Trudeau says pandemic 'sucks' as COVID-19 compliance slips and cases spike
PM warns of a 'tough winter' as second wave rolls on and pandemic fatigue sets in
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today he understands that Canadians are increasingly frustrated by "annoying" measures designed to curb the spread of COVID-19, but he's urging people to stay the course as cases continue to climb in some parts of the country.
Canada is in the grips of a second pandemic wave. Some provinces — notably Alberta, B.C., Ontario, Manitoba and Quebec — are now seeing case counts larger than those reported in the spring, at the onset of the pandemic.
"This sucks, it really, really does," Trudeau told a COVID-19 press briefing this morning. "It's going to be a tough winter. It's easy for us to want to throw up our hands ... it's frustrating to have to go through this situation.
"Nobody wanted 2020 to be this way, but we do get to control how bad it gets by all of us doing our part."
Trudeau said Canadians must get this latest pandemic wave under control or risk putting their Christmas festivities in jeopardy.
"Unless we're really, really careful, there may not be the kinds of family gatherings we want to have at Christmas," he said.
After a summer lull, the death count in Canada has also started to climb. Hospitalizations and the number of people in intensive care units (ICUs) remain at manageable levels in most regions, despite the cresting caseload.
Some Toronto-area hospitals are nearing 100 per cent capacity as they grapple with both COVID-19 cases and other patients.
Data indicates that younger, healthier people — who are more likely to recover without medical intervention — are driving the COVID-19 spike during this round of the pandemic.
Dr. Howard Njoo, the deputy chief public health officer, said there's no doubt that Canadians are tired of the restrictions that have upended their social and economic lives for the better part of eight months.
"What we're seeing around the world is people are suffering from COVID fatigue," Njoo said.
Another full lockdown is not necessary at this point, he said.
"We want to get back to as normal as possible, the functioning of society," he said, adding Canada needs to find the "sweet spot" where new cases of COVID-19 don't threaten to overwhelm the health care system.
Asked if governments bear any responsibility for conflicting messages from federal and provincial leaders and local public health officials about how Canadians should go about their daily lives during the pandemic, Trudeau said the situation on the ground in the provinces and territories varies greatly and does not demand national uniformity.
WATCH: Trudeau questioned about public confusion over pandemic messaging
Trudeau said Ottawa is not intent on plunging the country into another shutdown — and the country is better equipped to handle this wave than it was in March and April.
"We have a better understanding of COVID-19. We have better tools to deal with COVID-19 and we can be a little more targeted but, yeah, that means a little more complication in our messages," Trudeau said.
"It's frustrating to see friends at the other end of the country doing things you'd love to be able to do but you can't."
Trudeau said that when his six-year-old son Hadrien recently asked him if COVID-19 would be with us "forever," he assured him the pandemic would end — but its impact will depend on Canadians doing their part in the short term by wearing masks wherever possible, keeping a two-metre distance from others and avoiding large social gatherings altogether.
"We need to do the right thing, we need to lean on each other, we need to use all the tools that we can," he said.
Trudeau sounded a positive note today, too, saying that Canada has placed orders for tens of millions of possible vaccine candidates. He said pharmaceutical companies are developing promising treatments.
"Vaccines are on the horizon. Spring and summer will come and they will be better than this winter," he said.
All told, the federal government has secured 358 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines — an insurance policy if some of the vaccines in development prove to be ineffective in clinical trials.
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