Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the border deal with the United States to ban non-essential travel is close to completion, but reiterated social distancing measures could be necessary well into the spring.
“We are going to continue to follow the best recommendations of experts, we’ve heard anything from weeks to months,” he said Thursday.
“This is a difficult and extraordinary time, in which Canadians are taking difficult and extraordinary measures.”
In the much shorter term, Trudeau said the border agreement should be complete soon.
“We’ve almost there, my understanding is that the measures will probably come into place in the night between Friday and Saturday,” he said.
Trudeau’s outlook on social distancing comes a day after Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said that province’s scientists don’t expect their peak of positive cases to hit for another four to five weeks.
“It's my duty as premier to offer people a sense of hope, but it's also my obligation to be realistic and honest,” Kenney said. “I think Albertans need to start to wrap their heads around that.”
Trudeau also said efforts are being made to ramp up production of protective equipment for health care workers, not only by manufacturers but that the government is considering military procurement to speed it up as well.
As for seniors who have seen their pensions and savings significantly impacted, Trudeau said measures are on the way for that too.
“We recognize that the market disruptions are massive,” he said. “We know our seniors have worked hard all their lives to be able to retire in comfort and there is a lot of anxiety there, that’s why we will be there.”
Ontario saw its biggest one-day jump in positive cases Thursday, increasing by 43 to 257 overall.
Of those, 251 are positive, while the numbers for resolved (5) and deceased (1) remained the same.