COVID-19 cases spike, says WHO

International

Global News – The World Health Organization reported its largest spike in COVID-19 cases Sunday June 21, with more than 183,000 new cases in the last 24 hours.

Experts believe the large increase in cases
can be contributed to a number of different factors including more widespread
testing and broader infection.

Overall, the total number of confirmed cases worldwide reported by WHO is at 8.7 million, with 416,715 deaths.

National

CBC – The Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) is being extended for two more months.

Recipients will have to sign an attestation stating they are aware the government wants them to get jobs.

Students receiving CESB may be asked to prove that they are actively searching for a job. They are encouraged to keep records of their job-hunting activities.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux estimated that the federal deficit for the year has risen to $260 billion due to COVID-19.

Local

Ottawa Citizen – Ottawa nurses are infuriated.

Hundreds of nurses at four different hospitals hit the streets Thursday June 18, 2020 to protest the provincial wage restraint which caps any pay increase at one per cent.

Many nurses believe the wage ruling is particularly frustrating since they are consistently praised for the work they do.

Nurses have seen their wages decrease by more than four per cent, while Ontario Provincial Police have seen an increase of more than eight per cent.

Those excluded from the wage cap tend to be male-dominated, while nursing remains female-dominated.