COVID-19 pandemic in Canada



The COVID-19 pandemic in Canada is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have reached Canada on January 27, 2020, after an individual who had returned to Toronto from Wuhan, Hubei, China, tested positive., there have been approximately 115,000 confirmed cases, over 100,100 recoveries and 8,900 deaths in the country. The Government of Canada has released modelling anticipating 11,000–22,000 deaths over the course of the pandemic, assuming "stronger epidemic control".
Most of those cases are in Canada's two most populous provinces, Ontario and Quebec. Confirmed cases have been reported in all of Canada's provinces and territories, with the exception of Nunavut. An additional 13 cases involve repatriated citizens from the Grand Princess cruise ship. Until March, all cases were linked to recent travel to a country with a substantial number of cases. The first case of community transmission in Canada was confirmed in British Columbia on March 5, and Toronto's chief health officer announced on March 16 that there is "some evidence of community transmission".
In mid March, as cases of community transmission were confirmed, all of Canada's provinces and territories declared states of emergency. Provinces and territories have, to varying degrees, implemented school and daycare closures, prohibitions on gatherings, closures of non-essential businesses, restrictions on entry, and mandatory self-isolation for travellers. Canada severely restricted its border access, barring travellers from all countries with some exceptions. The federal Minister of Health invoked the Quarantine Act, legally requiring all travellers returning to the country to self-isolate for 14 days.
Among the Canadians who contracted the virus was Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, wife of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who tested positive for the virus on March 12 after which the family went into self-isolation. By March 28, she had recovered. Various other politicians have gone into self-isolation due to travel or experiencing symptoms.

Background and epidemiology

On January 12, 2020, the World Health Organization confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, which was reported to the WHO on December 31, 2019.
The case fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower than SARS of 2003, but the transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.
Timeline of cases by province and territory

Preparations

On January 1, 2020, the WHO set up the IMST across all three levels of the organization: headquarters, regional headquarters and country level, putting the organization on an emergency footing for dealing with the outbreak.
On January 7, when it appeared that there was a health crisis emerging in Wuhan, Public Health Canada advised travellers to China to avoid contact with animals, noting that they were very carefully monitoring the situation but there wasn't evidence of what caused the illness, or how it's spread.
On January 14, a person in Thailand was the first patient outside of China who was confirmed to have COVID-19.
On January 15, the federal government activated its Emergency Operations Centre.
On January 17, the Canada Border Services Agency indicated plans were in progress "to implement signage" in the Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver airports to raise awareness of the virus, and that there would be an additional health screening question added to the electronic kiosks for passengers arriving from central China. The agency noted the overall risk to Canadians was low and there were no direct flights from Wuhan to Canada. The CBSA said it would not be, at that time, implementing extra screening measures, but would "monitor the situation closely".
On January 23, the federal Minister of Health, Patty Hajdu, said that five or six people were being monitored for signs of the virus. That same day, Dr. Theresa Tam was a member of the WHO committee that broadcast that it was too early to declare a public health emergency of international concern. The following day, in Wuhan, China, construction began on a new hospital to treat COVID-19 patients. The hospital took only 10 days to build and was widely reported around the world.

