The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Thursday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.

5 p.m. Ontario’s public health units are reporting 40,281 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19, including 2,789 deaths, an increase of 143 new cases in 24 hours, according to the Star’s latest count. They reported no new fatalities.

This is the third day this month in which Ontario’s 34 public health units have reported no new deaths.

The rate of deaths has fallen sharply in the province over the summer, down from a peak of 90 deaths in a single day, seen in early May, to an average of just less than two a day over the last week.

Earlier Thursday, the province reported 154 patients are hospitalized with COVID-19, including 35 in an intensive care unit, of whom 21 are on a ventilator.

After falling steading over the last few months, the number of hospitalized patients has risen slightly in recent days.

The Province says its data is accurate to 4 p.m. the previous day. It cautions its latest count of total deaths, 2,755, may be incomplete or out of date due to delays in the reporting system. In the event of a discrepancy, “data reported by (the health units) should be considered the most up to date.”

The Star’s count includes some patients reported as “probable” COVID-19 cases. This means they have symptoms and contacts or travel history that indicate they very likely have the disease, but have not yet received a positive lab test.

1:30 p.m.: Premier Doug Ford says $12 billion to be spent over the next decade to build new schools and refurbish school buildings in Brampton.

More than $500 million will be allocated to build 30 new schools and make permanent additions to 15 existing facilities supporting more than 25,000 student spaces across the province. One school in Peel will be named after Malala Yousafzai, an announcement that was made last March.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce says Ontario’s back to school plan will be revealed next week.

12:45 p.m.: Quebec is reporting 142 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, but no new fatalities.

The total number of deaths in the province remains at 5,662, and total cases rose to 58,080.

Health authorities said today hospitalizations dropped by 14 to 221. Of those, 14 patients are in intensive care, a reduction of two.

Health officials completed 14,725 tests July 21, the last day for which data is available. At least 50,505 people have recovered from the disease.

12:22 p.m.: The federal Liberals and Alberta’s United Conservatives have agreed on a one-year extension to child-care funding that will also help offset costs related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For Alberta, the one-year deal will mean more than $45 million this fiscal year to create new licensed child-care spaces through capital and program grants and subsidies for more lower-income families.

The provincial government is also planning to use the money for training and help offset costs for centres associated with COVID-19 closures and reopening to help programs remain financially viable.

The money is part of a 10-year, $7-billion funding pledge the Trudeau Liberals unveiled in 2017 — not the $625-million, eight-month pledge the Liberals have made under a “safe restart” agreement with provinces.

11:55 a.m.: Several unions are calling for an end to for-profit companies in long-term care.

They point out COVID-19 has hit for-profit homes harder than their non-profit or municipally run counterparts. For example, 13 of the worst-hit facilities in Ontario are owned by money-making businesses.

Studies have attributed that in part to lower staffing levels.

While the unions’ campaign is initially aimed at the Ontario government, the plan is to take it nationally.

The Progressive Conservative government under Premier Doug Ford has previously said a commission will review long term care.

The Star’s Rosa Saba has a story on a new study looking at COVID-19 cases and deaths in long-term care homes has reinforced the Star’s earlier analysis showing that for-profit homes were more likely to have wider and more deadly outbreaks than non-profit or municipal homes.

11:15 a.m.: The Tokyo Olympics have hit the one-year-to-go mark — again. But few are in a mood to celebrate.

Tokyo observed the original date a year ago. That was before the COVID-19 pandemic postponed the Olympics and pushed back the opening to July 23, 2021. Fireworks cascaded over Tokyo Bay back then, and local celebrities unveiled the medals in a highly choreographed show. There’s none of that this time.

Organizers produced a 15-minute, no-fans event on Thursday inside the new national stadium; screening a video to promote next year’s opening. They also teased the presence of the Olympic flame, which arrived in Japan in March and had been hidden away ever since.

The low-key event on a rainy day captures the local mood.

A poll a few days ago from Japanese news agency Kyodo repeated the results of recent surveys: Japanese are skeptical the games should go ahead, and doubtful they will. The poll showed 23.9 per cent favoured holding the Olympics, 36.4 per cent said the Olympics should be postponed again, and 33.7 per cent said it should be cancelled.

10:45 a.m. (updated): The number of people requiring hospital care for COVID-19 has suddenly jumped to the highest level since early July as the number of new cases fell to 103 after topping 200 in recent days.

Figures reported Thursday by the Ministry of Health showed 26 new patients admitted to hospitals, raising the total to 154. The increase is in addition to eight new patients reported the previous day and, while well within capacity, is a level that has not been since since July 3 when there were 155 people in hospital for the virus.

The province says 35 people are in intensive care and 21 on ventilators.

The total number of cases now stands at 38,210, which includes 2,755 deaths and 33,963 resolved cases. There were 151 resolved cases newly reported today.

