Trudeau says 'knee-jerk reactions' won't stop spread of COVID-19

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada won't ban foreign travellers arriving from countries grappling with COVID-19 outbreaks, adding that"knee-jerk reactions" won't help to stop the spread of the virus.

Canada's approach differs from the protocols adopted by some of our closest allies.

U.S. President Donald Trump has claimed the United States is experiencing alow number of infections because it sealedits borders to travellers coming from outbreak-affected countries.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrisonannounced Thursday that coronavirus-related travel bans on foreigners coming from China and Iran will be extended to South Korea.

Australian citizens and permanent residents from those countries can enter Australia, butwill be required to self-isolate for two weeks.

Trudeau was asked todayif Canada would take similar steps.

"We recognize there are countries that make different decisions. The decisions we make are based on the best recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the tremendous health experts who work within Canada and around the world," he told reporters after an event in Toronto.

"We know that keeping Canadians safe needs to be done in the right way and we're going to keep doing things that actually keep Canadians safe. There is a lot of misinformation out there, there is a lot of knee-jerk reaction that isn't keeping people safe. That is having real, challenging impacts on communities, on community safety."

Trudeau on coronavirus and other countries' containment strategies

4 years ago

Duration 0:58

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offers his opinion on how other countries choose to deal with the spread of COVID-19.

There are now 45confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Canada: 21in British Columbia, 22 in Ontario and two in Quebec.

Trudeau said the government's approach is to inform Canadians on how best to protect their families, and to act on the advice of health experts to develop a response that is "active and up-to-date every step of the way."

Conservative health criticMatt Jeneroux said the government should consider steps to contain the virus, such as more vigorous screening processes for people entering Canada,mandatory quarantines for those arriving from high-risk countriesand suspension of incoming and outgoing flights from high-risk areas.

"These are someconcretemeasures that show Canadians and other countries that Canada is doing more than just depending on individuals to wash their hands often," he said."It's critical for the government to be clear with Canadians on their plan to prepare for a possible outbreak and what next steps are being considered."

During a briefing with reporters Wednesday, Canada's Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said again that sealing off borders is not an effective approach to containing the virus. She said border measures work better when they focus on educating travellers about the symptoms, and what they should do if they get sick.

No travel bans

To date, Canada has not imposed any travel bans. Instead, it's asking travellers returning from Hubei, China the epicentre of the outbreak and Iran, where a significant outbreak has occurred,to self-isolate for two weeks after they arrive here.

Global Affairs Canada has issued travel advisories forvarious countries which are updated regularly toreflect changingrisk levels.

"We believe that travellers and Canadians are quite sensitized, so they're presenting to the health system in a very appropriate way, being fully alerted," Tam said.

"It's also a balance for the health system ... There has to be some guidance as to how you triage patients going through the health system.The border actually is a great place to tell them which phone numbers to call to call ahead, so that your emergency rooms or your clinics are not inundated should you not be required to show up as well."

Stopping spread of misinformation

As misinformation about the cause, spread and possible cures for COVID-19 runs rampant on social media sites, Facebook Canada today launched a pop-up in news feeds directingusers to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC)website. The pop-up also appears as the first result when people search for coronavirus on Facebook.

In a statement Friday, Facebooksaid it'salso removing content pushing false claims and conspiracy theories about the virus that have been debunked by WHO or other credible health experts.

"We're focusing on claims where, if someone relies on the information, it makes them more likely to get sick or not get treatment," says a statement from the social media giant."This includes claims related to false cures or prevention methods like drinking bleach cures the coronavirus or claims that discourage treatment or create confusion about health resources that are available."

On Wednesday,the Bank of Canada cut its key interest rate targetby halfa percentage pointin response to what it called the "material negative shock"from the outbreak.

Today, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz suggested further cuts could be on the horizon as theCOVID-19 situation evolves.

"While markets continue to function well, the bank will continue to ensure that the Canadian financial system has sufficient liquidity," he said in a speech to a Toronto audience Thursday.

"And we continue to closely monitor economic and financial conditions, in close coordination with other G7 central banks and fiscal authorities."