More than a million Australians have downloaded a coronavirus contact tracing app within hours of it being released by the government. The COVIDSafe smartphone app uses a Bluetooth wireless signal to exchange a “digital handshake” with another user when they come within 1.5m (4.9ft). The app then logs this contact and encrypts it. Users will be notified if they have …

Health Canada cautioned on Saturday against the use of malaria drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine to prevent or treat COVID-19. The Canadian health department said here the two drugs may cause serious side effects, including serious heart rhythm problems. It advised use of the two drugs only if prescribed by a doctor. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration also cautioned against …

Canada’s top doctor says there isn’t enough evidence to back herd immunity as a way to reopen society, as Quebec’s premier is considering the approach to restart his province’s economy. “The idea of … generating natural immunity is actually not something that should be undertaken,” Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam said Saturday, urging people to be “extremely cautious” about …

Plans underway to restart the economies of Canadian provinces do not depend on presuming people who become infected with coronavirus develop immunity to it, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Saturday. The World Health Organization said earlier that there was “no evidence” that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection. “I …

President Donald Trump told Americans to brace for a big spike in coronavirus fatalities in the coming days, as the country faces what he called the toughest two weeks of the pandemic. “There’s going to be a lot of death,” Trump said at a briefing with reporters. He pushed back on criticism that the federal government has not done enough …

The number of people killed by the coronavirus in Canada has jumped by just over 20% to 258 in a day, officials said on Sunday. By 11:05 eastern time (1505 GMT), the total number of those diagnosed with the coronavirus had risen by almost 12% to 14,426, the public health agency said. The respective figures on Saturday were 214 deaths …

The request had “significant humanitarian implications”, it warned, and could prompt other countries to act in kind. On Thursday, the US invoked the Korean War-era Defence Production Act to demand that 3M provide more masks. Canada’s prime minister said stopping 3M’s exports would be a “mistake”. President Donald Trump said he had used the Defence Production Act to “hit 3M …

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday said he would not rule out closing the nation’s borders or forcing people arriving from foreign nations to go into self-isolation to help combat a coronavirus outbreak. Asked whether Canada might shut its borders to Europe or the United States, Trudeau told CTV: “We have taken some very strong measures and we are not …

Queen Letizia tests negative for coronavirus: Spanish royal is given all-clear after minister she kissed during meeting was found to be infected Spain’s government said Saturday that the wife of  Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has tested positive for the new coronavirus. The government said Begoña Gómez and the prime minister are in good health. Two ministers of Sánchez’s Cabinet, the …

A 78-year-old Canadian who was on a cruise ship isolated in Brazil’s northeastern port of Recife tested positive for coronavirus, Brazilian TV network Globo reported on Saturday, citing a press conference. The ship with 609 people on board has been isolated in Recife since Thursday morning after this passenger showed symptoms similar to those of the new coronavirus. An Irish …