The latest novel coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Sunday (this file is no longer updating. Read the latest coverage here.). Web links to longer stories if available.

10:45 p.m.: The Hospital for Sick Children confirmed late Sunday evening that a teenage patient tested positive for COVID-19 and is currently in an isolation room and is stable. Other patients in the same unit were also tested — all results came back negative, the hospital noted.

“SickKids is actively investigating how the virus was transmitted to the patient and is working closely with Toronto Public Health,” they wrote in a statement. “At this time we believe the risk to patients, families and staff is low.”

9:15 p.m.: British Columbia health officials are pondering how to reopen long-term care facilities to visits from family members.

The province’s seniors advocate, Isobel Mackenzie, said she and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry are looking at “safely” opening up care homes to some form of visits from family members.

“One of the very important pieces is that family members are, first of all, able to support their loved one in the care home, and secondly are able to be reassured of what is happening in care homes by being the eyes that see and the ears that hear what is going on in the care homes,” she said.

6:22 p.m.: After three consecutive days of slowing epidemic growth, Ontario’s regional health units reported an uptick in new COVID-19 cases Sunday, according to the Star’s latest count.

As of 6 p.m. Sunday, the health units have reported a total of 15,812 confirmed or probable cases, a jump of 576 cases from the same time Saturday. That works out to a 3.8 per cent daily increase that, although up from the previous day, is still low relative to past weeks.

On a percentage basis, daily growth has slowed greatly from the rapid increases seen in late March: In the second half of that month, the province saw an average daily growth of 20 per cent, a rate that doubled Ontario’s case count about every four days. In the first half of April that rate slowed to an average of 9.5 per cent daily growth, or doubling about every eight days. And the days since have averaged increases of less than 5 per cent daily, or a doubling time of around two weeks.

Despite the trend of lower growth in new cases, dozens of people continue to die of COVID-19 in Ontario each day. Since Saturday evening, the health units have reported another 48 fatal cases, including another 21 in Toronto.

A total of 948 people have now died of the disease. Most of those deaths have come in a long-term care home or retirement home.

Earlier Sunday, the province also reported 938 patients are now hospitalized with COVID-19, including 252 in intensive care, of whom 195 are on a ventilator, totals that are up slightly in recent days. The province also says 8,000 patients who have tested positive for the coronavirus have now recovered from the disease.

Ontario’s 34 regional health units collect and publish case data often before reporting to the province through a central reporting system. Therefore, the Star’s count is more current than the data the province puts out each morning.

The province says its data is accurate to 4 p.m. the previous day. The province also cautions its latest count of total deaths — 835 — may be incomplete or out of date due to delays in the reporting system, saying that in the event of a discrepancy, “data reported by (the health units) should be considered the most up to date.”

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.

5:15 p.m.: British Columbia has announced an additional $500,000 to help support caregivers and seniors as part of the province’s emergency COVID-19 response plan.

The province’s seniors advocate Isobel Mackenzie says this doubles the funding to Family Caregivers of B.C. to $1 million for the year and will help expand toll-free support line hours, emotional supports and health-care navigation.

Family Caregivers of B.C. is a not-for-profit organization that supports people who care for senior citizens.

5:12 p.m.: The City of Toronto confirmed that there were 4,798 cases of COVID-19 by Sunday afternoon and 274 deaths in total. Municipal officials added that they received 149 complaints yesterday about people using outdoor facilities or not practicing physical distancing in public parks — and as such have issued 28 tickets.

They also received 21 complaints on Saturday about non-essential businesses remaining open despite the state of emergency. “Since March 24, Municipal Licensing & Standards and Toronto Public Health have issued 76 tickets and 159 notices to non-essential businesses,” a press release read.

4:54 p.m.: Canada’s top military officer is urging his troops to reach out for help if it’s required, as the use of mental-health services for military personnel has reached an all-time low.

In an open letter to all Canadian Armed Forces members, chief of the defence staff Gen. Jonathan Vance said there may be legitimate reasons fewer of service members are calling military helplines or accessing mental-health professionals.

“Use of help lines and access to mental-health professionals is at an all-time low,” Vance wrote.

“There may be some valid reasons for this, but I would like to encourage anyone who needs to reach out or access mental-health therapy to do so.”

The decline in use of mental-health services by military personnel contrasts with reports of a surge in demand at civilian crisis centres and other mental-health organizations, with some reporting up to 50 per cent more calls from Canadians in distress.

