Trudeau: "We are on the brink of a fall that is much worse than the spring"

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took the rare opportunity to ask for prime time airtime across Canada’s TV networks tonight to address Canadians about the second wave of COVID-19, which, he says, is already underway in Canada. He also took the opportunity to summarize some of the federal government plans introduced in today’s throne speech.

“The numbers are clear. Back on March 13, when we went into lockdown, there were 47 new cases of COVID-19. Yesterday alone, we had over 1,000. We are on the brink of a fall that could be much worse than the spring. I know this isn’t the news that any of us wanted to hear. And we can’t change today’s numbers, or even tomorrow’s. Those were already decided by what we did or didn’t do two weeks ago. What we can change is where we are in October and into the winter. It’s all too likely that we won’t be gathering for Thanksgiving, but we still have a shot at Christmas. Together, we have a shot to get the second wave under control. I know we can do it, because we have already done it once before. In the spring we all did our part by staying home. And this fall, we have even more tools in the toolbox. People are wearing masks — that’s critical, so keep it up.

“We’ve got the COVID Alert app,” Trudeau added, referring to the contact tracing app that is unfortunately not available in Quebec. “Take the teacher who felt fine, but tested positive after the app warned her that she had been exposed. COVID Alert meant she went home instead of the classroom. It’s a powerful free tool that’s easy to use and protects your privacy. It’s one more way to keep ourselves and others safe. Another is to get your flu shot this fall.”

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