Canada: Covid-19: Provincial And Federal Briefings - 25 August 2020

A summary of the day's activities of Tuesday, August 25, follows. 

Federal Government Relief Measures

Funding of $82.5 million for emergency mental health services to Indigenous communities in the context of COVID-19 until March 2021.

Statement of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Prime Minister Trudeau did not hold a press conference today.

Federal Government Briefing

• The Hon. Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry
• The Hon. Marc Miller, Minister of Indigenous Services
• Dr. Theresa Tam, Chief Public Health Officer of Canada
• Dr. Howard Njoo, Deputy Chief Public Health Officer of Canada

Dr. Tam provided the most recent statistics on COVID-19 in Canada.   There have been 125,647 cases of COVID-19 in Canada, including 9,082 deaths. Eight-nine per cent of people have now recovered. Labs across Canada have tested over 5,000,000 people for COVID-19 to date.  An average of 48,000 people are tested daily, with 0.7 per cent testing positive. Over the past 14 days, an average of 400 cases have been reported daily from across Canada.

Both Dr. Tam and Dr. Njoo stated that public health officials are closely monitoring disease indicators "to inform, adjust and adapt our actions as needed."  Latest data indicates:

• Average daily case counts remain relatively stable.
• Daily case counts are increasing west of Ontario.
• Compared to the first peak of the epidemic, young people account for the majority cases over many weeks now.  Last week 46 per cent of the people under 40 years of age were infected with the virus, with people in the 20-29 age group being overrepresented.

Dr. Tam and Dr. Njoo expressed "unease" with the daily case counts even though that count was below 500 since early June down from the 1,000 cases recorded in early May. According to Dr.Tam and Dr. Njoo, infection among young people "builds of a reservoir of the virus" that can spill over to older adults or to people with preexisting conditions who are at higher risk of serious outcomes.

Their concluding comments were "being part of the solution is the right action to take."

Minister of Indigenous Services Marc Miller announced $82.5 million in mental health and wellness supports to help Indigenous communities adapt and expand mental wellness services, improving access and addressing growing demand, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Minister Bains provided an update on contracts with Canadian companies to produce PPE and medical equipment. For example, Precision ADM is producing 120,000 nasal swabs a week while LumiUltra is delivering 500,000 test kits per week to meet the very high demands for COVID-19 tests. The CanCOVID network of 2,300 Canadian researchers is working to share information to strengthen COVID-19 science and further understand the virus.

Questions from the journalists focused on vaccine program implementation.

Dr. Tam acknowledged that vaccine program implementation must address the issue of vaccine "confidence". She underlined that COVID-19 is the first pandemic in the age of the Internet and social media.  Because of the amount of online information, it is difficult to sort out what is credible information and what is not. She questioned the reasonableness of expecting companies or governments to address misinformation and disinformation in this space. "This is a massive challenge," she said.

As for the approaching flu season, Dr. Njoo said, "we plan for the worst and hope for the best". He said, "we need to manage cases to avoid a peak of cases that compromises the capacity of the health care system to deal with patients.  We are trying to avoid a lockdown situation similar to what went through in the spring."

Dr. Njoo confirmed that flu season is milder in the southern hemisphere than in previous years because people are respecting public health measures to prevent COVID-19. He added the federal government had recently released guidance on how the roll-out the flu vaccine in the current environment.  

A journalist wanted to know why Health Canada was opposed to home testing.  Dr. Njoo explained the gold standard is the PCR based test.  Technologies are being assessed against that gold standard.  He added, "If testing is conducted in a haphazard way, you increase the risk of obtaining high negative results."

Asked to comment on Quebec's decision not ask Quebecers to download to COVID alert app, both Dr. Tam and Dr. Njoo noted that they continue to work closely with their counterparts with provinces and territories on contact tracing.   

"From a Canadian perspective," they said, "we want as many Canadians as possible to use the app. It is one layer of protection. The faster you have the contacts identified, the better. That is the idea of this app." 

They confirmed that over 2 million people in Ontario had downloaded the COVID Alert app to date.

Statement of Erin O'Toole, Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada

MP Erin O'Toole, Durham-Ontario, held his first news conference as leader of the Conservative Party of Canada this morning in Ottawa. He used the opportunity to introduce himself to Canadians and outline his vision for Canada. His introductory remarks were very similar to his victory speech. 

During the question and answer session with journalists, Erin O'Toole said he spoke with Prime Minister Trudeau yesterday.  During their conversation, he expressed his "deep concern" with Western alienation, raised prorogation and parliamentary oversight.  While he did not provide specifics on whether or not he was prepared to provide content for the Speech from the Throne, he did say that he wants a return of Parliamentary Committees in the fall.

