Welcome to our daily COVID-19 update. We’ll bring you the latest coronavirus news and stories about how Canadians are coping during these scary, uncertain times.
What’s the government doing? Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has agreed to work with provincial governments to guarantee every Canadian at least 10 paid sick days. The plan was pushed by NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and British Columbia Premier John Horgan. Trudeau agreed to it in exchange for the NDP’s support for his plan to reopen Parliament.
The federal government’s rent relief program for commercial landlords is now open, but applications will be staggered by province.
The CERB has now dished out more than $40 billion in emergency aid payments.
Dr. Theresa Tam said Canada’s first wave of the virus didn’t overwhelm the country’s healthcare system, but a second wave very well could. “I think you can never be overly prepared,” she said.
What’s happening across Canada? Stores reopened in Montreal yesterday, as the city’s number of COVID-19 hospitalizations have started to decrease. The province reported 85 new deaths due to the disease Monday.
In Saskatchewan, restaurants and bars are getting ready to reopen on June 8. The province confirmed two new cases Monday.
Ontario reported 404 new cases Monday.
Manitoba and New Brunswick reported no new cases Monday. Newfoundland and Labrador has now gone 18 days without any new cases.
Canada has now seen 6,545 deaths and 85,700 confirmed cases of the disease.
Lift me up. We leave you today with the news that marriage equality has reached Costa Rica. The country became the first Central American country to allow same sex couples to get married. Costa Rica’s first same sex marriage happened at midnight and was broadcast on national TV.