4 p.m.: There are 46,644 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada according to The Canadian Press.

-Quebec: 24,107 confirmed (including 1,515 deaths, 5,342 resolved)

-Ontario: 14,432 confirmed (including 835 deaths, 8,000 resolved)

-Alberta: 4,233 confirmed (including 73 deaths, 1,471 resolved)

-British Columbia: 1,948 confirmed (including 100 deaths, 1,137 resolved)

-Nova Scotia: 873 confirmed (including 24 deaths, 439 resolved)

-Saskatchewan: 353 confirmed (including 4 deaths, 288 resolved)

-Manitoba: 267 confirmed (including 6 deaths, 199 resolved)

-Newfoundland and Labrador: 258 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 219 resolved)

-New Brunswick: 118 confirmed (including 111 resolved)

-Prince Edward Island: 26 confirmed (including 24 resolved)

-Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved)

-Yukon: 11 confirmed (including 8 resolved)

-Northwest Territories: 5 confirmed (including 5 resolved)

-Nunavut: No confirmed cases

-Total: 46,644 (0 presumptive, 46,644 confirmed including 2,560 deaths, 17,256 resolved)

3:10 p.m.: European governments began stepping up planning for the next phase of their fight against the spread of the coronavirus, as countries at the heart of the outbreak reported fewer deaths from the disease.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte confirmed plans for a gradual reopening, and he’ll speak at a news conference Sunday evening. France is set to announce easing measures this week.

“We cannot prolong this any longer,” Conte told the La Repubblica newspaper. Italy on Sunday reported the fewest deaths since March 14 and France counted the fewest in a month. Spain’s smallest increase in more than a month came as it prepares to ease one of the world’s strictest lockdowns.

Italy will gradually restart its economy and allow people limited movement beginning on May 4, Conte said in the Repubblica interview.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Saturday he expects to approve a further relaxing of the country’s confinement. Measures due to be approved on Tuesday include allowing outdoor exercise and walks after May 2.

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe will present a plan to unwind his country’s lockdown on Tuesday. The government intends to ease some of the measures, with schools set to be first to reopen, though officials haven’t finalized their plans, according to news reports.

2:17 p.m.: Authorities at a federal institution in British Columbia say they have stepped up precautionary measures after more than 100 inmates tested positive for the new coronavirus.

A news release from the Correctional Service of Canada says Mission Institution federal prison has added hand-washing stations, increased hygiene supplies throughout the institution, given masks to all inmates and staff and continues to disinfect high-contact surfaces multiple times a day.

On Saturday, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said a total of 106 inmates — including two in hospital — and 12 staff members tested positive for COVID-19.

The facility says it has modified routines in the institution to respect physical distancing measures by “making every effort” to give inmates time outside of their cells.

1:45 p.m.: Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the 367 deaths from the coronavirus that he reported Sunday were “horrific,” but the number was less than half the nearly 800 deaths that occurred in a single day during the pandemic’s peak in New York.

It is the first time this month that the statewide daily death toll has been below 400.

He also reported that the number of hospitalizations, which still topped 1,000, and the number of individuals put on a ventilator had dropped as well.

1:40 p.m.: Quebec is reporting 69 new deaths linked to COVID-19, bringing the total number of deaths to 1,515.

The province is also reporting 24,107 confirmed cases — an additional 840 cases compared to Saturday.

Premier Francois Legault will begin outlining a timeline for the reopening of the province’s schools and economy this week.

On Monday, Quebec is expected to detail how it intends to manage the return for students, who’ve been off since schools were shuttered on March 13.

12:45 p.m.: Public Health officials are reporting no new cases of COVID-19 in New Brunswick Sunday.

New Brunswick has 118 confirmed cases, and 111 people have recovered.

Four people remain hospitalized, and there are no patients in an intensive care unit.

The first phase of the provincial government’s COVID-19 recovery plan began on Friday.

12:30 p.m.: Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce says “all publicly-funded schools will remain closed until at least May 31, 2020, as part of an effort to keep students, staff and families safe from COVID-19”.

“The extension was based on expert advice from the Chief Medical Officer of Health and health officials on the COVID-19 Command Table and is part of the government’s ongoing effort to stop the spread of the virus,” the news release said.

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“The advice was to extend school closures for an additional period of time to permit updated modelling and data to inform next steps, given the government’s absolute commitment to safety.”

Schools have been closed over the COVID-19 pandemic since March 23, the first day after spring break, with two million students affected.

