Could we have avoided community-wide lockdowns? 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. The number of new cases in Canada is almost 20,000 with the number of deaths climbing to more than 425. Worldwide, some 1.5 million people have COVID-19 while nearly 90,000 have died. Some 76 days after the Chinese city of Wuhan, the original epicentre of the epidemic, was sealed off, its people were finally allowed to travel beyond its borders. Highways and trains were packed as many with medical clearance took advantage of the lifting of travel restrictions to leave the industrial city. After a few glimmers of hope that Europe’s COVID-19 crisis may be abating, a report by the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention dashed hopes, reporting that “there is currently no indication that the peak of the epidemic has been reached” on the continent. Most importantly, it cautioned against any relaxation of tough public health restrictions. COVID-19 has hit Saudi Arabia’s vast royal family. “As many as 150 royals inside the kingdom are believed to have contracted the coronavirus, including members of the family’s lesser branches, according to a person close to the family,” the New York Times reports, adding, “Doctors at the elite hospital that treats the Saud clan are preparing as many as 500 beds for an expected influx of royals and those closest to them, according to an internal ‘high alert’ sent out Tuesday night by hospital officials.” Social influencers are spreading a lot of fake news regarding COVID-19, and finding receptive audiences. The Guardian reports that, “Oxford’s Reuters Institute for the study of journalism found that while politicians, celebrities and other prominent public figures were responsible for producing or spreading 20% of false claims about coronavirus, their posts accounted for 69% of total social media engagement.” Avi Schiffman is a regular 17-year-old who has a website that is getting 30 million visitors a day. Early in the coronavirus crisis, he created a site, Ncov2019.live, to track the pandemic worldwide. He even turned down an advertiser who offered millions to put commercials on the site. As the days of home confinement turn into weeks, many are easing their isolation by adopting loving pets waiting for their “forever homes.” There is so much demand that some shelters have waiting lists. One person documented her adoption process in a charming social media thread. For the record, Jelly looks like a very good cat. —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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