Timeline of outbreak in Canada

Government response

Federal

Public health

The federal government activated its Emergency Operations Centre on January 15. The federal government's pandemic response is based on two primary documents: the Canadian Pandemic Influenza Preparedness planning guidelines, which outlines risks and measures to address a viral disease, and the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Public Health Response Plan for Biological Events, which includes identifying, tracking, and ensuring rapid access to medical care. As of February 27, the response plan was at level 3.
On March 18, the federal Minister of Health, Patty Hajdu, announced that the federal government had signed an interim order to speed up access to COVID-19 test kits that would allow provincial labs to increase testing. The test kits are made by Switzerland-based Roche Molecular Systems and ThermoFisher Scientific. According to Health Canada, "an Interim Order is one of the fastest mechanisms available to the Government of Canada to help make health products available to address larger scale public health emergencies. This Interim Order provides the Minister with the flexibility to consider the urgent circumstances relating to the need for the medical device, authorizations granted by foreign regulatory authorities, or possible new uses for medical devices that are approved in Canada."
in Toronto with limited number of shoppers allowed inside the store.
Theresa Tam, Chief Public Health Officer of Canada and head of the Public Health Agency of Canada, said on March 19 that Canada would not know for two or three weeks if country-wide social distancing efforts have curbed the spread of COVID-19.
On March 19, 2020, the federal government announced that it had added to Trudeau's March 11 announcement of $275 million in funding for an additional 49 projects to bring the total to 96 research projects that will focus on developing and implementing measures to detect, manage, and reduce the transmission of COVID-19.
On March 20, as part of the announcement on Canada's industrial strategy, Trudeau stated that the National Research Council will work with small- and medium-sized companies on health research to fight the virus.
On March 23, Tam began appearing in public service announcements on radio and television, urging personal hygiene, social distancing, and against unnecessary travel.
On March 24, 2020, a small number of MPs from each party met in the House of Commons to vote on an $82-billion emergency spending legislation, known as Bill C-13. The passage of the bill was stalled due to the federal government's proposed clauses that gave the finance minister the right to spend money and raise taxes without the approval of Parliament until December 31, 2021. After criticism from the Official Opposition over the minority government's "power grab" which was considered undemocratic, a revised bill was agreed upon the next day that would permit the government six months of special spending powers until September 30, 2020, with oversight from a Parliamentary committee. The House of Commons' Health and Finance committees began holding weekly virtual meetings during the pandemic.
On April 6, Tam began to suggest that the use of non-medical face masks in public could be an "additional measure" to "protect others around you in situations where physical distancing is difficult to maintain", but that this is not proven to protect the wearer, and is considered complementary to all existing health guidance issued thus far. Trudeau brought up the topic the next day, where he said, "If people want to wear a mask, that is okay. It protects others more than it protects you, because it prevents you from breathing or... or... speaking, uh... 'moistly' on them." He immediately regrets his word choice and says, "Ugh, what a terrible image." The unusual word choice has led the creation of a remix song, "Speaking Moistly", based on the speech.

Long-term care homes

have been impacted heavily by the pandemic; on April 13, Tam reported that at least half of COVID-19 deaths in Canada had been linked to long-term care homes, and that "these deaths will continue to increase, even as the epidemic growth rate slows down. Tam cited factors such as outside visitors, communal living spaces, and staff being transferred among multiple facilities, as particular vulnerabilities. The pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing staffing issues at some facilities, including underpaid staff, and being understaffed in general. On April 28, Tam stated that as many of 79 percent of Canada's COVID-19 fatalities occurred in long-term care homes.
Health Canada has issued recommendations for long-term care homes, encouraging them to restrict outside visitors and volunteers, restrict employees from being transferred between multiple facilities, provide personal protective equipment, enforce physical distancing during meals, screen staff and essential visitors, On April 15, Trudeau announced that the federal government planned to provide additional pay to long-term care workers.

Canadian Armed Forces

Travel and entry restrictions

On March 14, Canada recommended against any international travel, and advised those returning from outside of Canada, except for essential workers, to self-isolate for 14 days. The Quarantine Act was invoked by Hajdu on March 26, making self-isolation a legal mandate for travellers returning to the country, and also prohibiting those who are symptomatic from using public transit as transport to their place of self-isolation, and prohibiting self-isolation in settings where they may come in contact with those who are vulnerable.
Since March 16, only Canadian citizens and their immediate families, permanent residents, and U.S. citizens are allowed to enter the country. The only exceptions are flight crews, diplomats, and trade and commerce. Travellers showing COVID-19 symptoms are not allowed to board flights into Canada, regardless of their citizenship. International flights to Canada from outside the Caribbean, Mexico, and the U.S. were instructed to land at either Calgary International Airport, Montréal–Trudeau International Airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport, or Vancouver International Airport.
Since March 20, Canada and the United States have temporarily restricted all non-essential travel across their border, while maintaining supply chains between both countries; On April 16, Trudeau stated that the Canada/U.S. border restrictions would remain in place "for a significant amount of time"; the next day, it was reported that Canada and the United States had agreed to extend their entry restrictions, which were to expire on April 21, for an additional 30 days beyond that date.
Since March 30, individuals showing COVID-19 symptoms must be refused boarding on domestic flights and passenger trains. This excludes buses and intercity passenger rail services. Since April 20, all travellers are required to wear non-medical face masks while departing and arriving on air travel, including during security screenings. Those who do not comply will be prevented from proceeding.

