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• COVID-19: What’s open and closed in Metro Vancouver due to coronavirus

• B.C. COVID-19 Symptom Self-Assessment Tool

LATEST UPDATES

3 p.m. – Health officials to update figures for B.C.’s COVID-19 situation

Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix will host their daily briefing on B.C.’s COVID-19 situation.

12 a.m. – Confirmed cases nears 62,000 in Canada

There are 61,961 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada.

• Quebec: 33,417 confirmed (including 2,398 deaths, 7,578 resolved)

• Ontario: 18,310 confirmed (including 1,361 deaths, 12,779 resolved)

• Alberta: 5,836 confirmed (including 104 deaths, 2,942 resolved)

• British Columbia: 2,224 confirmed (including 117 deaths, 1,417 resolved)

• Nova Scotia: 991 confirmed (including 41 deaths, 652 resolved)

• Saskatchewan: 467 confirmed (including 6 deaths, 307 resolved)

• Manitoba: 282 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 238 resolved)

• Newfoundland and Labrador: 259 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 241 resolved)

• New Brunswick: 119 confirmed (including 118 resolved)

• Prince Edward Island: 27 confirmed (including 25 resolved)

• Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved)

• Yukon: 11 confirmed (including 11 resolved)

• Northwest Territories: 5 confirmed (including 5 resolved)

• Nunavut: No confirmed cases

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Total: 61,961 (0 presumptive, 61,961 confirmed including 4,037 deaths, 26,326 resolved)

10:15 a.m. – COVID-19 case rate is slowing, says Dr. Tam

Canada’s chief public health officer says the daily increase of COVID-19 cases in Canada has slowed to about three per cent.

Dr. Theresa Tam says that trend, coupled with statistics showing the percentage of tests coming back positive is going down, even as the number of tests goes up, signifies that the epidemic in Canada is slowing down.

Meanwhile, Tam says the pediatric network in Canada is monitoring children for signs of the inflammatory syndrome known as Kawasaki disease, which some countries have found in some children with COVID-19.

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But Tam says there are no firm conclusions in Canada about the links between COVID-19 and inflammatory diseases.

10 a.m. – New digital registration ensures faster, safer assistance for B.C. evacuees

British Columbia is unveiling a digital registration system for evacuees as the province prepares for the upcoming wildfire season while coping with physical distancing restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

A statement from the Ministry of Public Safety says the new platform will allow communities to provide emergency support services, including evacuee self-registration and referrals.

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Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth says the upgrade has been in the works since the conclusion of the devastating 2017 wildfire season.

He says shifting from an “archaic” paper-based system to a digital platform will not only speed services for evacuees, it will help volunteers and evacuees ensure safe physical distancing during the pandemic.

The ministry says about 30,000 people rely on provincial help during emergencies every year and modernizing the registration system ensures they have quick access to lodging, food and clothing.

9:45 a.m. – Emergency response centre opening in Victoria

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The B.C. government is converting a Victoria hockey arena into a 45-bed emergency response centre that will provide shelter to vulnerable people during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new temporary accommodation site at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre will house people living in homeless camps on the Pandora Avenue corridor and Topaz Park in Victoria.

The government says B.C. Housing is partnering with PHS Community Services Society to operate the emergency response centre, which will receive people referred by Island Health and B.C. Housing. The centre will accommodate couples and groups of people who wish to stay together, where possible.

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The centre is expected to open later this week.

8:25 a.m. – Trudeau pledges $252M for COVID-19 aid to agriculture

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is promising a $252-million aid package for Canada’s agriculture and food industries in the COVID-19 pandemic.

He says $77 million of that will go to measures to keep workers in food processing safe with protective equipment and by supporting physical distancing in workplaces.

Meat-packing plants, in particular, have seen large outbreaks of the virus that causes COVID-19.

The package includes money for beef and pork producers holding animals they can’t sell, a credit program for the dairy industry and a $50-million fund to buy food that spoils and send it to groups such as food banks.

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8 a.m. – Surrey city council approves plan for post-pandemic economic recovery

Surrey city council has approved a plan that aims to spur the city’s post-pandemic economic recovery.

The Surrey Economic Action and Recovery Plan was approved at Monday night’s council meeting and extends certain deadlines and cuts licensing costs for projects that council hopes will put residents back on track.

Among the plan’s key points are a 90-day extension on late payment penalties for residential and commercial property tax. The July 3 payment deadline has now been pushed to Oct. 1, 2020.

The city will also award 50 per cent fee reductions to construction projects with a value of more than $25 million.