Canadians urged to take action against Covid-19 as cases spike

Ottawa, Sep 20 (IANS) Canadian citizens have been urged to take action against the spread of the novel coronavirus, as the overall nationwide caseload has increased to 141,911 with 9,205 deaths, according to the country’s Public Health Agency.

In an average, 849 cases have been reported daily across Canada in the last seven days, reports Xinhua news agency.

“As I discussed in my remarks on Friday, the ongoing increase in Canada’s daily case count is an indicator of accelerated epidemic growth,” Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam said in a statement on Saturday.

Tam said that accelerated growth increases the risk of the virus spreading beyond manageable levels.

As Canadians were shifting more of their activities indoors, the risk of spreading was increasing.

Tam urged all Canadians to take action now to slow the spread of the virus.

“In addition to strict adherence to personal protective measures, we must all reduce our number of contacts to a minimum. Most importantly, stay home and isolate yourself from others if you are experiencing any symptoms.”

On Friday, two political party leaders tested positive for Covid-19.

Bloc Quebecois’ leader Yves-Francois Blanchet and his wife were both tested positive for the virus and are currently in isolation until the end of September, according to a statement of the party.

On Friday night, the Canadian Conservative Party announced that its newly-elected leader Erin O’Toole tested positive and was isolating.

In a press conference on Saturday morning, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced an expansion of new social gathering restrictions across the entire province as Covid-19 cases continue to surge.

Effective immediately in Ontario, new gathering sizes will be capped at 10 people indoors and 25 outdoors for at least the next 28 days.

The previous gathering limits were 50 people indoors and 100 outdoors.

–IANS

ksk/