Prime minister said ‘we’re going to have to remain vigilant’ until vaccine is found as infections climb across the country

This article is more than 5 months old

This article is more than 5 months old

Justin Trudeau has warned that Canada’s economic shutdown is likely to remain in place for weeks, as coronavirus infections continue to climb across the country.

“I know people are interested in when things will go back to normal. The reality is, it’s going to be weeks still,” the prime minister said on Tuesday. “It is going to be important to get our economy going – but we’re going to have to remain vigilant until such a time as a vaccine is found.”

Trudeau’s measured comments come in stark contrast to Donald Trump, who has grown increasingly frustrated with the protracted slowdown of the American economy and has clashed with state governors over deciding when measures will ease.

On Monday, the US president told reporters that his administration was “very close to completing a plan to open our country. Hopefully, even ahead of schedule.”

The Canadian economy has also ground a halt in recent weeks following advice from health officials to lock down much of the country, prompting the government to pass billions in temporary aid. Nearly 6 million Canadians have applied for the government’s relief measures, which provide C$2,000 (US$1,400) each month for four months.

But while health officials are optimistic that early action by the country’s provinces may have avoided crisis-level admissions to hospital seen in New York City and much of northern Italy, Trudeau nonetheless cautioned that much of the risk was still present.

“We must remain in this phase for some time to come,” he said. “We are not on the other side of the curve at this point. We’re not through this first wave of Covid-19.”

'We’re a part of the spread': flight attendant's guilt over Covid-19 Read more

He also suggested that the border with the US would remain closed to all non-essential travel for weeks to come, calling it an “extremely important” measure of curbing the spread of the virus.

As of Tuesday, Canada had recorded more than 26,100 cases of the coronavirus and 823 deaths, many of which happened at long-term care facilities.

Trudeau extended his condolences to families that have lost loved ones in retirement homes.

“We recognize the tragic and terrible stories that have come out of long-term care homes. We know we need to do more.”