By Canadian Press

The latest developments on COVID-19 in Canada

Mar 12, 2020 | 8:12 AM

The latest news on the novel coronavirus and the illness dubbed COVID-19 (all times Eastern):

9:40 a.m.

The city of Toronto is announcing a COVID-19 task force, to be led by the city’s fire chief.

The task force will plan for various responses to the novel coronavirus, including staff absenteeism and its impact on delivering core services.

It will also look at global supply chain challenges for personal protective equipment for front-line workers and first responders and how best to protect vulnerable people such as long-term care residents and people experiencing homelessness.

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Toronto Public Health is currently monitoring 18 cases of COVID-19.

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9:37 a.m.

Government statistics show that Ontario’s hospital emergency rooms were already experiencing high wait times in January, the month the first COVID-19 cases began appearing in the province.

That month, patients waited an average of 1.8 hours to first be assessed by a doctor in the emergency department — the longest in the past year.

During the same month, the latest figures that are available, patients ultimately admitted to hospital spent 18.3 hours in emergency — the longest in the past year, tied with January 2019.

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9:35 a.m.

Ontario says the province’s first wave of dedicated assessment centres for COVID-19 will open in the next several days.

The facilities will be at the Brampton Civic Hospital,

The Ottawa Hospital, North York General Hospital, Mackenzie Health, Scarborough Health Network and Trillium Health Partners.

More centres are set to open across the province in the coming weeks and will be separate spaces to protect patients in the rest of the hospital.

The province has also approved new physician billing codes for telephone assessments and is launching a provincewide public education campaign with ads on social media, search engines, radio and in print.

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9:30 a.m. 

Warner Bros. Television confirms the Vancouver-based production of its series “Riverdale” has been halted due to concerns about COVID-19.

A statement from the studio says it has been informed that a member of the teen drama, which is based on the characters of the Archie comics, was recently in contact with someone who has tested positive for the disease caused by a novel coronavirus.

Warner Bros. does not say if the Riverdale staffer is a member of the cast or crew.

The statement says the studio is working with authorities and health agencies in Vancouver to identify and connect with all individuals who may have come into direct contact with its team member, and production is suspended “out of an abundance of caution.”

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9:11 a.m.

Yukon Premier Sandy Silver says he’s opting not to attend today’s First Minister’s meeting in Ottawa out of an abundance of caution.

Silver also says a minister in his government has self-isolated and is being tested for COVID-19.

He says Energy, Mines, and Resources Minister Ranj Pillai has taken the measures after attending last week’s Prospectors and Developers Convention in Toronto.

There are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the territory.

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9:08 a.m.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has cancelled a planned appearance at the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Trudeau was set to address agency staff at 10:00 a.m. this morning, but the event was cancelled roughly an hour before it was set to begin.

No reason for the cancellation was immediately available.

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8:47 a.m.  

A spokeswoman for New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs says he will not attend the first ministers meeting today in Ottawa now that his province has reported its first presumptive case of COVID-19.

Spokeswoman Nicolle Carlin said this morning Higgs has decided he must stay in New Brunswick.

On Wednesday, Higgs said the Ottawa meeting should be held via teleconference, noting there is a travel ban for New Brunswick government employees as a result of the pandemic.

Dr. Jennifer Russell, New Brunswick’s chief medical officer, says health officials learned Wednesday that a woman between 50 and 60 years old living in the southeastern area of the province was “minimally symptomatic” after returning from a trip to France.

New Brunswick is the first Atlantic province to report a presumptive case of the disease.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 12, 2020.

The Canadian Press