Every day in Canada, a lot of news regarding COVID-19 comes out nationally and locally.
And for now, we will be putting together Montreal and Canada’s top headlines daily to help digest the news in one place.
Throughout the day, you can see all the headlines in real-time here.
Top coronavirus stories for April 29, as of 5 pm ET:
Quebec confirms 79 more coronavirus deaths as cases spike past 26,500
The Quebec government revealed that the province’s COVID-19-related death toll has reached 1,761 after announcing 79 new deaths since Tuesday afternoon.
As part of Quebec’s daily briefings, Deputy Premier Genevieve Guilbault stood in for Premier François Legault and updated the provincial numbers. Quebec now has 26,594 known cases and 1,648 hospitalized patients, 222 of whom are in intensive care.
A total of 183,222 cases have turned up negative throughout Quebec.
Quebec announces dates to reopen certain regions throughout the province
Genevieve Guilbault announced dates to reopen certain regions throughout the province.
Guilbault said the idea is to “progressively” withdraw police control and roadblocks to certain regions throughout Quebec to allow people to move between areas.
“We are still asking Quebecers to avoid moving around if they don’t have to,” said the deputy premier in French. “If it’s not essential, we have to continue to follow the same guidelines we’ve done in the past few weeks.”
$9 billion student emergency benefit to be introduced today: Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the legislation on the $9 billion student benefit plan, which was announced last week, will be introduced on Wednesday afternoon.
Trudeau acknowledged that students, who are normally happy to see May and exams over, are anxious.
“There are many of you out there who don’t know what you’re going to do in the coming months,” he said, adding that students are wondering how to pay for tuition in the coming year.
Over half of businesses lost at least 20% of revenue in March: StatsCan
More than half of the businesses in Canada have lost at least 20% of their revenue due to the ongoing pandemic.
On Wednesday, Statistics Canada and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce released a report based on a online survey from 12,600 business responses taken from April 3 to April 24.
The report found that 32.3% of the businesses that responded said their revenue was down by over 40% in the first quarter of 2020. Another 21.2% said their revenues had revenue decrease by 20% to 40% over the same time period.
Street parking restrictions in Montreal will go into effect May 1
As the calendar prepares to flip to a new month, the City of Montreal is reinstating street parking restrictions.
Last month, the city delayed April 1’s street cleaning operations and its corresponding fines as a result of the pandemic.
On Tuesday, Montreal announced that restrictions will be in effect as of May 1 and asked citizens to “comply with all parking restrictions” in order for maintenance crews to do their jobs.
Roots donates medical masks, $500K in products, repurposes its Canadian factory
Roots is donating $500,000 in products to frontline healthcare workers as well as medical masks, and repurposing its Canadian factory to produce non-medical masks amid the pandemic.
The Canadian outdoor lifestyle brand said its product donations are being repurposed as scrubs at local medical facilities. It has also donated “Comfort Kits” filled with Roots products to frontline healthcare workers.
“Supporting the communities where we live, work and do business has been at the heart of what we do for more than four decades,” said Meghan Roach, Interim Chief Executive officer.
Trudeau confirms the CFL is asking for federal government money
Justin Trudeau confirmed that the CFL has asked for financial support from the federal government, as the all-Canadian league faces the prospect of having to cancel the 2020 season.
Trudeau was asked about the CFL requesting $150 million in federal money, following a report by the Canadian Press.
“With regards to the Canadian Football League, we’re looking at how we can support various organizations because we do recognize it’s an important issue for them, for the league, and for many Canadians, and so we’re pursuing our discussions with them,” Trudeau said on Wednesday.
10-year-old cancer patient offers “essential” candies to hospital staff
If you’re looking for some mid-week uplifting, 10-year-old Kayla Campilii has got you covered.
Montreal Children’s Hospital has shared an inspiring story of how Campilii had been spending her quarantine from a hospital wing.
She’s been hospitalized during chemotherapy treatment in the Children’s Hematology-Oncology unit after a relapse.
Mayor urges Montrealers to start wearing face masks in public
Mayor Valérie Plante and Montreal’s Public Health Director, Mylène Drouin, are urging citizens to wear face masks as the province attempts to reopen schools and businesses.
Mask wearing won’t be mandatory, whether homemade or purchased, and you won’t be fined or stopped by city officials for not wearing one, said Plante.
Given that Montreal has been hit hard by the virus, Plante and Drouin say that since the city is so densely populated, it might be difficult to stay two metres away from others at all times.
Plante says it’s safer for citizens to cover their faces if they can’t keep two metres away, citing packed buses and metros as examples.
Over 250,000 people sign petition to keep Quebec schools closed
Over a quarter of a million people have signed an online petition to halt Quebec from reopening primary schools.
On April 11, the petition was launched on the change.org website after Quebec Premier François Legault’s initial announcement that schools could open in May.
The petition has gained further traction since Monday’s news that schools throughout the province will open on May 11 (and May 19 in Montreal and Laval).
Starbucks plans to resume operations across Canada
Starbucks Canada has announced plans to resume operations in as many stores as possible by the end of May.
To start, Starbucks will offer drive-thru, delivery, and pick-up only service across the country.
From there, Starbucks will be monitoring and adjusting operations as needed, including making decisions to open additional stores or expanding services such as curbside pick-up or walk-in orders on a “community-by-community basis.”
Starbucks will be working closely with local leadership, health authorities, and the provincial government as the environment and regulations change.