The province says it was able to complete more than 26,000 tests the previous day.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says 28 of the province’s 34 public health units are reporting five or fewer cases.

The Star’s Rob Ferguson has the full story.

10:05 a.m.: The opposition Conservatives are calling for Bill Morneau’s resignation after revelations the finance minister accepted two expenses-paid trips and donated $100,000 to WE Charity.

Conservative finance critic Pierre Poilievre asked how Morneau could have possibly missed that WE Charity covered as much as $52,000 in travel and hotel costs for him and his family.

“We have identified at least five sections of the Ethics Act … that Bill Morneau has violated,” Poilievre said.

8:17 a.m. The operator of Ann Taylor and Lane Bryant filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. on Thursday, the latest retailer to do so during the pandemic.

Mahwah, New Jersey-based Ascena Retail Group Inc., which operates nearly 3,000 stores mostly at malls, had been dragged down by debt and weak sales for years.

As part of its bankruptcy plan, the company said Thursday that it would close all of its Catherines stores and a “a significant number” of Justice stores and a select number of Ann Taylor, Loft, Lane Bryant and Lou & Grey stores.

The company said it has reached an agreement with its creditors to reduce its debt by $1 billion. It received $150 million in new financing to continue operating during its reorganization.

Ascena joins a growing list of retailers that have filed for Chapter 11 in recent weeks, including Brooks Brothers, Neiman Marcus, J.C. Penney, J.Crew and Stage Stores. These retailers were already struggling with weak sales but the forced closure of non-essential stores in March to reduce the spread of the coronavirus put them further in peril.

8:15 a.m. It’s too soon to start counting down the days to playgrounds reopening in Toronto — on July 17, 24 of the 34 public health districts in the province moved into Stage 3 of reopening, which means playgrounds can once again be put into use, but Toronto was not among them. Nor will Toronto be among the seven more regions that will enter Stage 3 on July 25, including York and Durham.

Only Toronto, Peel Region and Windsor-Essex will remain in Stage 2 past Friday.

The city estimates that when Toronto is allowed to enter Stage 3 it will take two to three days to remove caution tape and signage at its more than 800 playgrounds, install physical distancing signage where required and undertake general cleanup.

Toronto Public Health (TPH) has also recommended that where possible, the parks department move benches to ensure they are at least two metres apart and to remove picnic tables from playground areas to discourage people from congregating.

Read the full story from the Star’s Francine Kopun

8 a.m. Loblaw Companies Ltd. says its net income plunged in the second quarter despite surging revenues because of COVID-19 related costs including a temporary pay boost for employees.

Canada’s largest grocer says its earnings attributable to shareholders fell 41 per cent to $169 million or 47 cents per diluted share from $286 million or 77 cents per share a year earlier.

Excluding one-time items, adjusted profits were $266 million or 74 cents per share, compared with $373 million or $1.01 per share in the prior year.

Revenues for the three months ended June 13 increased 7.4 per cent to nearly $12 billion, from $11.1 billion in the second quarter of 2019.

Loblaw was expected to report 71 cents per share in adjusted earnings on $11.9 billion in revenues, according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv.

The company says demand shifted during the quarter towards conventional store formats with the market division’s same-store sales increasing 18.8 per cent and the discount division up 4.9 per cent, while same-store drug division sales declined 1.1 per cent.

It spent $282 million during the quarter on safety measures for staff and customers with about $180 million in temporary pay premiums which included a one-time bonus for store and distribution centre colleagues of $25 million.

7:43 a.m. Beginning July 22, up to two people — family or friends — are able to schedule a visit inside long-term-care homes if they can attest to a negative COVID test within the previous 14 days. Homes must also have the staff and personal protective equipment to accommodate visitors. Outdoor visits started a month ago and no longer require a COVID test.

After the government banned visitors in mid-March, except for residents who were dying, families connected with their loved ones through window or virtual visits. As the months progressed and many homes struggled with the loss of workers, residents locked inside declined from isolation, losing weight, growing dehydrated and depressed.

Read the full story from the Star’s Moira Welsh

7:40 a.m. Mayor John Tory said he’s prepared to extend the city’s mandatory masking order to shared spaces inside apartment and condominium buildings if management companies refuse to do it voluntarily.

Current mandatory masking bylaws in cities such as Toronto apply only to indoor public spaces such as grocery stores, commercial businesses and public transit, leaving multi-unit dwellings exempt.

“We were hesitant to move on private property because it’s better if people who own that private property do that, and also because our legislative options are slightly more limited,” Tory said Wednesday.

“But I will just tell you we will have no hesitation — notwithstanding what I just said — to move forward and do whatever we could, by way of a bylaw if that seemed to be necessary.”

Earlier this week, Tory called on an industry group, the Greater Toronto Apartment Association, to require masks in hallways, elevators, and common rooms in its 140,000-plus units.

