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Day one CERB tally: 788,510 approved applications

The Canada Revenue Agency says 788,510 people successfully applied yesterday for pandemic-related emergency relief.

About 572,500 of the applications for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) were made online, while almost 215,800 applied by calling in.

The agency’s figures capture from the time applications opened at 6 a.m. Monday until midnight.

Hundreds of thousands more are expected to apply today and tomorrow for the $2,000-a-month benefit that is available for up to 16 weeks.

Anyone already receiving employment insurance benefits is to be automatically transferred over to the CERB.