Weeks Until We Know COVID-19 Social Distancing Is Working: Top Doctor
OTTAWA — Canadians won’t know for two or three weeks if country-wide social distancing has curbed the spread of COVID-19, Canada’s chief public health officer said Thursday.
But in order to even get to that point, citizens need to start obeying government directives, warned federal, provincial and municipal leaders.
“Our collective resolve to overcome COVID-19 must be solid and undentable,” Dr. Theresa Tam said, during a press conference with federal cabinet ministers. “We don’t just need to flatten the curve, we need to plank it.
“And we need everyone — our government, the communities, families and individuals — to work together. We all have to get it right and get it right, right now, because the price of not doing so is too high.”
Quebec Premier François Legault told reporters not everyone is paying heed to the government’s messages.
“Let’s start off with those individuals who are over 70 years of age,” he said. “Now is not the time to be at the shopping mall. It’s not the time to go spend over an hour at lunch with your friends,” the premier said.
“Head home — Envoye à maison,” he told them, quoting a song by 85-year-old Quebec songwriter Jean-Pierre Ferland about a man who’s seen the world and is now heading home.
Do the right thing.Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto's chief medical officer
In Nova Scotia, Premier Stephen McNeil begged young people to take the issue seriously.
“No parties!,” he told university students.
New Brunswick Premier Blair Higgs enacted a state of emergency Thursday suggesting he had no choice but to force barber shops, golf courses and bars to close, because residents are not listening to directives.
“This is not a game,” he said.
In Toronto, Dr. Eileen de Villa, the city’s medical officer of health, urged non-essential businesses — hair and nail salons, clothing stores — to shut down.
“Do the right thing,” she said.
More than 800 cases of COVID-19 and 12 deaths were...
