WHAT TO KNOW
Global COVID-19 cases have reached 23,440,885, up from 22,704,949 at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. Canada now reports 124,896 cases, up from 123,873 cases of COVID-19 on Friday. Ontario reports 41,507 cases, up from 41,179 cases on Friday.
The growth rate of new cases in the province is still under 1%, with 105 (0.3%) new cases reported since yesterday. Of the province’s total cases, 37,673 have been resolved (90.8%) and there have been 2,798 deaths (6.7%). The province has now completed 2,781,748 tests and reports 9,229 tests are currently under investigation. More information here.
A province-by-province breakdown of Canada’s COVID-19 case count can be found here.
FEDERAL
To help support workers and provide certainty for employers, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, announced that the government proposes to extend the current treatment of furloughed employees under the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) program by 4 weeks – from August 30 to September 26. This would mean that employers who qualify for the CEWS would be able to continue to claim up to a maximum benefit of $847 per week to support remuneration for each of their furloughed workers. More information here.
Visitors who are currently in Canada and have a valid job offer will be able to apply for an employer-specific work permit and, if approved, receive the permit without having to leave the country, thanks to a new public policy announced today by the Honourable Marco Mendicino, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. This temporary policy change takes effect immediately and will benefit employers in Canada who continue to face difficulties finding the workers they need, as well as temporary residents who would like to contribute their labour and skills to Canada’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. More information here.
TORONTO
To rebuild the local economy, the City of Toronto has issued a new debenture to help finance capital expenditures from 10 different City divisions and agencies. This is the City’s third debenture issuance this year and marks the lowest ever 20-year cost of funding for the City with an all-in cost of 2.218 percent. More information here.
INTERNATIONAL
| Country | Total cases at 3:30 p.m. | Total cases Friday at 3:30 p.m. | Increase from previous | Active Cases (Increase decrease) | Cases per million | Total recovered | Total deaths |
| Global | 23,722,981 | 23,017,522 | 705,459 | 6,715,717 | 3,043 | 16,192,660 | 814,604 |
| United States | 5,892,633 | 5,768,900 | 123,733 | 2,539,165 | 17,787 | 3,172,689 | 180,779 |
| Brazil | 3,610,028 | 3,513,039 | 96,989 | 785,477 | 16,966 | 2,709,638 | 114,913 |
| India | 3,164,881 | 2,973,317 | 191,564 | 703,234 | 2,290 | 2,403,101 | 58,546 |
| Russia | 961,493 | 946,976 | 14,517 | 171,950 | 6,588 | 773,095 | 16,448 |
| Peru | 594,326 | 567,059 | 27,267 | 167,306 | 17,989 | 399,357 | 27,663 |
| Mexico | 560,164 | 543,806 | 16,358 | 115,812 | 4,338 | 383,872 | 60,480 |
| Spain | 420,809 | 407,879 | 12,930 | — | 9,000 | — | 28,872 |
| Chile | 399,568 | 393,769 | 5,799 | 16,188 | 20,876 | 372,464 | 10,916 |
| Iran | 361,150 | 354,764 | 6,386 | 29,009 | 4,292 | 311,365 | 20,776 |
| United Kingdom | 326,614 | 323,313 | 3,301 | — | 4,807 | — | 41,433 |
| Saudi Arabia | 308,654 | 305,186 | 3,468 | 22,075 | 8,846 | 282,888 | 3,691 |
| Italy | 260,298 | 257,065 | 3,233 | 19,195 | 4,306 | 205,662 | 35,441 |
| Germany | 235,623 | 231,426 | 4,197 | 16,689 | 2,811 | 209,600 | 9,334 |
| Canada | 125,001 | 124,099 | 902 | 4,737 | 3,308 | 111,190 | 9,074 |
| China | 84,967 | 84,917 | 50 | 408 | 59 | 79,925 | 4,634 |
| Australia | 24,916 | 24,407 | 509 | 4,796 | 975 | 19,603 | 517 |