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Canada government to help provinces fight coronavirus outbreak: source


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Canada government to help provinces fight coronavirus outbreak: source

By David Ljunggren and Kelsey Johnson

 

2020-03-10T160142Z_2_LYNXMPEG291G9_RTROPTP_4_HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS-CANADA.JPG

FILE PHOTO: Canada's Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages Melanie Joly speaks in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada March 9, 2020. REUTERS/Blair Gable

 

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Canadian government will announce on Wednesday a series of measures to help provinces across the country deal with the worsening coronavirus outbreak, a government source said on Tuesday.

 

Canada this week reported its first death from the virus. The number of cases is now more than 80.

 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is to speak to reporters at 9 a.m. Eastern (1300 GMT) on Wednesday, said the source, who requested anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation.

 

Healthcare and social assistance programs in Canada are administered by the 10 provinces, some of which have already requested support from Ottawa.

 

"We're making sure all the provinces have the help they need. This is about the resiliency of the economy and our healthcare system," said the source, who did not give details.

 

The Liberal government has already said it is contemplating a boost in employment insurance for workers who have to stay home and help for vulnerable sectors such as the energy and tourism industries.

 

"We recognize that there are going to be significant economic impacts for Canadians, for workers, for businesses," Trudeau told reporters earlier in the day.

 

Tourism Minister Melanie Joly said Ottawa was looking at how it could mitigate the impact on airlines.

 

Carriers around the world have eliminated flights or modified services. Air Canada <AC.TO> has suspended flights to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, and on Tuesday said it would temporarily halt service to Italy.

 

Joly said she had spoken to the chief executive officers of Air Canada and WestJet - Canada's second biggest carrier - to get a better idea of the challenges they face.

 

A growing concern is that this week's oil price slump will further undermine growth. Canada sits on the world's third largest proven oil reserves, and the crude price crash has badly hit the western energy-rich province of Alberta. Premier Jason Kenney on Monday said he was looking for help from Trudeau.

 

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said she had spoken to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday "about how the North American oil and gas sector needs to be supported by our countries, which it is."

 

Goldy Hyder, president of the Business Council of Canada lobby group, urged Ottawa not to spend too much, given the uncertainty around the economy.

 

"To come out today with some massive spending program – what happens if it doesn't work? What happens if things get worse? I do think the approach should be one of prudence," Hyder said in an interview. "I don't think this is a 'just carpet-bomb money out of the helicopter' moment."

 

(Reporting by David Ljunggren and Kelsey Johnson; Additional reporting by Steve Scherer in Ottawa; Editing by Philippa Fletcher and Leslie Adler)

 

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-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-03-11
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27 minutes ago, from the home of CC said:

Canada is going to be in big trouble. The health system was already in shambles and will be completely overrun by this virus..

Reported recently that more people have been tested in British Columbia than the whole of the US.

Shambles? Really?

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5 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

Reported recently that more people have been tested in British Columbia than the whole of the US.

Shambles? Really?

Testing is not treatment. I've seen people lined up in hallways in hospitals in Canada during normal times. Took me 7 hours to be seen the last time I went to an ER. Hell, the airports aren't even temperature checking folks coming in from high risk areas or if they are now they just started. Canada's health system has been mismanaged for decades and now they're going to pay..

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1 hour ago, VocalNeal said:

Not that serious then? Triage at work.

Likely something like a hang nail or maybe VD.  I had lunch with my sister, a longtime head nurse in a large hospital, and my med school nephew the other day and both say our health system works fine. Well, other than some people who should be going to their own doc or a clinic jamming up emergency wards.

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11 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

Reported recently that more people have been tested in British Columbia than the whole of the US.

Shambles? Really?

 

This is almost certainly fake news. 

However, I hope I'm wrong, cos I notice there are still many flights arriving at YVR from HK, places in China, and Taipei and Seoul and Tokyo.

Only Air Canada have cancelled all flights to China for the time being.  Asian airlines are left to make their own decisions.

I sure hope all the people arriving at YVR from Asia are getting a thorough check as they pass through immigration.  If not, YVR will soon be vying with Seattle for new cases of infection.....

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1 hour ago, blazes said:

 

This is almost certainly fake news. 

However, I hope I'm wrong, cos I notice there are still many flights arriving at YVR from HK, places in China, and Taipei and Seoul and Tokyo.

Only Air Canada have cancelled all flights to China for the time being.  Asian airlines are left to make their own decisions.

I sure hope all the people arriving at YVR from Asia are getting a thorough check as they pass through immigration.  If not, YVR will soon be vying with Seattle for new cases of infection.....

Not fake news as I saw it reported on CBC National.

 

https://globalnews.ca/news/6610416/bc-covid-19-testing-more-than-united-states-premier/

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35 minutes ago, pegman said:

 

Thanks.  Good link.  It makes reference to an "anti-viral medicine" without further explanation.  I have not seen an estimated vaccine solution on the web earlier than the fall, and most are for 2021.

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On 3/11/2020 at 6:40 PM, blazes said:

 

Thanks.  Good link.  It makes reference to an "anti-viral medicine" without further explanation.  I have not seen an estimated vaccine solution on the web earlier than the fall, and most are for 2021.

A couple of weeks ago a professor from Mtl, I think McGill, said on CBC his team developed a pill, to be taken four times daily, that works against the virus. A Swiss pharma has the patent and were sending shipments to China to trial.

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19 hours ago, from the home of CC said:

If the help provided is similar to the aid in developing and selling our national resources then we're in big trouble..

Canada has more than doubled its oil production in the last 10 years. Stop getting your info from The Rebel and Rene Kenney. They lie more than Trump.

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30 minutes ago, pegman said:

Canada has more than doubled its oil production in the last 10 years. Stop getting your info from The Rebel and Rene Kenney. They lie more than Trump.

Production doesn't mean squat when you can't get oil to market, companies had to cut their own throats this year due to getting robbed for prices due to no way to get it to market. I've been in this industry since 1980. Who the f*** is rebel and kenney? I don't listen to talking heads generally let alone Canadian ones lol.. 

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1 hour ago, from the home of CC said:

Production doesn't mean squat when you can't get oil to market, companies had to cut their own throats this year due to getting robbed for prices due to no way to get it to market. I've been in this industry since 1980. Who the f*** is rebel and kenney? I don't listen to talking heads generally let alone Canadian ones lol.. 

Then you should know all about oil price manipulation and gouging of consumers. I don't know where you learned this nonsense along the way but it's over production that made the price dive. The blame for that is squarely with Alberta tar sands and USA shale production.

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