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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave another update on the COVID-19 situation today, and announced another measure being taken by officials to help flatten the curve.
Trudeau said that they have been encouraging those with any cold or flu symptoms to not travel and to stay home, and now officials have formalized domestic travels rules to prevent further spread of the virus.
Starting Monday at 12 pm, anyone showing any symptoms of COVID-19 will be denied boarding on domestic flights and intercity passenger trains.
He added that the government will be addressing different travel measures as they come up, but as of right now they are not considering closing provincial borders.
He also addressed a cruise ship stranded off the coast of Panama with hundreds of Canadian passengers on board.
The Canadian government is working with the government in Panama to try and get those people home.
“We know this is a very difficult situation for them and their families. A lot of people all over the world are worried about being able to get home.”
He added that every Global Affairs employee is focused on the “Herculean task” of bringing people home, which includes working with other countries to get permissions to dock, or to land in countries where airspaces have been closed.
Trudeau said that there are sacrifices that Canadians are making, and thankfully, it’s starting to work.
“Saturday is usually a time where we get together with friends, spend some time with the kids, with family,” he said. “Obviously this is another different Saturday, as we’ve had over the past few weeks. We need you to continue to stay home, we need to continue to do everything we can to flatten the curve.”
Good news out of BC was mentioned during the update as well, which was shared by Dr. Bonnie Henry yesterday.
Modelling shows that the spread of the virus in BC resembles the situation in South Korea, not Italy.
Trudeau called the news “promising,” adding that Canadians need to keep it up in order to put an end to this health crisis.
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