The latest news from Canada and around the world Wednesday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.

8:04 p.m.: The United States set another record for daily confirmed coronavirus cases as several states posted all-time highs, underscoring the vexing issue confronting the winner of the presidential race.

The surging cases and hospitalizations happening around the country reflect the challenge either President Donald Trump or former Vice-President Joe Biden will face in the coming months.

Public health experts fear potentially dire consequences, at least in the short term.

Daily new confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. have surged 45% over the past two weeks, to a record seven-day average of 86,352, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Deaths are also on the rise, up 15% to an average of 846 deaths every day.

The total U.S. death toll is already more than 232,000, and total confirmed U.S. cases have surpassed 9 million. Those are the highest totals in the world, and new infections are increasing in nearly every state.

7:30 p.m.: B.C.’s COVID-19 death toll has gone up again while the provincial health officer announces three new outbreaks at care facilities for seniors.

Dr. Bonnie Henry says 29 long-term or assisted-living facilities now have outbreaks, while people at two acute-care sites have also tested positive for COVID-19.

There have been 335 new cases diagnosed for a total of 16,135 and one more death.

Henry says in a statement that there’s a new community outbreak at La Casa resort in West Kelowna, while the outbreak at the Tim Hortons in Merritt has been declared over.

4:24 p.m. Four Italian regions are being , with severe limits imposed on the circumstances under which people can leave home, Premier Giuseppe Conte announced on Wednesday night.

What he called “very stringent” restrictions begin on Friday for Lombardy, Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta in the north, and for Calabria, which forms the southern toe of the Italian peninsula.

The lockdown is aimed at tamping down a surge in COVID-19 infections and preventing hospitals from being overwhelmed with cases. Lasting at least two weeks, it will involve some 16.5 million of Italy’s 60 million residents and include the country’s financial capital, Milan.

Barring very few exceptions, no one will be able to leave or enter the “red zone” regions. People there must stay home, except to go to work or shop for essentials. They can also exercise near their homes and while wearing masks.

After days of consultations with regional governors, Health Minister Roberto Speranza decided which regions received the “red-zone” designation.

“I know that these choices will mean sacrifices and difficulties, but they are the only way to bend the (contagion) curve,” he said in a statement. “United, we can do it.”

Barber shops and hair salons can stay open, although other non-essential shops in the “red zone” must close.

Less severe restrictions on movement were decided for southern Sicily and Puglia, where people will be able to leave their homes, but can’t travel between towns or regions, and cafes and restaurants can only do takeout and delivery.

While classrooms are open in the rest of Italy except for high schools, which must do remote instructions, in the “red zone,” only nursery, elementary and the first year of middle-school will still have in-class instruction.

The latest crackdown was supposed to start on Thursday, but Conte said it will begin instead on Friday to allow time to organize. Designations will be reviewed every two weeks.

He added that previously announced nationwide measures, like museum closures and an overnight curfew, would also start a day later, on Friday, and last until Dec. 3.

Conte promised that later this week his centre-left government would approve more funds to aid businesses crippled by the latest closures.

3:33 p.m.: Toronto’s medical officer of health says the city is resuming its full contact tracing program.

Dr. Eileen de Villa said Toronto’s public health unit is scaling up all of its COVID-19 infrastructure in an effort to have the city ready for the easing of restrictions on Nov. 14.

Toronto is one of four hot spots — along with Ottawa, Peel Region and York Region — currently under tighter restrictions that closed gyms, cinemas and indoor restaurant dining.

Those restrictions will lift in Peel Region and Ottawa on Saturday, but Mayor John Tory asked the province to keep Toronto’s restrictions in place for an additional week as the city works to curb cases.

Toronto scaled back its contract tracing efforts in early October to focus on high-risk cases.

Read the full story here:

3:05 p.m.: Yukon’s chief medical health officer says the territory is investigating the source of a COVID-19 outbreak in the small community of Watson Lake.

Dr. Brendan Hanley says the overall number from that outbreak remains at five, including one person who died.

He says results from tests conducted on at least 53 people in the community of 800 have come back negative.

He says officials are confident that the outbreak is contained and that there’s no further evidence of transmission of COVID-19 in the community.

The number of confirmed cases in Yukon remains at 23, while 20 people have recovered from the infection.

2:37 p.m. Premier Doug Ford is defending Ontario’s new COVID-19 restrictions system, saying it will help the province respond early to flare ups of the virus.