Most recently, at the end of March, the government said schools would remain closed until at least May 4.

12 p.m.: Nova Scotia is reporting two more deaths related to COVID-19, bringing the provincial total to 24.

Both deaths occurred at the Northwood long-term care home in Halifax Regional Municipality.

As of today, Nova Scotia has eight new confirmed cases of COVID-19 for a total of 873.

There are 10 licensed long-term care homes and unlicensed seniors’ facilities in Nova Scotia with cases of COVID-19, involving 197 residents and 95 staff.

11:47 a.m.: International superstar Drake will close tonight’s historic “Stronger Together, Tous Ensemble” broadcast with a special message to all Canadians.

Celine Dion, Justin Bieber and Ryan Reynolds are among the stars slated to appear in the multi-platform event centred around a $150-million campaign to provide support to Food Banks Canada.

The broadcast will air commercial-free this evening from 6:30 p.m. – 8:04 p.m. across all markets (7 p.m. – 8:34 p.m. NT).

Broadcasters also confirmed today that the benefit will be available for free to stream on CTV.ca, CBC.ca, and GlobalTV.com beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET.

11 a.m.: Even on a day in which Ontario labs reported one of their largest single-day tallies of completed COVID-19 tests, the province’s regional health units continued to see slowing growth in new cases of the disease, according to the Star’s latest count.

As of 11 a.m. Sunday, the health units have reported a total of 15,347 confirmed or probable cases, a jump of 459 cases from the same time Saturday, or a low 3.1 per cent increase.

Both numbers were lower than the same period between Friday and Saturday mornings despite the fact the province reported its labs completed nearly 1,500 more COVID-19 tests yesterday, up to 12,020 from 10,578 the day prior.

In general, the health units have reported higher case totals following days with more completed tests, and a falling rate of test positivity may be evidence the epidemic’s growth is flattening in Ontario.

On a percentage basis, daily growth has slowed greatly from the rapid increases seen in late March: In the second half of that month, the province saw an average daily growth of 20 per cent, a rate that doubled Ontario’s case count about every four days. In the first half of April that rate slowed to an average of 9.5 per cent daily growth, or doubling about every eight days. And the days since have averaged increases of less than 5 per cent daily, or a doubling time of around two weeks.

Despite lower growth in new cases, dozens of people continue to die of COVID-19 in Ontario each day. Since Saturday morning, the health units have reported another 51 fatal cases, including dozens more in several stricken seniors homes. Most of Ontario’s COVID-19 deaths have come in a long-term care home or retirement home.

Earlier Sunday, the province also reported 938 patients are now hospitalized with COVID-19, including 252 in intensive care, of whom 195 are on a ventilator, totals that are up slightly in recent days. The province also says 8,000 patients who have tested positive for the coronavirus have now recovered from the disease.

Ontario’s 34 regional health units collect and publish case data often before reporting to the province through a central reporting system. Therefore, the Star’s count is more current than the data the province puts out each morning.

The province says its data is accurate to 4 p.m. the previous day. The province also cautions its latest count of total deaths — 835 — may be incomplete or out of date due to delays in the reporting system, saying that in the event of a discrepancy, “data reported by (the health units) should be considered the most up to date.”

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.

10:01 a.m.: Pro-democracy demonstrators gathered in a Hong Kong mall on Sunday, chanting pro-democracy slogans despite a ban on gatherings. Police entered the Cityplaza shopping mall in Tai Koo to disperse the crowds.

The demonstration follows the arrests last week of 15 former lawmakers and pro-democracy activists on charges stemming from huge rallies that started last June against a controversial extradition bill. The bill was later withdrawn, but protests continued for several months.

Hong Kong reported no new coronavirus cases on Sunday for the third time in a week. The city has confirmed 1,038 cases, including four deaths.

9:20 a.m.: Greeted by relieved parents, pet dogs, flares and a cloud of orange smoke, a group of 25 Dutch high school students with very little sailing experience ended a trans-Atlantic voyage Sunday that was forced on them by coronavirus restrictions.

The children, ages 14 to 17, watched over by 12 experienced crew members and three teachers, were on an educational cruise of the Caribbean when the pandemic forced them to radically change their plans for returning home in March.

Instead of flying back from Cuba as originally planned, the crew and students stocked up on supplies and warm clothes and set sail for the northern Dutch port of Harlingen, a five-week voyage of nearly 7,000 kilometres, on board the 60-metre top sail schooner Wylde Swan.

