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캐나다 수상, COVID-19 Update



OTTAWA -- Facing questions about why the federal government has yet to release comprehensive national projections on the scale of the virus’ spread and how long it’ll be before Canadians can expect a return to some sense of normalcy, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that information is coming “soon.”

Trudeau continues to implore Canadians to stay home if they want to come out of the pandemic sooner rather than later, saying there are still too many people going out unnecessarily, to the detriment of front-line workers. He also reemphasized the need for cross-Canada collaboration in advance of a Thursday evening call with the premiers.

In recent weeks, Trudeau has fielded numerous questions about the time it’ll take before Canada emerges from the pandemic, and has yet to offer specifics on what his government’s death toll projections are, despite such fatalities projections being shared publicly in other countries.

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at point,” Trudeau said, noting that certain provinces continue to bring in “more and more stiff measures.”

Trudeau had also indicated early in the week that the military was readying itself to join the federal fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. He said that, while the federal government had not yet received a formal request from a province or territory for the military’s intervention, they are ready to respond should they be asked to deploy.

There is another parliamentary recall on the horizon, as front-line workers await the promise of mass orders of personal protective equipment and medical supplies, and laid off Canadians contemplate how to make ends meet while waiting on emergency financial assistance.

Trudeau said that 10 million masks have already been delivered and are now being distributed across the country, with another shipment of more than a million masks being examined in a Hamilton, Ont. warehouse. He also highlighted a new shipment of face masks from Canadian hockey outfitter Bauer, calling it “a quintessentially Canadian” example of the industry re-tooling underway.

Clearing his throat a few times during his address, the prime minister said there is “absolutely nothing to worry about” when it comes to his health, though he remains in self-isolation at his residence. Trudeau said that he continues to show no COVID-19 symptoms.

Facing questions about the global accountability aspect of the virus, namely in the way China has handled the outbreak and their level of openness about the reality in that country, Trudeau said there will be time to dissect what did and didn’t work.

“Obviously there will be many, many questions as this is all worked through over the coming months and indeed years on how this was handled, what lessons are taken, who did well, who didn’t do as well, and who was perhaps not as forthcoming with the global community as they should have been,” Trudeau said.

Further, Hajdu said that the World Health Organization is co-ordinating international data on the virus, and that “as long as coronavirus exists in one country it exists in all of our countries.”

As of midday Thursday, the number of confirmed cases rose to 11,068 in Canada, with 130 people dead and another 1,688 people recovered from the virus