Right now there are not enough kits or labs to conduct rapid diagnostic tests on everyone who develops coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms. Because of this, medical professionals cannot test someone unless they have been to certain countries and are forced to wait agonizingly for the results.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/02/coronavirus-new-york-city-doctor-has-to-plead-to-test-people.html

This practice is unlikely to contain the coronavirus for many reasons. The same practice has failed in Italy and many other European countries. It has failed because 80% of coronavirus cases show only mild to moderate symptoms and some of these have not been to listed countries.

Many victims have unwittingly come into contact with people who have been to those countries through public gatherings, mass transit or other casual contact. If unchecked, it is estimated that each victim will infect two others and each of those will infect two others and so on. In a few months, at that rate, millions of Canadians could be infected

https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/who-china-joint-mission-on-covid-19-final-report.pdf

Justin Trudeau, please spend more than just $1 million to fund efforts to create rapid diagnostic tests and approve the testing of anyone with symptoms for the coronavirus. We need to do this since the failure of containment could cost us billions in this country alone from lost wages and business closures. There is at least one made in Canada solution, lets fund it with more than a tiny fraction of the money we stand to lose not to mention the priceless lives at stake.

The lab-in-a-box solution

There is a small window for containment and it is closing fast. We need to know how many Canadians have the virus so that they can self isolate. We also need to get as many kits to other nations as we can so that we can stop the global spread of this virus. It makes sense to help our neighbours whenever we can, since helping them will ensure that markets for our products stay open.

This virus kills 14.8% of cases over 80, 3.6% of those 60-69 and is 10 to 20 times more fatal than the common flu to the rest of the population. It poses a very real threat to the lives of our loved ones but its most potent weapon is fear as this contagion marches inexorably to the level of a pandemic.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-age-sex-demographics/

We have the opportunity now to step forward with courage and confront it instead of cowering with fear. Please sign this petition and stand against the global advance of this deadly virus.

If you have a Twitter account, please link to this petition with:

#TestsForCoronavirus

The WHO appointed Dr Bruce Aylward as the leader of containment of the disease in China. Here is what he had to say about containment.

"You've remained very optimistic about containing the virus. You've said you believe containment is still possible. Is that still what you believe?

It's not what I believe. It's the reality of the virus.

The important thing we learned in China, and I think this was a surprise for me and for the really top experts we had on the team, is that you can actually control a virus that spreads through a respiratory route with some old-fashioned public health measures.

The virus that we know best in this regard is flu, and it moves so fast. The conventional wisdom is that it's not possible to slow these down this way.

What we saw in China was with the rigorous approach and right population measures — that means hand washing, finding the cases, finding their contacts, etc. — you could actually really slow these things down, prevent an awful lot of illness and prevent a lot of deaths. Those lessons are really, really, clear."

Taken from the CBC website on 10 March 2020

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/a-newfoundlander-is-leading-the-global-fight-against-covid-19-and-wants-you-to-know-the-facts/ar-BB10ZBzg?ocid=spartandhp