“I believe implementing these rules in buildings will help residents protect each other from the spread of COVID-19, especially when you take into account the number of Torontonians who live in residential apartment buildings,” Tory said in a statement Monday.

Thursday 6:23 a.m. Long-haul carrier Emirates now says it will cover the costs of passengers’ coronavirus-related medical expenses in an effort to encourage more travellers to fly on the airline.

In a statement Thursday, Emirates said passengers can claim medical expenses of up to 150,000 euros and quarantine costs of 100 euros per day for 14 days if they are diagnosed with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the chairman and CEO of the government-owned airline, said: “We know people are yearning to fly as borders around the world gradually reopen, but they are seeking flexibility and assurances should something unforeseen happen during their travel.”

The airline said the coverage is good for passengers flying until Oct. 30.

Wednesday 8:53 p.m. Senate Republicans prepared to roll out their opening offer for a fifth coronavirus relief package after ironing out differences with the White House, setting up high-stakes negotiations with Democrats just days ahead of the expiration of enhanced unemployment benefits.

A group of top Senate Republicans finished a meeting with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on Wednesday evening, with participants saying the two sides had resolved their outstanding issues. Senate Republicans and the White House had struggled in recent days to agree on a series of proposals, including a payroll-tax cut and new funding for coronavirus testing, in crafting the package, estimated at $1 trillion.

“We’ve now had three days of meetings and we’re completely on the same page,” Mnuchin said.

The plan will include $16 billion in new funding for testing, a compromise between Senate Republicans who had sought more money and the White House, which had opposed any new funding. More than $100 billion will go toward schools, with some of that money only available to K-12 schools that plan to physically reopen. It wasn’t immediately known if a payroll-tax cut would be included in the GOP plan.

Lawmakers are racing to reach an agreement before a $600 weekly supplement to the unemployment benefits expires on July 31. Republicans on Wednesday were looking at several options, including continuing the federal supplement at a lower flat rate until states can scale the benefit based on previous income.

Wednesday 6:23 p.m.: As of 6 p.m. Wednesday, Ontario’s public health units were reporting 40,138 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19, including 2,789 deaths, according to the Star’s latest count.

After several days of rising case totals, the units reported a lower total of 133 new infections in the last 24 hours, slightly below the recent average.

From June 29 to July 5, the health units reported 153 new infections per day. The next week, that average fell to 117 cases daily. Last week, it rose slightly to an average of 149.

Ontario saw just one new fatality reported Wednesday, in Toronto.

Earlier, the province reported 128 patients are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, including 37 in an intensive care unit, of whom 19 are on a ventilator — numbers that are near the lowest the province has reported since first publishing hospitalization data in early April.

The province says its data is accurate to 4 p.m. the previous day. The province also cautions its latest count of total deaths may be incomplete or out of date due to delays in the reporting system, saying that in the event of a discrepancy, “data reported by (the health units) should be considered the most up to date.”

The Star’s count includes some patients reported as “probable” COVID-19 cases, meaning they have symptoms and contacts or travel history that indicate they very likely have the disease, but have not yet received a positive lab test.

Wednesday 8:19 p.m. As nations around the world race to lock up coronavirus vaccines even before they are ready, the Trump administration on Wednesday made one of the largest investments yet, announcing a nearly $2 billion contract with Pfizer and a German biotechnology company for 100 million doses by December.

The contract is part of what the White House calls the Warp Speed project, an effort to drastically shorten the time it would take to manufacture and distribute a working vaccine. So far, the United States has put money into more than a half dozen efforts, hoping to build manufacturing ability for an eventual breakthrough.

Europe has a parallel effort underway. Germany recently took a 23 per cent stake in a German firm, CureVac, that President Donald Trump once tried to lure to American shores in hopes that its vaccine, if successful, would be distributed in the United States first. A European-led fundraising effort in May brought $8 billion in pledges from the world’s governments, philanthropists and leaders for coronavirus vaccine research, even with the United States sitting out the conference.

China has militarized the effort: Researchers associated with the Academy of Military Medical Sciences have developed one of China’s leading vaccine candidates, and another Chinese company, Sinopharm Group, announced in June that it was beginning Phase 3 trials in the United Arab Emirates.

The Pfizer contract, an agreement to ensure the pharmaceutical giant has a market for its work, is the biggest splash yet by the Americans. If the vaccine being produced by Pfizer and BioNTech, the German firm, proves to be safe and effective in clinical trials, the companies say they could manufacture those first 100 million doses by the end of the year.

Wednesday 2:15 p.m.: Toronto medical officer of health Dr. Eileen de Villa said there have been 58 new cases over the last two days, and expressed concern that younger people are getting infected. More 20 to 39 years olds getting the virus.

“I’m very concerned about this” de Villa said.

She said residents must remain vigilant or there’s a risk of resurgence.

“I have heard many people say they believe that COVID-19 is over … this is simply not true.”

Read more of Wednesday’s coronavirus news