PM urges Canadians not to drop their guard as officials show progress in COVID-19 fight

New COVID-19 modelling released today shows that public health measures are working to slow the spread of COVID-19 but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned that easing pandemic restrictions too quickly could lead to a dangeroussetback.

Provinces released new guidelines on how to safely reopenbusiness and schools and loosenphysical distancing rules this afternoon, just hours after federal health officials delivered positive projections on expected new cases and deaths.

Trudeau urged Canadians to stay the course.

"The measures we have taken so far are working. In fact, in many parts of the country, the curve has flattened. But we are not out of the woods yet," Trudeausaid during his daily briefing.

"We are in the middle of the most serious public health emergency Canada has ever seen, and if we lift measures too quickly, we could lose the progress we've made."

As of Tuesday morning, Canada had recorded more than 49,000 reported cases of COVID-19 and more than 2,700 deaths.

Watch: Trudeau on the long-term need for pandemic restrictions

'We are not out of the woods yet': Trudeau

4 years ago

Duration 3:25

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says public health measures are working to slow the spread of COVID-19, but cautioned that easing restrictions too fast could reverse the progress made to date.

Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada's chief public health officer, cited some positive pandemic newsin the new modelling data. Caseload growthis slowing across the country and Canada has experienced slower growth than many other countries, she said.

The number of newcases of COVID-19 was doubling every three days previously, and is now doubling every 16 days.

Short-term projections predict between 53,191 and 66,835 cases by May 5, and between 3,277 and 3,883 deaths by that date.

Tam said the revised projections reflect the "heavy toll" the virus is taking on vulnerable populations.

Right now, most of the deaths about 79 per cent are occurring in long-term care facilities and seniors' homes.

The virus is also proving difficult to contain in other environments, such as homeless shelters, prisons and jails and group homes.

Watch: Trudeau asked whether he would send his kids back to school in two weeks, as Quebec is proposing:

Trudeau questioned about Quebec's plan to reopen schools

4 years ago

Duration 1:54

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with reporters on Tuesday.

There are also regional differences. While the number of cases has levelled off in several provinces, the caseload in Quebec, Ontario and Alberta is "driving" the epidemic's growth in Canada, Tam said. There are no cases in Nunavutand no community spread in Prince Edward Island, Northwest Territories or Yukon.

For the virus to die out, the average number of people to whom an infected individual passes the virus has to drop below one. Tam said that,right now, strong controls such as physical distancing and self-isolation have limited the average number of people each case infects to slightly more than one.

Avoiding future 'waves'

Tam warned that public health measures will need to remain in place until there is a high level of immunity or a vaccine to avoid "future epidemic waves."

To stay on course, she said,Canadians must continue physical distancing, contact tracing and quarantine measures.

"It is critical to remember that once we are on the downside of the slope, we must absolutely remain vigilant and continue our public health measures," she said.

Watch: Dr. Theresa Tam on the pandemic 'marathon'

'This is absolutely still a marathon': Dr. Tam

4 years ago

Duration 3:27

Canada's chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, says Canadians will not be going back to what life was like before January until there is enough immunity in the population to protect against the COVID-19 virus.

Tam said that while she recognizes the impactof pandemic measures on the economy, Canadians'mental health and gender-based violence,no one shouldexpect to resume their formerdaily routinefor some time yet.

"It is a very delicate balance that we all have to really manage very well," she said.

"We all understand that if the virus accelerates again, that would be a massive setback to the gains that we've already had. So we've got to keep going at it. This is absolutely still a marathon."

Tam firstreleased the federal government's COVID-19 modelling on April9. Those projections included a number of scenarios and long-term forecasts, including a death toll of between 11,000 and 22,000 over the course of the pandemic even with ongoingphysical distancing and other disease control measures.

The long-term projections did not change today, but Tam warned that there could be a significant "second wave" of infections if Canadians drop their guard.

A guidingframeworkon reopening economies jointly agreed to by the federal, provincial and territorial governments was released today.

The document says first ministers have agreed on a"gradual and phased approach" to lifting restrictions to protect the health of Canadians, shieldhigh-risk groups and ensure thehealth care system retains the capacityto respond to future outbreaks.

They also agreed the plan must support a broad range of economic sectors.

The plan's preconditions for easing restrictions and reopening economies include:

• COVID-19 transmission coming under control,so that health care systems can manage the number of new cases with "substantial" clinical care capacity and a stabilized number of hospitalizations, with the possible exception of isolated outbreaks.
• Public health capacity that's sufficientto test, trace and isolate cases.
• Supportsto help vulnerable groups and communities.
• Measuresto prevent the introduction and spread of COVID-19 in workplaces.
• A plan tolimit therisk of importing the virus by easing and managing restrictions onnon-essential domestic travel in a coordinated manner, while recognizing that reopening international borders may happen only in later stages.

Trudeau said Canadians' actions going forward will decidewhether theprogress continues.

'It all depends on us'

"It all depends on us. You've already stepped up to help your family, friends and neighbours stay safe, and your governments across the country are stepping up as well," he said.

"We are a big country, and we don't always agree on everything. But right now, the premiers and the federal government are working together to fight this crisis."

Watch: Full press conference to release updated COVID-19 projections

Officials release new COVID-19 numbers showing slower spread

4 years ago

Duration 1:01:48

Canada's chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam and Canada's deputy chief public health officer Dr. Howard Njoo provided updated projections on the number of potential cases and deaths in Canada from COVID-19.

Some provinces, such asSaskatchewan, New Brunswick and Ontario, already havereleased tentative plans to ease those restrictions.

Quebec Premier Franois Legaulthas announced plans to begin reopening schools, businesses and daycares in the coming weeks.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is taking a more cautious approach. Hereleaseda plan for a staged reopening process but stressedit is a "roadmap, not a calendar."

Ontario's framework says the provincemust see a "consistent two-to-four-week decrease in the number of new daily COVID-19cases" before the government begins loosening restrictions.