The province introduced the new colour-coded system yesterday and said it would help fight the pandemic at a regional level.

Health care experts say the new system is too lenient and will lead to further community spread of the virus.

Ford dismissed the criticism today and questioned whether those observers have looked closely at the details of the new system.

He says the new system is about striking a balance between the needs of communities to reopen and protecting people from the virus.

2:05 p.m. Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting one new case of COVID-19 today, bringing the total number of active cases in the province to three.

Officials say the newest confirmed case is a man in his 50s in the Central Health region.

The individual is a resident of Newfoundland and Labrador and tested positive for the disease after returning from work in Alberta.

The province says the man has been in self-isolation since his arrival and contract tracing is underway.

2 p.m. Manitoba is reporting 374 new COVID-19 cases and two more deaths — a woman in her 80s at a Winnipeg personal care home and a woman in her 90s connected to a outbreak at St. Boniface Hospital.

Health officials say the growing numbers are putting some strain on the health-care system and a plan to expand hospital capacity will be revealed Friday.

1:05 p.m.: Provincial police say a man from French River, Ont., is facing charges after allegedly failing to quarantine after returning from a trip.

They say the 67-year-old, who lives in the community of Alban, didn’t abide by the mandatory two-week quarantine period after returning from Jamaica.

He was fined $1,255 under the Quarantine Act.

The act requires anyone entering Canada “by air, land or sea” to isolate for two weeks if they have symptoms of COVID-19, or to quarantine for the same period if they’re asymptomatic.

12:50 p.m.: Winnipeg police say they are issuing fines to people who violate indoor gathering limits.

The Manitoba government recently moved the greater Winnipeg region into a Red, or restricted, pandemic-alert category and capped gatherings at members of a household plus five people.

Const. Rob Carver says officers are prepared to penalize people who exceed the limit with $1,296 fines.

He says officers will also break up the gatherings and record names for public health contact tracing.

12:45 p.m.: Health officials in Nova Scotia have identified four new cases of COVID-19, bringing the province’s total to 1,118.

Two of the new cases involve people who travelled together outside Atlantic Canada and the other two involve household contacts of a previously reported case.

Nova Scotia is reporting 19 active cases and zero patients in hospital with the disease.

The province has reported 65 deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus and 1,034 cases that are considered recovered

12:18 p.m.: New Brunswick is reporting three new cases of COVID-19.

Health officials said today all three cases are related to travel outside the Atlantic region.

The new cases involve a person in their 20s in the Saint John area, a person in their 50s in the Bathurst region, and a person in their 30s in the Miramichi region.

New Brunswick is reporting 28 active cases of COVID-19.

12:05 p.m.: Dr. Theresa Tam says severe cases of COVID-19 are likely still catching up to the recent spread of the illness.

Canada’s chief public health officer says the daily average of COVID-19 hospitalizations last week across the country was about 1,200 — including 226 patients in intensive care.

She says the country’s average daily death rate over the same period was 40.

Tam said today that hospitalizations and deaths usually lag behind new diagnoses, so there’s a good chance more severe cases are on the way.

12 p.m.: A new report by researchers at the University of Toronto and Carleton University says there’s little evidence indicating the threat of fines is encouraging Canadians to follow COVID-19 rules.

Researchers Alex Luscombe and Alexander McClelland say despite the lack of evidence, provincial governments across Canada are increasingly using fines as a tool to ensure compliance.

Earlier Wednesday, Quebec Deputy Premier Genevieve Guilbault threatened to fine restaurant owners who defy the province’s partial lockdown orders that shut dining areas.

She says the government adopted a decree last week allowing police to fine customers found in businesses that had been ordered closed.

12 p.m.: Quebec reported 1,029 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and 33 more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus.

The province has reported a total of 109,918 cases of COVID-19 and 6,350 deaths linked to the virus.

11:50 a.m.: Public health officials say 16 cases of COVID-19 have been held at a facility in Waterloo Region.

The Region of Waterloo Public Health unit says most of the people who have tested positive are not local residents.

The health unit did not say when the event was held, or name the facility that hosted it.

Dr. Ryan Van Meer, the region’s associate medical officer of health, says the health unit is currently getting in touch with high-risk contacts of those who tested positive.

Van Meer also says the health unit is working with the facility to conduct an investigation into the outbreak.

11:18 a.m.: Denmark’s prime minister said Wednesday that the government wants to cull all minks in Danish farms, to minimize the risk of them re-transmitting the new coronavirus to humans.

