Canada surpasses 1,000 coronavirus cases
Posted March 20, 2020 6:36 pm.
Last Updated March 21, 2020 8:22 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Canada surpassed 1,000 cases overall of the coronavirus today. The 1,052 confirmed cases include 13 deaths and 11 resolved.
The bleak milestone was reach as Ontario reported 60 news cases, British Columbia reported 77 and Alberta had 49.
They currently have the top three totals in the country with British Columbia at 348 and Ontario at 318. Alberta currently is reporting 195 COVID-19 cases.
Canadians have increasingly sought government support over the past week as the pandemic encroaches ever further on daily life. Businesses, schools and previously routine activities have been shutting down en masse as a growing number of people are forced into self-isolation or urged to practice social distancing to help “flatten the curve.”
Ottawa has been working with provinces and territories, which deliver health care, to determine where gaps exist in the system and to try to fill them before they become a significant problem.
It’s why federal officials have already ordered 550 ventilators to get ahead of an expected surge in cases, said Dr. Theresa Tam, the country’s chief public health officer.
Should one part of the country be hit harder than another, agreements are already in place to move equipment and workers among provinces and territories.
Tam said the country needs to “flatten the curve” to buy time for companies to produce equipment fast enough, and researchers to find a vaccine.
Globally, there are about 240,000 cases of COVID-19, with more confirmed daily along with more related deaths. The ongoing rise in cases has meant countries are all scrambling to purchase medical equipment and supplies.
