical officer of health, said today the island’s confirmed number of cases remains at 22. Morrison urges Islanders to not become complacent and to continue staying home in order to prevent community transmission.

In Nova Scotia, 29 new cases of COVID-19 are being reported, bringing the province’s total to 236 confirmed cases. Health officials say there is clear evidence that infections are now being spread within the community and, as a result, the province is ramping up its testing. Four individuals are currently in hospital and 50 others have now recovered.

1:35 p.m.: A cruise ship with 99 Canadians on board — 97 passengers and two crew members — has arrived in Miami. Princess Cruises says disembarkation of guests who are fit to fly will begin Sunday.

The ship has been looking for a place to dock since March 13, but no country had allowed it. Princess Cruises has said a dozen people on board have tested positive for COVID-19, while others are experiencing flu-like symptoms.

12:30 p.m.: Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting eight new cases of COVID-19, bringing the province’s total of confirmed cases to 203, The Canadian Press reports.

One of those new cases is a health-care worker at a hospital in St. Anthony, N.L.

Janice Fitzgerald, the province’s chief medical officer of health, confirmed that 153 cases have been linked to two services last month at a funeral home in St. John’s.

12:15 p.m.: Health officials in New Brunswick are confirming three new cases of COVID-19, The Canadian Press reports. That brings the province’s total to 98 confirmed cases, which includes 28 individuals who have recovered.

Officials say most of the cases are related to travel or close contacts of confirmed cases, but four cases are from community transmission and six cases remain under investigation.

Meanwhile, four patients remain in hospital, with one in the intensive care unit.

12 p.m.: Two more residents have died at the Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon, the home says, bringing the total number of COVID-19-related deaths there to 22.

The home says it is working with Public Health and the Ministry of Health to take the necessary steps to manage the outbreak. It has also increased staffing levels and is working to increase supports for its care team, including strict physical distancing for staff, and having staff wear full personal protective equipment at all times, the news release said.

11:30 a.m.: The Canadian government is giving more financial support to help the most vulnerable survive the COVID-19 pandemic, The Canadian Press reports.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced $40 million will go to Women and Gender Equality Canada, with up to $30 million to address the immediate needs of shelters and sexual assault centres.

Another $10 million will be provided to Indigenous Services Canada’s network of 46 emergency shelters.

The government also says $157.5 million will address the needs of Canadians experiencing homelessness.

Trudeau says he will speak to U.S. President Donald Trump in the coming days after the White House ordered Minnesota-based 3M to stop exporting its surgical-grade face masks.

The Prime Minister says he’s confident there will be a solution.

Trudeau also says Canada is leasing warehouses in China to manage shipments of masks and will charter a flight to have millions of masks come back.

11:20 p.m.: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will receive a shipment of “millions of masks” in the next 48 hours.

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“We’re working around the clock to get Canada the resources we need,” Trudeau said during his daily address. “We are also working with provinces to transport their medical supplies when possible.”

Along with delivering items that were ordered by Quebec, the government has leased a warehouse in China to help collect and distribute the items as quickly as possible. The delivery process will be handled by Air Canada and Cargojet.

11 a.m.: Toronto Mayor John Tory says Ontario should ban evictions for small business tenants the same way it has done for residential tenants, The Canadian Press reports.

Tory says being able to pay rent is the biggest concern he hears from small businesses in the city.

He is imploring landlords to sit down with their tenants so they can work out a way to help businesses make their rent payments at a later date.

The Ontario government banned evictions for residential tenants in March by cancelling all Landlord and Tenant Board hearings.

10:30 a.m.: Ontario’s local public health units are reporting an increase of 393 confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases and 15 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the Star’s latest count.

As of 10:30 a.m. Saturday, 113 people have died of COVID-19 in Ontario, with a total of 3,800 confirmed or probable infections reported so far, up 11.5 per cent from the same time Friday morning.

One additional death has been reported overnight, the fifth in the Haldimand-Norfolk health region, south of Hamilton.

