Written by: Ritisha Garg
“This will be a new normal, until a vaccine is developed.” — P.M. Justin Trudeau. Recently, a global pandemic known as Covid-19 unexpectedly struck Canada. From laid-back in January and February, to abruptly panicked in March is the response Canada’s federal government has given Canadians. The rapid and unpredictable growth of the Covid-19 development in Canada had shocked everyone. It’s important for Canadian citizens to be aware of the Covid-19 development in Canada because they should know how their government reacted at this time. In this article you will find some useful information on the development of Covid-19 in Canada.
In January, with not enough information on Covid-19, Canada had only seen few Covid-19 cases thus, measures were taken very lightly and Canada had cooperated with the W.H.O committee for further guidelines. But, were these actions enough to contain a newly born virus? On January 19th, scientists had declared that they have no clear evidence that the virus can be easily transmitted. Due to this tip, Canada seemed relaxed in that situation and did not apply any rules on travel nor border closures. Then a couple of days later, the W.H.O committee reported that human-to-human transmission is a fact and suddenly, on January 27th, officials reported Canada’s first case of Covid-19 related to recent travel from the city of Wuhan. As you can see, Covid-19 development had just begun, thus in January, it had affected only some Canadians. As a result of the poor development of Covid-19, the Canadian government, and Canadian citizens seemed to be relaxed and tension-free in this short timeline.
In February, the number of cases started to increase, and Canada had only done a few things to contain the virus. As the W.H.O committee was giving out more advice and knowledge on this virus, Canada was beginning to get more informed on Covid-19. Throughout February, Canada was recommending voluntary self-isolation and sending instruction pamphlets to those who traveled back from China and other highly infected areas. The public had begun to develop fear and racism for the Chinese. Number of Covid-19 cases began to increase, although at that time they weren’t too much. One of the essential actions Canada had taken was to expand screening requirements in 10 airports from across 6 provinces. Overall, in February the situation in Canada was under-control and there were no strict measures taken to stop the spread of Covid-19.
In March, The Covid-19 cases had suddenly increased to a high extent and in response, the Canadian government and Provincial governments had taken some strict steps. Canada closed its borders, advised for no non-essential travel and claimed that everyone who has traveled, must self-isolate for 14 days. As of March 11th, The Covid-19 cases in Canada suddenly totaled up to 117 cases. This shows that the Covid-19 development suddenly increased in mid-march and because of this, the Ontarian government closes schools till April 5th. In reaction to the sudden increase of restrictions, the public started to get panicked and many citizens had chosen to panic shop in case of a provincial/national lock down. Overall, Canada suddenly strictly reacted in March in response to the abrupt increase in the Covid-19 development.
In conclusion, Covid-19 development in Canada rapidly increased in March while staying under-control in January and February. The Canadian government had taken some actions, however remained to not apply any soon measures until March. Hopefully, before the Covid-19 development becomes overly out-of control, the Canadian government will act upon containing the virus.
Citations:
Bharti, B. (2020, April 02). Here’s how COVID-19 evolved to infect more than 10,000 Canadians and kill more than 100. Retrieved July 26, 2020, from https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/heres-how-covid-19-evolved-to-infect-nearly-10000-canadians-and-kill-more-than-100
David Staples, E. (2020, April 13). The road to Canada’s COVID-19 outbreak, Pt. 2: Timeline of federal government failure at border to slow the virus. Retrieved July 26, 2020, from https://edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/the-road-to-canadas-covid-19-outbreak-pt-2-timeline-of-federal-government-failure-at-border-to-slow-the-virus-2/
David Staples, E. (2020, April 16). The road to Canada’s COVID-19 outbreak, Pt. 3: Timeline of federal government failure at border to slow the virus. Retrieved July 26, 2020, from https://edmontonjournal.com/news/national/the-road-to-canadas-covid-19-outbreak-pt-3-timeline-of-federal-government-failure-at-border-to-slow-the-virus/
David Staples, E. (2020, April 28). The road to Canada’s COVID-19 outbreak: Timeline of federal government failure at border to slow the virus. Retrieved July 26, 2020, from https://edmontonjournal.com/news/national/the-road-to-canadas-covid-19-outbreak-timeline-of-federal-government-failure-at-border-to-slow-the-virus/
Documents reveal glimpse into Canada’s early COVID-19 plans. (2020, April 08). Retrieved July 26, 2020, from https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/documents-reveal-glimpse-into-canada-s-early-covid-19-plans-1.4886560