Governmental cancellations

A First Ministers' meeting scheduled for March 12 and 13 was cancelled after Trudeau and his wife Sophie Grégoire self-isolated. The Canadian House of Commons was suspended between March 14 and April 20, immediately after passing the new North American free trade deal. The federal budget, previously scheduled for March 20, was also suspended.

Bank of Canada rate changes

The Bank of Canada has twice lowered its overnight rate target by 50 basis points, first to 1.25 percent on March 4, and then to 0.75 percent on March 13, citing the "negative shocks to Canada's economy arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent sharp drop in oil prices.
On March 27, the Bank lowered the rate a third time to 0.25 percent, citing "serious consequences for Canadians and for the economy" due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bank also launched a program to "alleviate strains in the short-term funding markets" and another program to acquire Government of Canada securities at a minimum of $5 billion per week.

Federal aid

On March 18, the federal government announced an $82-billion response package with a variety of measures. On March 25, the COVID-19 Emergency Response Act received royal assent from Governor General Julie Payette. The measures in this first package included:
The CERB launched on April 6, and within one week, nearly 3.5 million Canadians applied for this benefit; this grew to 7.12 million by April 24. On April 15, Trudeau announced that the CERB would be extended to workers making up to $1,000 per month, and that the government planned to work with the provinces to implement salary top-ups for essential workers who make less than $2,500 per month.
The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy was announced on April 1, an expanded version of the temporary business wage subsidy. The Parliament reconvened on April 11 to pass the COVID-19 Emergency Response Act, No. 2 on division. It implemented the CEWS—which allows eligible companies to receive a 75 percent subsidy on each of their employees' wages for 12 weeks retroactive to March 15.
Trudeau introduced new financial aid programs on April 10, including the Canada Emergency Business Account which offers loans, interest-free until the end of 2022, of up to $40,000 for small- and medium-sized businesses The CEBA was expanded on April 16 to make more businesses eligible.
Catherine McKenna announced on April 16 that the Ministry of Infrastructure and Communities sought shovel-ready infrastructure projects to receive in the 2020 construction season some "largely unspent" funds that had already been budgeted.
The Canada Emergency Student Benefit was announced by Trudeau on April 22. It would provide $1,250 per month from May to August to eligible postsecondary students. Students with disabilities or taking care of someone else would receive $1,750 per month.
On April 30, Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux issued a report projecting the federal deficit for fiscal year 2020 could be in excess of $252 billion, based on nearly $146 billion in spending on federal aid measures.
Oversight
On July 3, 2020, the Ethics Commissioner announced an investigation into Trudeau and the government's decision to have WE Charity administer the summer student grant program.. We Charity was criticized for its close ties to the Trudeau family. On the same day, Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth, Bardish Chagger, announced that WE Charity would no longer be administering the Canada Student Service Grant program.

Public service disruptions

On March 16, the Treasury Board urged Federal public servants to work from home if possible. No date was provided for when this provision should end.