Erin O'Toole repeated on at least three separate occasions that Prime Minster Trudeau was attempting to trigger an election with the confidence vote on the Speech from the Throne.  At one point he said, "If Trudeau wants to play games and provoke an election, we are ready."

Statement of Ontario Premier Doug Ford

At a news conference in Etobicoke, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced the government was investing $16 million to build a new catholic elementary school for 600 children and add 88 more child care spaces. Minister of Education Stephen Lecce and Associate Minister of Transportation and MPP for Etobicoke Centre Kinga Surma joined the Premier.

This project is part of the government's commitment to invest $12 billion over 10 years in new and existing schools, with over $500 million to be invested this year. The funding will help build and expand schools, complete major renovations, and create more child care spaces across the province.

Premier Ford said, "Investing in young people is so important.  They are the further of this province.  That begins with education."

Premier Ford defended a new advertising campaign launched by his government to promote its school reopening plan.  Premier Ford said opposition politicians who have criticized the ads are "playing politics" and his government needs to keep parents informed on back-to-school measures.

Minister Lecce added the government has an obligation to provide public health information, particularly when 2 million students are returning to school in September. The ads complied with the standards established by the Attorney General of Ontario.

Regarding the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) letter requesting more funding from the government, Minister Lecce reiterated that the back to school plan includes full funding for PPE.  He also said the school boards had been informed of the government's rebuilding and renovating schools allocation of $1.4 billion for maintenance and renewal funding to update ventilation and HVAC.

Minister Lecce said the government has signaled that it will continue to be there for the province's school boards. "As evidence emerges that we need to do more, we will do more for our boards," he added.

A journalist asked Premier Ford to comment on Quebec's decision not to ask Quebecers to download the COVID alert app. He said he would ask Premier Legault the reason(s) for his decision when having dinner with him in a couple of weeks.

Statement of Quebec Premier François Legault

Quebec Premier François Legault spoke with reporters in Saint-Hyacinthe after meeting with local elected officials. Chantale Soucy, MPP for Saint-Hyacinthe joined the Premier. 

Premier Legault reported that the meeting with the mayors focused on the investments that the government is preparing to make in the region to revive the local economy as quickly as possible. The Premier stated that the province's unemployment rate is among the lowest in Canada, which is good news for the province's future in the short term. Premier Legault noted that the mayors expressed their satisfaction with the back-to-school plan presented by the Minister of Education.

In conclusion, Premier Legault reiterated his wish for the adoption of Bill 61 in the National Assembly.  The Premier said the bill was necessary for economic recovery. Premier Legault hopes for the collaboration and participation of the opposition parties in the upcoming debates on Bill 61.

Earlier in the morning, the Minister of Health and Social Services Christian Dubé, the Minister for Government Digital Transformation Eric Claire and Dr. Horacio Arruda, Quebec's director of public health provided an update on COVID-19.   

Minister Claire announced the government had decided not to adopt the COVID Alert exposure notification app given that the situation is under control in the province.  He did say, however, that the government is preparing to deploy such an application rapidly in the event of a surge in cases in Quebec.

Minister Claire said that for the time being the government prefers to focus on screening and being able to adapt rapidly. The testing capacity is currently at 18,000 tests per day, but the goal is to increase this capacity for the beginning of the school year.

Elsewhere in Canada

Alberta

Yesterday, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, announced 258 new COVID-19 cases, including two deaths over the weekend. There were 1,172 active cases in the province with 45 people are in hospital, including nine in intensive care.

Dr. Hinshaw stated that most new COVID-19 cases in Alberta are linked to social gatherings, and gave a reminder to keep gatherings small. She recommended keeping a written list of attendees at any gathering for at least two weeks. She also reminded families with children going back to school to be cautious of close contact between those children and older relatives. She further reminded young people to keep their circles small and to follow all precautions.

British Columbia

Yesterday, Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, and Dr. Bonnie Henry, BC's provincial health officer, also announced a rebound in cases reporting 269 new cases of COVID-19 over the preceding three days, including one death.   

There were 109 cases from Friday to Saturday, the highest one-day total ever recorded in BC. As of yesterday, the province reported a record high of 913 active COVID-19 cases with 18 individuals in hospital, including five in intensive care, and 2,595 people in self-isolation.

Minister Dix and Dr. Henry said, "Public health teams continue to closely watch our key indicators to ensure we are staying where we need to be. We still have low transmission and we want to keep it that way as our summer continues and we look to the fall. It is about finding the balance - protecting vulnerable people and keeping our activities going."

According to a CBC online news story, the host of a party in Victoria that, according to police, drew as many as 60 people, was fined $2,300 over the weekend. The same fine was issued to four separate venues in Surrey and to the organizers of a large party in Richmond.

Dr. Henry said that it is up to every individual to follow public health advice and pointed out that the stricter enforcement rules are there for when they are needed