Photo: The Canadian Press

Two women wear masks as people practice physical distancing in Calgary, Alta., Thursday, April 9, 2020, amid a worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

The latest news on the COVID-19 global pandemic (all times Eastern):

2:45 p.m.

Ontario's education minister says the province is preventing child-care centres from collecting payments while they're closed due to COVID-19.

Stephen Lecce says nobody will lose their child-care space as a result of not paying.

A spokeswoman says the emergency order is effective for payments made starting on April 9, meaning those who paid at the beginning of the month won't get their money back.

Some child-care centres that are looking after the kids of health-care and other front-line workers have remained open, but the rest were shuttered due to the pandemic.

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2:15 p.m.

A Winnipeg man in his 70s has died from COVID-19, bringing Manitoba's number of deaths to four.

The province has recorded six additional positive tests, making the province's total 230.

Ten people are in hospital, with five in intensive care.

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1:25 p.m.

The Quebec government says 25 more people have died from COVID-19, bringing the number of deaths to 241.

Premier Francois Legault says he's cautiously optimistic that despite reporting 11,677 confirmed cases and 733 people hospitalized, the numbers are beginning to stabilize. The cases in intensive care actually went down today to 186.

Legault says provincial health authorities are confident that physical distancing measures imposed by the province are working.

The premier repeated today that in the coming weeks, the province will begin to resume some actiivites and a gradual restart to the economy.

Legault's main message to Quebecers is that better days are ahead.

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1:25 p.m.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the province will quadruple its testing capacity over the course of a month.

He says the province will increase its capacity from 4,000 daily tests today to 16,000 on May 6.

Ford says the focus will be on testing vulnerable groups, including those in long-term care homes and health-care workers.

Provincial officials say testing resources will be concentrated on people exhibiting symptoms, because those who are asymptomatic could get false negative results.

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1:20 p.m.

Nova Scotia has identified 34 new cases of COVID-19.

The province has confirmed 407 cases of the virus.

Eight people are in the hospital and four in the ICU, while 93 people have recovered.

The province expanded its screening process, advising people with two or more symptoms, including fever, new or worsening cough, sore throat, runny nose or headache, to call 8-1-1 or go online for further assessment.

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1:15 p.m.

Newfoundland and Labrador has confirmed three more cases of COVID-19, all in the Eastern Health region.

The province has now confirmed 239 cases of the illness.

Seven people are currently in the hospital due to the virus and two are in intensive care.

In total, 103 people have recovered.

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12:45 p.m.

The RCMP says its officers could visit homes to ensure any person entering Canada is self-isolating for 14 days.

The police force says it has been asked to help enforce the Quarantine Act in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis.

Police can also now arrest people for violating the Act, though the RCMP says that will be a last resort.

Previously they could only issue a court appearance notice or summons.

Failing to comply with the Quarantine Act could lead to a fine of up to $750,000 and imprisonment for six months.

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12:30 p.m.

New Brunswick confirmed one new case of COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the total in the province to 112.

Five people remain in hospital due to the virus and three are in intensive care.

Sixty people have recovered.

In a statement, chief medical officer of health Jennifer Russell urged people to stay home over the holiday weekend to contain the spread of the virus.

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12 p.m.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's schedule is about to change as the federal government continues to avoid invoking the Emergencies Act.

Trudeau will be at the House of Commons on Saturday as the government attempts to pass the wage subsidy bill.

The prime minister primarily has been working from home since March 12 when his wife tested positive for COVID-19. He says he will conduct his daily televised address to the country from parliament on Sunday.

Trudeau calls the wage subsidy bill the largest economic measures Canada has seen since the Second World War.

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10:30 a.m.

Ontario is reporting 478 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total in the province to 6,237.

The province is also reporting 22 new deaths for a total of 222.

It says 73 long-term care homes are experiencing outbreaks, accounting for 931 cases and 98 deaths.

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10 a.m.

Figures from the federal government this morning show that 5.08 million people are receiving the Canada Emergency Response Benefit.

The figure includes about two million workers who previously qualified for employment insurance benefits after March 15, but were moved to the new benefit when it became available on Monday.

So far this week, 3.08 million people have filed claims for the benefit, including just over 615,000 claims alone on Thursday.

The $2,000-a-month benefit is available for up to 16 weeks for eligible workers affected by COVID-19.