Industrial strategy

On March 20, the government announced a plan to ramp up production of medical equipment, switching assembly lines to produce ventilators, masks and other personal protective gear. Companies will be able to access funds through the government's Strategic Innovation Fund. The PM stated that Canadian medical supply firms Thornhill Medical, Medicom and Spartan Bioscience were looking to expand production. In order to address shortages and supply-chain disruption, Canada passed emergency legislation that waived-patent protection, giving the government, and companies or organizations that it selects, the right to produce patented products without permission from the patent holder. According to Innovation, Science and Industry minister Navdeep Bains, "the country's entire industrial policy will be refocused to prioritize the fight against COVID-19".

Provincial and territorial

States of emergency

On March 12, Quebec declared a public health emergency, requiring international travellers to self-isolate for 14 days and banning gatherings of 250 people. The ban has been extended to all gatherings outside workplaces and retail.
On March 16, Prince Edward Island declared a public health emergency. Alberta and Ontario declared emergencies on March 17, followed by British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Saskatchewan and Yukon on March 18. New Brunswick, Manitoba, and Nova Scotia declared emergencies on March 19, March 20, and March 22 respectively.
These emergencies allowed provinces to ban gatherings and require international travellers to self-isolate. On March 25, mandatory self-isolation was imposed federally, making it a legal requirement for all provinces who had not done so already.
New Brunswick, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, and have all restricted entry through interprovincial borders, prohibiting the entry of non-residents without valid reason. Quebec has additionally restricted travel into 9 of its 18 regions and parts of 3 other regions. The borders of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador are being screened, while also requiring travellers to self-isolate for 14 days upon entering the province.

Schools and universities

On March 12, the Ontario government announced that all public schools will be closed from March 14 until at least April 5. This was followed by all provinces and territories closing schools, and the closures being repeatedly extended or made indefinite. Governments have assured graduating students that they will be able to graduate, and classes have moved online.
Laurentian University in Greater Sudbury, was the first to voluntarily suspended classes and moved to online instruction on March 12. This was quickly followed by many other universities in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, and Manitoba voluntarily closing on the 12th and 13th. Initially, some universities in British Columbia continued while cancelling classes with more than 250 students due to the gatherings ban. All provinces have since closed down post-secondary institutions.
Due to the exceptional circumstances of the closures, various universities have given their students the option of receiving a pass/fail grade instead of a numeric or letter grade. The University of Alberta made this grading scheme mandatory, which received some backlash from the student body.

Business closures

Bars, restaurants, cinemas, and other businesses have been ordered closed by provinces, territories, and municipalities across the country. Initially, some jurisdictions allowed restaurants or bars to stay open with reduced capacity and social distancing. Takeout and delivery orders are largely still permitted. Jurisdictions have differed on daycare closures. In particular, British Columbia and Saskatchewan have faced criticism for allowing daycares to remain open while closing schools, bars, and restaurants.
Ontario, Quebec, and Saskatchewan have mandated the closure of all businesses not deemed essential by the provinces. Essential businesses include grocery stories, takeout and delivery restaurants, pharmacies, transportation, manufacturing, food production, energy, and healthcare.
Liquor and cannabis stores have largely remained open across the country, with governments reversing their closure orders due to concerns surrounding alcohol withdrawal syndrome.

Aid programs

Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Manitoba all offered one-time payments that aimed to bridge the gap before the implementation of the federal Canada Emergency Response Benefit. Quebec's Temporary Aid for Workers Program offers up to four weeks of payments for those who do not qualify for federal assistance. Prince Edward Island also provides payments to those who have kept their jobs but work reduced hours.
Many provinces and territories have increased payments for those already receiving income supports.

Courts

Courts across the country instituted measures to reduce public contact, while maintaining access to the courts. The Supreme Court of Canada has closed the building to public tours, while maintaining the ability to file documents for cases electronically. It has also adjourned appeals which were to be heard in March, to dates in June. Other courts have prioritised the cases which will be heard, generally giving priority to ongoing criminal trials and trials in family and child protection matters, while adjourning most pending cases to later dates.

