Shelters across Canada face 'a perfect storm of bad news'

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:"There's very little separating what we will face here in Ontario from the devastation we've seen in Italy and Spain"—Ontario Premier Doug Ford, as the province records 426 more cases

There are more than 9,500 cases of COVID-19 in Canada, with at least 107 deaths. Worldwide, the number passed the 900,000 mark with more than 46,000 deaths.

Ontario, B.C. and Quebec are building temporary hospitals in anticipation of a surge of COVID-19 patients. In Britain, a massive 4,000-bed hospital was set up in a convention centre in just two weeks.

As hospitals in Canada gear up for the coming surge of patients, leaders are telling staff in other departments that they will have to switch specialties to treat them. As the Toronto Star reported, “Health regulatory bodies such as the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario are relaxing rules to allow health-care workers to work outside their ‘scopes of practice,’ or areas of specialty, during the pandemic.” That’s happened elsewhere: in Britain, Joel Dunning, a thoracic surgeon, revealed he’d been quickly retrained to be an ICU nurse, and urged others to do the same.

Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, continues to openly doubt the threat posed by the coronavirus, which he calls a “measly cold”—and says that, while some will die, “such is life.” A few days ago, social media firms deleted his posts that questioned distancing measures, which even his own health officials want, because they were found to endanger public health.

As Florida’s count of COVID-19 cases passes the 7,000 mark, its governor, Ron DeSantis, finally issued a stay-at-home order, though it won’t begin until Friday. Experts had called for this measure for weeks as visitors crowded the state’s beaches and businesses, and the number of cases kept increasing. The state is the only one with more than 5,000 cases that hasn’t already closed itself to deal with the crisis.

The risks posed by tourists and visitors spreading the virus among the local population can be seen in Wood River Valley, Idaho, where a winter season at exclusive ski resorts and restaurants has left the area with an infection rate even higher than New York City.

Noting that Miami won’t accept MEDEVAC patients, the U.S. Coast Guard is now warning cruise ship firms to seek medical care for their passengers in the nations where the ships are registered. In particular, NPR noted, the Coast Guard “singles out cruise ships that are registered in the Bahamas—referring to many of the ships owned by large cruise lines such as Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian.”

The Instagram account of cookbook author Ina Garten (the Barefoot Contessa) is a joy in this era of social isolation. Come for the recipes, stay to watch her make cocktails at 6 a.m.

Your moments of Zen, animal edition: a bear tidying up as it ambles down the road and woodworking for squirrels.

—Patricia Treble

As of the latest update, this is the number of confirmed cases in Canada. We're updating this chart every day.