Canada coronavirus deaths jump 20%

OTTAWA: The number of people killed by the coronavirus in Canada has jumped by just over 20 per cent to 258 in a day, officials said on Sunday (Apr 5), while Ottawa offered full-time jobs to reservists in the armed forces.

By 11:05 eastern time (1505 GMT), the total number of those diagnosed with the coronavirus had risen by almost 12 per cent to 14,426, the public health agency said. The respective figures on Saturday were 214 deaths and 12,924 positive diagnoses.

READ: Coronavirus spreads to all Canadian provinces

The outbreak looks set to tip the economy into recession and the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has already announced stimulus measures totaling CUS$105 billion (US$74 billion) in direct spending, or five per cent of gross domestic product.

Trudeau said his government was contacting reservists across the country to offer them full-time jobs for the coming months.

READ: Canada’s Trudeau remains in isolation after wife recovers from coronavirus

“Bolstering the military’s ranks will help offset some of the economic consequences of COVID-19 and ensure our communities are well supported,” he told a daily briefing.

Canada has around 31,000 reservists, most of whom serve one evening a week and one weekend a month. There are just over 67,000 full-time members of the armed forces.