Mette Frederiksen said a report from a government agency that maps the coronavirus in Denmark has shown a mutation in the virus found in 12 people in the northern part of the country who got infected by minks. Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said half the 783 human COVID-19 cases in northern Denmark ”are related” to mink.

The country has registered 50,530 confirmed COVID-19 infections and 729 deaths.

11 a.m.: Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting one new case of COVID-19.

Health officials said today the new case involves a man in his 50s who had travelled to Alberta.

Officials say the man has been self-isolating since his return to the province.

Newfoundland and Labrador has reported 292 total cases of COVID-19, three of which are considered active.

10:50 a.m.: Ontario is reporting an additional 116 new cases in public schools across the province, bringing the total in the last two weeks to 907 and 2,476 overall since school began.

, the province reported 81 more students were infected for a total of 527 in the last two weeks; since school began there have been an overall total of 1,399.

The data shows there are seven more staff members infected for a total of 76 in the last two weeks — and an overall total of 313.

The latest report also shows 28 more infected individuals who weren’t identified for a total of 304 in that category in the last two weeks — and an overall total of 764.

There are 581 schools with a reported case, which the province notes is 12 per cent of the 4,828 public schools in Ontario.

One school is closed because of an outbreak. Elder’s Mills Public School, a French-immersion elementary school in Woodbridge, closed Monday after seven confirmed cases of COVID-19. The school is set to reopen on Nov. 11.

There is a lag between the daily provincial data at 10:30 a.m. and news reports about infections in schools. The provincial data on Wednesday is current as of 2 p.m. Tuesday. It also doesn’t indicate where the place of transmission occurred.

The Toronto District School Board updates its information on current COVID-19 cases throughout the day . As of 9 a.m. on Wednesday, there were 183 TDSB schools with at least one active case — 270 students and 60 staff.

The Toronto Catholic District School Board also updates its information . As of Wednesday at 8:40 a.m., there were 107 schools with at least one confirmed case — 86 students and 17 staff.

Epidemiologists have told the Star that the rising numbers in the schools aren’t a surprise, and that the cases will be proportionate to the amount of COVID that is in the community.

10:20 a.m. (updated): Ontario is reporting another 987 COVID-19 cases Wednesday morning, up from 834 last Wednesday.

That brings the seven-day average to 972 daily, the Star’s Ed Tubb reports.

There are also 16 deaths reported, bringing the seven-day average to 10.6.

Both are new highs for the second wave.

There are 319 new cases in Toronto, 299 in Peel, 85 in York Region and 62 in Durham.

There are 945 more resolved cases and nearly 28,600 tests completed.

10:15 a.m.: With one in 10 Ontarians lacking access to high-speed internet, Finance Minister Rod Phillips’ budget will give a boost to broadband, the Star has learned.

Phillips will be in bucolic Minden with Premier Doug Ford, Infrastructure Minister Laurie Scott, and Treasury Board President Peter Bethlenfalvy on Wednesday to tout a new $680 million investment on broadband and cellular service.

With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing millions of people to work remotely from home, Phillips said Queen’s Park has to step up to help rural residents.

10 a.m.: Hungary’s minister of foreign affairs and trade tested positive for the coronavirus after arriving in Thailand for an official visit, Thai and Hungarian officials said Wednesday.

Thai Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said Peter Szijjarto and his 12-member delegation were tested after their arrival Tuesday from Cambodia, but only the foreign minister was found to be infected.

He said Szijjarto, who was tested twice, was sent to Thailand’s Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute for treatment pending his planned evacuation later Wednesday by plane back to his homeland. The 42-year-old foreign minister will return on one plane and the other members of his party in a separate aircraft, Anutin said.

9:22 a.m.: A decision by Canadian officials to relax border restrictions will benefit residents of a small Alaska town where the only road out of the community runs through British Columbia.

The Canadian government on Oct. 30 announced a number of exceptions to 14-day quarantine rules for some border towns including Hyder, Alaska, CoastAlaska reported Tuesday.

The town, which is separated from the rest of Alaska by mountain peaks and open water, has been restricted since March by coronavirus regulations that kept its population of about 60 residents largely cut off from their Canadian neighbours.

9:15 a.m.: The number of coronavirus cases among children in the U.S. has soared to unprecedented levels, with unknown implications, the American Academy of Pediatrics announced Monday.

By Oct. 29, more than 853,000 children had tested positive for COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic, the academy said. This included nearly 200,000 new cases in children during October alone — 61,000 of them during the last week of that month, larger than any previous week during the eight-month pandemic.

