Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said in today’s daily briefing (April 2) that this week is “critical” in the fight against COVID-19.
Freeland encouraged Canadians to stay home, announcing this morning’s toll: 10,113 confirmed cases in Canada. The deputy prime minister reaffirmed her plea, asking Canadians to continue social distancing, hand-washing, and self-isolating when returning from foreign countries.
Minister of Foreign Affairs François-Philippe Champagne reminded Canadians that self-isolation is mandatory when entering from foreign countries.
“This is the law, full stop,” he said, referring to the March 25 Emergency Order by Minister of Health Patty Hajdu, requiring any person entering Canada to self-isolate for 14 days, regardless of symptoms.
Hajdu said not to listen to what she called “conspiracy theories” when asked about a U.S. intelligence report saying that China’s COVID-19 statistics were falsified.
“As long as corona exists in one country,” she said, “it exists in all of our countries.”
Hajdu also announced the arrival to Canada of new medical supplies and personal protective equipment:
“Over 10 million masks […] thanks in large part to a company called Medicom. Overnight we received a shipment of 1.1 million masks from a supplier that has now arrived in Hamilton. We also validated a donation of 500,000 masks from the Jack Ma Foundation in the past 24 hours, and another 700,000 from our government stockpile. […] We are also in the process of shipping 174 ventilators, and more are being dispatched.”
Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam said that everyone has a role in flattening the curve: “We need gamers, YouTubers, Tik Tok and Snapchat users to join our effort and spread the word, through #stayhome.”