As of Saturday morning, the province reports that 506 patients are hospitalized with COVID-19, including 196 in intensive care units. So far, a total of 1,219 patients have recovered after being infected.

The province says its data is accurate to 4 p.m. the previous day. The province also cautions its latest count of deaths — 94 — may be incomplete or out of date due to delays in its reporting system.

The Star’s count of COVID-19 cases and deaths is based on the public tallies and press releases issued by Ontario’s 34 regional health units. It includes some patients reported as “probable” COVID-19 cases, meaning they have symptoms or contacts that indicate they very likely have the disease, but have not yet received a positive lab test.

10 a.m.: Spain’s COVID-19 cases have surpassed Italy’s, with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announcing plans to extend the country’s lockdown by two weeks until April 25, Bloomberg reports.

Confirmed cases increased by 7,026 to 124,736 over the past 24 hours, according to health ministry data, while deaths rose by 809 to 11,744. Total cases are now higher than Italy’s 119,827.

A slower pace of fatalities and new cases though is offering hope that Spain’s outbreak may be edging toward a peak. Health Minister Salvador Illa said on Friday that the goal of slowing the epidemic was “within reach.”

9 a.m.: The Canadian Press reports that the region of York is closing 21 tracts of forest in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The tracts cover 2,300 hectares of land throughout the region north of Toronto. In all, 18 properties with more than 120 kilometres of trail are affected. The closure is indefinite.

Municipalities across the province have shut public facilities to try to curb the coronavirus pandemic.

9 a.m.: The Associated Press reports that residents out shopping for groceries in the locked-down town of Romans-sur-Isere, south of Lyon, France, were attacked by a man with a knife Saturday morning.

Two people have been killed and as many as seven others wounded, three critically.

Media said the man slit the throat of a Romanian man who had gone out for his daily walk — in front of his girlfriend and son — then attacked three people in a tobacco shop and another in a butcher’s shop before entering a supermarket.

Police had a man in custody who claimed to be Sudanese. The anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office was evaluating whether the attack was motivated by terrorism after reports that the assailant shouted “Allahu akbar” (God is great) as he carried out the attack.

4 a.m.: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to announce today more financial support aimed at helping the most vulnerable Canadians survive the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new announcement follows Friday’s commitment of $100 million for organizations that help get food to Canadians who can’t afford groceries or who have uncertain access to food and other basic necessities, including Indigenous Peoples and remote northern populations.

That funding is to go to groups like Food Banks Canada, Salvation Army, Second Harvest, Community Food Centres Canada, and Breakfast Club of Canada.

Government officials have said several more initiatives to help vulnerable people would follow.

In its first financial aid package, approved by Parliament last week, the federal government committed some $200 million to help shelters for homeless people and women and children fleeing domestic violence.

No details of how that funding is to be dispersed have been provided.

4 a.m.: At today’s daily briefing on the pandemic, Trudeau will likely also face more questions about U.S. President Donald Trump’s order that Minnesota-based 3M stop supplying surgical-grade face masks, known as N95 respirators, to Canada and Latin America.

Trump wants the masks, which are critical to protect frontline health care workers, reserved strictly for American use.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said federal ministers and premiers had been deployed to carry that message to their counterparts in the U.S.

She warned that the federal government is “prepared to do whatever it takes to defend the national interest.”

4 a.m.: British Columbia has temporarily modified its access to information and privacy act in response to COVID-19, lifting a requirement that personal data must be stored in Canada.

The province says the pandemic requires those who work for public bodies, such as health-care workers and teachers, to use digital communication tools that are normally restricted.

There are limits on the information health-care bodies can disclose outside Canada, so the tools can only be used to communicate about COVID-19, says the ministerial order that allows the exemption.

Other public bodies, such as educational institutions, can also disclose personal information outside Canada through the use of third-party applications under certain conditions related to their own operational requirements and the public health response to the pandemic. The disclosure of personal data must be minimized overall, the order states.

Although the new provisions are limited and temporary, advocates for privacy and civil liberties are watching closely.

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