“This is a stark reminder of the impact this pandemic is having on everyone — including our children and adolescents,” said AAP President Dr. Sally Goza in a statement. “This virus is highly contagious, and as we see spikes in many communities, children are more likely to be infected, too.”

Children on the whole don’t seem to be affected as much as more vulnerable populations, but they can be vectors of infection to their elders and those with underlying conditions who may get more severely ill.

8:55 a.m.: Russian officials on Wednesday reported 19,768 new coronavirus infections and 389 new deaths, both the highest since the beginning of the pandemic.

Russia’s tally of confirmed coronavirus cases — currently the fourth largest in the world — is nearing 1.7 million amid a rapid resurgence of the outbreak that has been sweeping the vast country since September. The government’s coronavirus task force has also reported over 29,000 deaths since March.

Despite the number of daily new infections in Russia hitting new records every week this month, authorities have so far shunned imposing a second lockdown or shutting down businesses nationwide, insisting that the health care system is able to cope with the surge.

However, in recent weeks alarming reports have surfaced about overwhelmed hospitals, drug shortages and inundated medical workers, in a sign that Russia’s health system is under a significant strain.

8:55 a.m.: The Vatican is following Italy’s lead and will re-close the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel to the public in a bid to contain surging coronavirus infections in Europe.

The Holy See press office said the Museums, as well as the papal villa south of Rome in Castel Gandolfo and the excavations under St. Peter’s Basilica, which are usually open to the public for touring, will close Thursday through Dec. 3.

The decision follows the latest decree approved by the Italian government to shutter museums as part of broader restrictions on movement to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients.

The Vatican Museums, which provide a major source of revenue for the Holy See, had reopened to the public June 1 after a nearly three-month coronavirus lockdown.

8:22 a.m.: Thirsty drinkers in Englandin a pub for a month Wednesday while shoppers will get one last dose of retail therapy as the country prepares to join large swathes of Europe in lockdown as part of intensified efforts to contain the resurgent coronavirus.

Pubs, along with restaurants, hairdressers and other retailing outlets deemed to be selling non-essential items, such as books and sneakers, will have to close their doors Thursday until at least Dec. 2 following a sudden change of course last weekend by the British government. Prime Minister Boris Johnson had for weeks argued in favour of more regional strategies to contain the virus, but said he had to be “humble in the face of nature.”

British lawmakers are set to approve the latest lockdown measures later so they can take effect at midnight.

8:10 a.m.: Manitoba’s health minister after questioning a letter written by doctors about the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cameron Friesen told a legislature committee he wonders about the motivation behind the letter, which he says was issued at a time when the doctors knew it would cause chaos.

The letter, signed by 200 medical doctors and scientists, said the pandemic is spiralling out of control in Manitoba because case numbers have been rising and outbreaks have been occurring at long-term care homes.

The letter also said Manitoba is in “grave peril,” based on international modelling that forecasts how high case numbers could rise.

7:40 a.m. Algeria’s secretive presidency confirmed Wednesday that the mysterious illness that caused President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to be hospitalized in Germany last month was the coronavirus.

The presidency said that the state of 74-year-old Tebboune’s health is “gradually improving” and he “continues to receive treatment in a specialized German hospital after contracting COVID-19.”

It was the first time that officials explicitly mentioned COVID-19 in connection with the Oct. 28 hospitalization. They previously referred to it as being “care in a specialized structure,” without identifying the ailment.

7:30 a.m.: The Ontario government is expected to lay out the next phase of its COVID-19 response as it presents its first budget since the start of the pandemic on Thursday.

The Progressive Conservative government postponed delivering a full fiscal plan earlier this year, citing the economic uncertainty caused by the global health crisis.

The fiscal update it gave instead in March included $17 billion in COVID-19 relief, a projection that was later revised to $30 billion by the end of 2020-2021.

The province also initially predicted a deficit of $20.5 billion, which was later raised to $38.5 billion in light of the additional spending.

The province has already said Thursday’s budget will include details of the new standard for long-term care announced earlier this week, which would see nursing home residents receive an average of four hours of daily direct care.

Finance Minister Rod Phillips has said the fiscal blueprint will provide a multi-year outlook that will build on the measures presented in the spring.

6:42 a.m.: Doctors in England have been put on standby for the possible roll-out of a coronavirus vaccine before Christmas, which would potentially turn the tide in the fight against the pandemic.