First Nations

On March 19, the Pimicikamak Cree Nation in northern Manitoba restricted entry to essential travellers, and Chief David Monias said the Sayisi Dene and others are doing the same. The Council of the Haida Nation said it was discouraging all non-resident travel to the islands "for the time being."

Economic impact

The COVID-19 pandemic had a deep impact on the Canadian economy. The Governments' social distancing rules had the effect of freezing the economy. Companies started considering mass-layoffs of workers, which was prevented by the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy. But despite these efforts, Canada's unemployment rate was 13.5% in May 2020, the highest it has been since 1976.
Many large-scale events that planned to take place in 2020 in Canada were canceled or delayed. This includes all major sporting and artistic events. Canada's tourism and air travel sectors were hit especially hard due to travel restrictions. Some farmers feared a labour shortfall and bankruptcy.
COVID-19 affected consumer behaviors. In the early stages of the pandemic, Canadian grocery stores were the site of large-scale panic buying which lead to many empty shelves. By the end of March, most stores were closed to walk-in customers with the exception of grocery stores and pharmacies, which implemented strong social distancing rules in their premises. These rules were also implemented in other Canadian businesses as the began to re-open in the following months.

Cases by province or territory

Alberta

In Alberta, as of July 24, there is a total of 10,086 cases and 178 deaths. There have been 8,567 recoveries from the virus in the province. The majority of cases were in the Calgary zone, which had 6,242 cases as of July 24. The first case, which was confirmed on March 5, was a tourist, who had been repatriated from the Grand Princess to Calgary. As of March 16, cases have been reported in every Alberta zone. Community transmission was first reported on March 15, but at that time limited to seven people, six of whom attended a dental conference held from March 5 to 7 at the Vancouver Convention Centre. The first death caused by the virus in Alberta occurred on March 19.
At their March 25 briefing Hinshaw said that, the "significant case numbers"—which included 61 new cases, of which 33 were believed to be by community transmission, 20 patients hospitalized, and 8 in ICU—"underscore the seriousness of the situation that we face." Alberta's Chief Medical Officer, Deena Hinshaw, announced on March 26, that Alberta labs were conducting 3,000 tests a day. By April 7, 67,117 tests had been conducted in Alberta.
A meat processing plant operated by Cargill is a significant cluster., its High River plant had been linked to 1,560 cases. The plant was temporarily closed on April 20, 2020. All 2,100 employees were tested, out of which 946 employees tested positive.

British Columbia

, British Columbia has reported 3,392 cases, 2,898 recoveries, and 190 deaths. Additionally, the provincial government has announced that 244,149 people have been tested for the virus in British Columbia as of July 24.
The first case in British Columbia was reported on January 28. The person had returned from Wuhan and began experiencing symptoms on January 26. The first case in BC's Interior Health region was reported on February 14. The person had recently returned from China. The first case in the Fraser Health region was reported on February 20. This was also the first BC case where the person had travelled to or from Iran.
The first two cases in the Lynn Valley Care Centre in North Vancouver were reported on March 7. One resident and one staff member were diagnosed. The staff member is now thought to be Canada's first case of community transmission. This care centre became Canada's worst outbreak, with 16 cases to date, and may be linked to subsequent cases in another seniors' home and a hospital in North Vancouver.
On March 9, the Lynn Valley outbreak resulted in the first coronavirus death in Canada, by a man in his 80s with pre-existing health conditions. Three more deaths at the centre were reported on March 16. An additional 2 deaths were reported at the centre on March 17, while another was reported on March 19.
The seventh death was reported to have occurred "in hospital in the Fraser Health region".
BC's first two cases linked to the Grand Princess were also reported on March 7. They were hospitalized.

