Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is due to address the nation again on Monday after a weekend that saw health officials strengthen their tone on COVID-19 as provinces took more drastic measures to stem the virus’s spread.
News of Trudeau’s press conference, which is scheduled for 11 a,m Saskatchewan time, came hours after cabinet ministers left a meeting on Sunday promising big action. Some of those same ministers are set to speak to reporters after Trudeau’s address.
“I think the most important thing that Canadians want to know right now is how we can keep them safe, and that has been our main priority as a government, and that’s why starting tomorrow you will be hearing, also, some important news,” Tourism Minister Melanie Joly told reporters Sunday.
“Starting tomorrow, you will be hearing the decisions that we just took.”
Joly didn’t explain why they were waiting to make the announcement.
The ministerial meeting came the same day that the country’s top public health official, Dr. Theresa Tam, said quick action was needed to prevent the outbreak’s most damaging effects.
“Our window to flatten the curve of the epidemic is narrow,” Dr. Theresa Tam said at a news conference. “We all need to act now. COVID-19 is a serious public health threat.”
If people don’t stay home in an effort to “social distance,” the virus will spread so quickly that too many people will need urgent medical care at once, she said.
Over the weekend, the number of confirmed cases in Canada climbed from 197 to 341.
Tam repeated previous government messages about avoiding large public gatherings, practising social distancing and avoiding travel outside of Canada. She also said Canadians returning from trips abroad should immediately go into self-isolation for 14 days rather than simply self-monitoring.
Premier Scott Moe sent out a tweet Sunday night indicating he will have more to say on the province’s response towards COVID-19 on Monday.
The Government of Saskatchewan is actively considering a number of further preventative measures to protect Saskatchewan people during the COVID-19 pandemic. We will be announcing further details tomorrow. #COVID19SK
— Scott Moe (@PremierScottMoe) March 16, 2020
At this time,, there have been six presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 in Saskatchewan.
Mayor Michael Fougere and city manager Chris Holden are also speaking this morning at 10 a.m to give the latest info from the city on what they are doing to try and limit the spread of the virus
