Xi Jinping has been waiting for this moment Welcome to the Maclean's daily newsletter. As the coronavirus disrupts life in Canada, and Canadians get used to the notion of "social distancing" and "flattening the curve," Maclean's has expanded this newsletter to include everything you need to know about the global pandemic. You'll still find our best stories of the day at the bottom of the newsletter, but we'll also catch you up on news and notes from around the world. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster / and treat those two Imposters just the same.” – Dr. Craig Smith, surgeon-in-chief at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City, ends a daily letter to his staff with those famous words from Rudyard Kipling In Canada, there are more than 12,000 cases of COVID-19 with 175-plus deaths. Worldwide, there are 1.1 million cases with nearly 60,000 deaths. As Ontario released its modelling of the COVID-19 epidemic, including grim projections of possible death tolls and numbers of infections, the province also slashed the number of essential businesses, including stopping all construction, except those at critical infrastructure locales. For the last three weeks, Canadians have struggled to get a handle on just how serious the COVID-19 epidemic was and how much self-sacrifice it would take to stamp down the virus. In part, that’s because Canada has a terrible reputation when it comes to data, which can be frustratingly hard to obtain. Now, by releasing its modelling, Ontario has given everyone in Canada a possible glimpse of the future. Every future path is filled with pain and suffering—the only question is how much. On CBC’s Kids News at 9 a.m. on Sunday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, will answer questions about COVID-19 from kids across the country. “Now that the [Chinese] authorities say the epidemic is under control,” the New York Times reports, “officials are pushing the relatives to bury the dead quickly and quietly, and they are suppressing online discussion of fatalities as doubts emerge about the true size of the toll.” It turns out the U.S. administration is doing more than just trying to stop 3M from shipping N95 masks to Canada. French health officials complained that Americans diverted a planeload of masks destined for France—while it was sitting at a Chinese airport–by offering three or four times what the French had already paid, in cash. As international supplies of needed medical equipment dry up, businesses, scientists and researchers in Canada are figuring out how to create them here. This Postmedia story investigates the “brutal education” being learned by a team of McMaster University engineers as they try to make a Maple Leaf version of the N95 mask. As air traffic grinds to a halt, penny-pinching airlines are being forced to become a bit more generous. Delta Air Lines is extending “the ability to plan, rebook and travel … for up to two years.” As always, check the rules because conditions apply. On Sunday, April 5, Queen Elizabeth II will make a special broadcast to Britain and the Commonwealth regarding the coronavirus pandemic. It is only the fifth special broadcast of her 68-year reign (1991: Gulf War, 1997: death of Princess Diana, 2002: Queen Mother's funeral, 2012: Diamond Jubilee). In Canada, CBC is carrying it live across all its channels and platforms, starting at 3 p.m. EDT, while it will also be on CTV News Channel. “How many bears can you spot today?” People around the world are placing teddy bears in windows, unicorns by the front door and stuffed kiwis on hedges. It’s a way to entertain kids out for walks with their parents, and the game of finding and keeping track of daily tallies seems to be inspired, at least in part, by the children’s book, We’re going on a Bear Hunt, by Michael Rosen, says the New York Times. —Patricia Treble As of the latest update, this is the number of confirmed cases in Canada. We're updating this chart every day.
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