OTTAWA — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday that he expected the closure of the U.S.-Canada border to take effect overnight on Friday and was working with domestic carriers to bring home citizens stranded overseas. Canada, which closed its borders this week to most foreign nationals, agreed with the United States to close their shared border to "non-essential traffic" to curb transmission of the novel coronavirus. Canada has more than 800 cases of the COVID-19 respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus, and 12 deaths. Some 55,000 people have been tested across the country, Chief Medical Officer Theresa Tam said. "What continues to concern us is the day-by-day sharp increase in cases and reports from provinces of new cases with no links to travel," Tam told reporters.

Source: International New York Times March 19, 2020 16:25 UTC