Simon Stevens, chief executive of the National Health Service in England, told the BBC on Wednesday that with more than 200 Covid-19 vaccines in development, one will “hopefully” be available in the first part of next year, but doctors will be “gearing up” in case it is ready sooner.

The U.K.’s drug regulator has started accelerated reviews of vaccines under development by Pfizer Inc. and AstraZeneca Plc, as Britain gets ready to approve the first successful shot as quickly as possible.

5:55 a.m.: Pope Francis is urging people follow recommendations from government and public health authorities to prevent coronavirus infections as he held his weekly general audience in private amid a surge of infections in Europe.

The Vatican announced last week that Francis was suspending public audiences and would celebrate all upcoming liturgies without throngs of faithful present, after someone who attended his Oct. 21 audience tested positive.

Francis held his audience Wednesday in his private library with around 10 priests on hand to translate summaries of his catechism lesson. The livestreamed audience is the same setup Francis used during the Vatican’s nearly three-month COVID-19 lockdown in the spring and summer.

In his opening remarks, Francis said “unfortunately” it was necessary to return to the library for the audience to prevent infections.

5:52 a.m.: The World Health Organization says there has been a “further acceleration” in the speed of COVID-19’s spread in Europe, which was responsible for about half of the globe’s new cases reported last week.

The U.N. health agency said in a weekly report published late Tuesday that European countries also recorded a 46% increase in deaths compared with the previous week. Although deaths also rose in the Americas, the rate of increase there was only 2%.

In Europe, France, Italy and the U.K. reported the highest numbers of new cases while Andorra, the Czech Republic and Belgium reported the highest rate per capita.

5:50 a.m.: Santa Claus is coming to town, but this year, Elliot Lake residents will be the ones driving through the streets.

On Nov. 27 from 6 to 8 p.m., a static display of floats will be placed at various locations throughout the city and residents will be able to view the floats along a mapped route from the comfort of their own vehicles.

Elliot Lake’s 41st annual Santa Claus Parade will be entirely static – and with no pedestrian traffic, it will also be COVID-safe.

“This summer, for Canada Day, we didn’t have a parade, either. Instead, we sent out requests for families to decorate their lawns,” said events coordinator Darla Hennessey.

“People got to go around and take a look at all the displays that were put up. Judges drove around and chose the winners. I thought, well, let’s do something like that again for the Santa Claus Parade.”

5:45 a.m.: Health officials in South Korea have approved a new test that’s designed to detect both COVID-19 and seasonal influenza from the same samples, which would help prevent disruption at hospitals as the pandemic stretches into the flu season.

The country has struggled to stem the spread of the coronavirus, which some experts say could spread more broadly during cold weather when people spend more time indoors.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Wednesday reported 118 new cases of COVID-19, most of them in the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area. The national caseload is now at 26,925, including 474 deaths.

People have been increasingly venturing out in public after the government eased social distancing restrictions last month to support a weak economy.

5:20 a.m.: Toronto area home prices and sales rose for the fourth consecutive month in October with the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board forecasting record or near-record sales to continue through the balance of the year.

But as detached house values have soared, a surge in condo supply has rendered prices in that category relatively flat, said the TRREB on Wednesday.

There were 7,441 detached houses listed last month, a year-over-year increase of 6.9 per cent. Condo listings more than doubled to 6,193, compared to October 2019.

5:15 a.m.: The U.S. presidential election remained unresolved Tuesday night, offering no certainty over who would occupy the foreign office most important to Canadian interests.

Critical battleground states including Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania remained without declared winners, leaving both President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden short of the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House.

Tuesday 8:05 p.m.: Health officials are reminding everyone to keep social circles small, particularly in the Fraser Health region, which remains the epicentre of rising case counts in British Columbia.

The province says in a release much of the recent transmission is connected to social gatherings and Fraser Health officials are asking residents to avoid hosting anyone from outside their household.

B.C. reports 299 new cases of COVID-19 and three more deaths on Tuesday, bringing the death toll from the illness to 272.

The province says 3,017 cases are currently active, including 92 people who are in hospital, while 12,430 people who tested positive have recovered.

6:35 p.m.: The active number of COVID-19 cases in Alberta’s two largest cities sits at more than 2,500 each and the province’s top doctor says that’s a problem.

Chief medical health officer Dr. Deena Hinshaw says she’s particularly concerned about Calgary, where the infection rate has grown to 1.2 in the last five days.

That means every person who contracts the illness is infecting 1.2 other people.