There is cause for cautious optimism that the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic is slowing, Canada’s top doctor said Wednesday, as the country’s central bank warned that the economic downturn tied to the virus would be the worst on record.
There is cause for cautious optimism that the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic is slowing, Canada’s top doctor said Wednesday, as the country’s central bank warned that the economic downturn tied to the virus would be the worst on record.
Even as the country passed the grim milestone of 1,000 deaths on Wednesday, chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam said there is evidence the epidemic’s rate of spread is slowing.
Tam noted the number of cases in the country is now doubling every 10 days or so, compared to every three days in late March. But she warned that emerging from COVID-19 would “be like making our way down the mountain in the darkness,” stressing that it was too soon to ease physical distancing measures.
“We mustn’t rush or let go of our safety measures, or the fall will be hard and unforgiving,” she said in her daily briefing in Ottawa.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday that widespread testing and contact-tracing will be key to an eventual reopening of the Canadian economy — something he said is still weeks away.
“We have to be through this first wave sufficiently to be able to know we have the capacity to stamp out and restrict any future outbreaks as they come along,” he said. “That means technology, that means better testing capacity, that means continued