Manitoba

As of July 31, 2020, Manitoba has reported 415 cases, with the first three reported on March 12. There have been 337 recoveries, 8 deaths and 88,621 tests completed. All of Winnipeg's cases were identified after March 12.
Manitoba's rate of testing was increased to more than 500 tests a day on March 14. By May, the province had the capacity to perform up to 1000 tests per day, but had averaged only 530 tests per day for the first two weeks of the month, so on May 14, 2020, Manitoba lowered the testing criteria to include anyone showing any symptoms of cold or flu.
In Manitoba's first case, the person had returned to Winnipeg from the Philippines, and self-isolated at home. Subsequent cases have been discovered in all the regions of the province, with 3 in the Northern Regional Health Authority area, 60 in the Interlake-Eastern RHA area, 58 in the Southern RHA area, 43 in the Prairie Mountain RHA area, and the remaining 251 cases in the Winnipeg RHA area.

New Brunswick

, New Brunswick has reported 170 cases, with the first one reported on March 11. There have been 165 recoveries and 2 deaths. There had been a total of 24,867 tests completed as of May 30.
In New Brunswick's first case, the person had returned to southeastern New Brunswick from France, and self-isolated at home. The second case was a close contact.
On March 15, the province reported four more presumptive cases in the central part of the province.
On March 16, New Brunswick confirmed one more case, and announced one more presumptive case, making 2 confirmed cases and 5 presumptive in total.
On March 17, an eighth case was announced. This is the first child in the province to become infected.

Newfoundland and Labrador

As of July 24, 2020, there have been 265 cases confirmed in Newfoundland and Labrador, with 259 recoveries and 3 deaths. As of that date, 23,254 people have been tested in total.
On March 14, a presumptive case was announced in the province.
On March 24, a woman was arrested in Corner Brook for violating public health emergency orders by refusing to stay at home after she returned from a trip outside the province.
By March 25, the number of cases had risen to 67, 44 of them associated with an outbreak at a funeral home, which occurred between March 15 and 17.

Northwest Territories

As of July 24, 2020, there have been 5 confirmed cases in the territory, with all 5 cases recovered. 3,060 tests have been conducted, with 3,055 negative results.
On March 21, the Northwest Territories reported its first case of COVID-19; the individual had travelled to British Columbia and Alberta before returning home to Yellowknife.

Nova Scotia

As of July 24, 2020, Nova Scotia has reported 1,067 confirmed cases, with 1,003 recoveries and 63 deaths. There have been 61,626 negative test results. On March 15, 2020, three presumptive cases in Nova Scotia were announced. All three were travel-related.
On March 29, a Halifax woman was fined $697.50, and had her vehicle seized by police after she was found in a park despite Nova Scotia having closed parks and beaches to the public under its emergency measures act.

Nunavut

As of July 24, 2020, Nunavut is the only territory in Canada with no confirmed COVID-19 cases after two previously confirmed case were deemed false positives. The first false positive case was a resident of Pond Inlet, first announced on April 30; a rapid response team was dispatched to the community. On May 4, it was declared that this case was a false positive. The second false positive case originated from a presumed positive results of a fly-in, fly-out employee in the Mary River Mine on July 2. On July 10, it was subsequently revealed that the test results were negative.

Ontario

, Ontario, the province with the first case in the country, has reported 38,405 cases with 34,100 recoveries and 2,758 fatalities. In total, 1,988,909 people have been tested.
The first case in Canada, was reported on January 25 in Toronto. The person had returned from Wuhan, China, on January 22, and had taken precautions in returning. After admission to hospital, the person made a full recovery by February 23.
Further cases imported from other countries were reported later in February, with the first case from Iran reported on February 26, Egypt on February 27, Grand Princess Cruise on March 7, the United States on March 7, France and Germany on March 8, Switzerland on March 10, and Austria on March 11.
On March 12, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, the wife of Canada's prime minister Justin Trudeau, became Canada's first UK-linked case. Both she and the prime minister started self-isolation.
Ontario reported its first death on March 17, a man in his 70s in Barrie, Ontario. A second death, a man in his 50s in Milton, Ontario, was reported on March 19.

