Students and recent graduates waiting to see when they can start tapping into some of the aid available found out today that they can start applying Friday for the Canada Emergency Student Benefit.

The Prime Minister made the announcement in his daily COVID-19 briefing. He noted that because of the pandemic there are not as many jobs this summer and students need to work to pay tuition or daily expenses for the year to come.

The site explaining how to apply, as well as allowing students to lay some of the groundwork for application, will go live today.

The Prime Minister also reported, on the government aid front, that more than half a million small businesses have received a loan through the Canada Emergency Business Account. And over 120,000 employers have been approved to receive the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy for almost 2 million workers.

As well, Health Canada has approved a test that will allow them to determine if you have COVID-19 antibodies in your blood. The Prime Minister confirmed the antibody test at his daily COVID-19 briefing. Justin Trudeau says it is crucial step forward for the COVID-19 task force. It allows scientists to find out whether a person was exposed to COVID-19 or whether they still have the virus-fighting antibodies in their system.

In terms of whether the government should be ruling that Canadians have to wear masks when out in public, the Prime Minister says that is the responsibility of the provinces and territories to decree. He points out that there are different realities for different regions of the country; for example Prince Edward Island which has had no deaths versus Quebec which accounts for 60% of the deaths in Canada due to COVID-19.