The teens hugged and chanted each other’s names as they walked off the ship and into the arms of their families, who drove their cars alongside the yacht one by one to adhere to social distancing rules imposed to rein in the spread of the virus that forced the students into their long trip home.

8:05 a.m.: Mayor John Tory said he is being lobbied by special interest groups to reopen certain businesses and facilities, but that his decisions will be driven by science, not pleas or petitions.

In an interview with the Star on Thursday, he said he feels Toronto’s growing frustration with restrictions, including closed parks, but said he can’t at this time commit to a schedule for reopening them, only that when it does happen, it will happen gradually.

“Everything we do, whether it’s cemeteries, parks, golf courses — has to be done subject to a clear understanding that it’s not back to the good old days,” Tory said.

“There will be different rules that will apply, probably for some time to come, and that will change the nature of how we use all these places.”

On Friday, responding to calls for epidemiologists and safety advocates to cordon off parts of streets to create expanded sidewalks and bike lanes, Mayor John Tory announced Toronto Public Health and the transportation department have been doing research and will unveil a plan soon to address “key hotspots where there are lineups and pinch points” on sidewalks.

Contributing columnist Matt Elliott crunched the data to see where traffic lanes should be closed off so pedestrians and cyclists could practise safe social-distancing.

7:20 a.m.: China on Sunday confirmed 11 more cases of the coronavirus and no new deaths for the 11th day in a row.

It brings its official count to 82,827 infected people.

Five of the new cases were in Heilongjiang province, a northeastern border area with Russia that has seen a surge in infections. Another was in Guangdong province, a manufacturing and tech region bordering Hong Kong in the south.

The other five were imported from overseas. China has identified 1,634 imported cases in all.

Singapore reported 931 new cases to take its total to 13,624. Most of the new infections are from foreign workers’ dormitories, which have been locked down as the government struggles to curb the outbreak.

12 a.m.: Some governments have begun loosening their coronavirus restrictions. In the U.S., Georgia, Oklahoma and Alaska have begun loosening restrictions despite warnings from health officials that it may be too soon.

Even as aides develop plans to shift President Donald Trump’s public emphasis from the virus to addressing the economic crisis it has caused, Dr. Anthony Fauci at the U.S. National Institutes of Health warned against moving too quickly.

“You hear a lot about the need and the desire to get back to normal. That’s understandable,” he said. “If we don’t get control of it we will never get back to normal. I know we will, but we’ve got to do it correctly.”

Saturday 7:55 p.m.: The global death toll from the coronavirus surpassed 200,000 on Saturday as countries took cautious steps toward easing some lockdowns. The worldwide tally was compiled by Johns Hopkins University from government figures, according to The Associated Press. The actual death toll is believed to be far higher.

In India, easing restrictions meant reopening neighbourhood stores that many of the country’s 1.3 billion people rely on for everything from cold drinks to mobile phone data cards. But the loosening didn’t apply to hundreds of quarantined towns and other places hit hardest by the outbreak that has killed at least 775 people in the country and terrified its multitudes of poor who live in slum conditions too crowded for social distancing.

Saturday 6 p.m.: With 443 new COVID-19 cases reported since Friday evening, Ontario’s regional health units have seen their lowest 24-hour period of case growth in two weeks, according to the Star’s count.

Meanwhile, the health units once again reported a large number of new deaths — another 48 — bringing the province’s total to 900 since the beginning of the pandemic.

As of 5:30 p.m. Saturday, the Star has counted a total of 15,236 confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19, up just 3.0 per cent from the same time Friday — the lowest day-over-day jump in cases in the Star’s daily tally.

On a percentage basis, daily growth continues to slow greatly from the rapid increases seen in late March: In the second half of that month, the province saw an average daily growth of 20 per cent, a rate that doubled Ontario’s case count about every four days. In the first half of April that rate slowed to an average of 9.5 per cent daily growth, or doubling about every eight days. And the days since have averaged increases of less than 5 per cent daily, or a doubling time of around two weeks.

That percentage decline has been matched by a few consecutive days of lower raw totals of new cases — from a record 701 new cases on Wednesday, to 586 Thursday, to 489 Friday and now 441 — a tentative sign the epidemic’s curve may be flattening in Ontario. The last time the province’s health units reported fewer than 450 new cases in a day was April 12.

Read more of Saturday’s coverage here.