Testing, testing, testing 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: “If we skip over the checkpoints in the guidelines to ‘Open America Again,’ then we risk the danger of multiple outbreaks throughout the country.” — Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, during a Senate hearing on Tuesday. He appeared by video conference, because he’s in self-isolation after coming into contact with a White House staffer who tested positive for COVID-19. The number of Canadians infected with COVID-19 has passed 71,000, while 5,100 people have died. Worldwide, 4.2 million people have been infected while 290,000 have died. The city of Wuhan reported a cluster of six new cases, its first infections since it ended its long lockdown on April 8. To prevent the virus from spreading in the community, authorities are going to test all 11 million residents in the next week, Reuters reports. The number of new cases in Germany is rising as the country relaxes its lockdown measures, and all eyes are on the reproduction rate, which tracks how many people one infected person will infect. This is a key scientific measure by which the government determines how to proceed with its pandemic plans, and in Germany it has risen above the crucial 1.0 mark for the past three days, according to the Robert Koch Institute. (As of May 5, Canada’s “r rate” was 0.96, per the Imperial College of London.) Dmitri Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, is in hospital with COVID-19. He’s the latest in a long line of senior officials to test positive, including Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. On Tuesday, the nation reported nearly 11,000 new cases, a tally second only to that of the United States. Even pandas are being affected by COVID-19. The Calgary Zoo is returning Er Shun and Da Mao to China because its supply lines of fresh bamboo—pandas eat 40 km of the shoots daily—have been severely interrupted by the cancellation of so many flights, especially from China. The Canadian National Exhibition has entertained the young and old alike in Toronto for 142 years; its 18 days of thrilling rides and wacky food marks the unofficial end to summer. Not this year. The last time it was cancelled was during the Second World War. Tired of baking bread? Try making Mason jar ice cream. All you need is a few basic ingredients, a jar and five minutes of vigorous shaking. —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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