Canada’s coronavirus death toll edges up, Trudeau vows more funding for mental health

Ottawa (Reuters) – Canada’s daily coronavirus death toll edged up by under 5% on Sunday in another sign the outbreak has peaked and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised additional funding for mental healthcare services.

The total number of people killed by the coronavirus rose by 4.6% to 3,606 on Sunday, public health agency data showed.

Only once in the last two weeks has the toll jumped by more than 10% in a day and medical officials say the curve is clearly flattening. Some of Canada’s 10 provinces have outlined plans to gradually reopen their economies.

Trudeau, saying he understood the stress caused by the shutdown of businesses across the country and orders to stay inside, said Ottawa would spend C$240 million ($170 million) to help develop virtual mental health tools to deliver support digitally.

“If we can use apps to order dinner and video chats to stay in touch with family, we can use new technology to keep each other healthy,” he told a regular briefing.

The figure for those diagnosed with the coronavirus rose to 57,148, the public health agency said. On Saturday there were 3,446 deaths and 55,572 positive diagnoses.