Prince Edward Island

As of July 24, 2020, Prince Edward Island has reported 36 confirmed cases of the virus, 34 of which have resolved. As of July 24, 18,273 tests have come back negative and 14 are currently under investigation. On March 14, 2020, the first confirmed case in Prince Edward Island was announced, a woman in her 50s who had returned from a trip on a cruise ship on March 7. By March 26, there were five cases, all of which had been travel related, i.e., been contracted while persons were abroad. To date, there was no re-transmission reported in the island province.

Quebec

As of July 24, 2020, Quebec has reported 58,243 confirmed cases of the virus and 5,663 deaths, more than all of Canada's other provinces and territories combined. As of July 22, 1,118,048 tests have been completed.
The province confirmed its first case on February 28—a 41-year-old woman from Montreal who had returned from Iran on the 24th on a flight from Doha, Qatar. She was transferred to Jewish General Hospital on March 3, and released on March 4; since then, she has remained in isolation at her home in Verdun. On March 5, the Ministry of Health and Social Services announced a second presumptive case, involving a man who had travelled to India in February, and was being treated in Mont-Laurier for symptoms similar to coronavirus. On March 4, the person was transferred to Jewish General Hospital, where he was diagnosed with pneumonia. Hours afterwards, a third presumptive case was confirmed, involving a woman who had returned from France on March 3.
A fourth case was confirmed March 8, involving a woman from Montérégie, Longueuil who had recently returned from a cruise that had visited Mexico. On March 10, authorities stated that the person had used public transit between February 24 and March 6, and had travelled through the Berri-UQAM, Champ-de-Mars, and Longueuil metro stations. Premier François Legault initially classified the threat posed by the virus as being "weak".
On March 9, a Montreal resident who had recently returned from Ireland was reported as a fifth presumptive case. Four new cases were confirmed on March 11, including one who had returned from Caribbean and Miami, a man who had returned from the Dominican Republic, a person who had returned from Italy, and a resident of Montreal who had returned from international travel.
By March 18, 94 confirmed cases had been reported in Quebec. The province also had its first death.
On March 20, a woman who tested positive for COVID-19 was arrested for being out in Quebec City's Limoilou neighbourhood despite being under a quarantine order; this was the first time that this type of warrant was executed.

Saskatchewan

, there have been 1,099 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 848 recoveries, and 16 deaths in Saskatchewan. Chief Medical Officer Saqib Shahab announced the first presumptive case of in the province on March 12, a person in their 60s that had recently returned from Egypt, who was tested on March 9, and was in self-isolation at their home. Two cases involved attendees of the aforementioned dental conference in Vancouver.
11 Saskatchewan health care employees tested positive after attending a physicians' bonspiel at a curling club in Edmonton on the week of March 11. On March 28, Saskatchewan announced 18 cases involving attendees of a snowmobile rally at Christopher Lake on March 14. Saskatchewan reported its first deaths from COVID-19 on March 30. Both people were in their 70s and were from separate parts of the province.
By April 6, the number of new cases had begun to dwindle, and the number of new recoveries regularly exceeded or equalled the number of new cases. This prompted Premier Scott Moe to announce on April 13 that he would begin to explore plans to gradually restore normal commerce and service, although some restrictions, especially those on public gatherings, are to remain in effect for the foreseeable future.
However, by late-April, the province began to see a major spike of active cases in its northern region, centered upon the remote village of La Loche, with at least 29 traced to a case from northern Alberta. On May 5, Theresa Tam stated that this outbreak was concerning due to the region's remote communities and indigenous population.

Yukon

As of July 24, 2020, Yukon has reported 14 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 11 of which have resolved. 1,488 tests have been completed, with 1,452 confirmed negative and 22 still under investigation.
On March 22, 2020, Premier Sandy Silver and the Chief Medical Officer, Brendan Hanley, announced that Yukon had its first cases of coronavirus, a couple who had attended a convention in the United States and then returned home to Whitehorse. They developed symptoms upon their return and immediately sought medical assistance. They have self-isolated and have meticulously followed all public health directions.
During the pandemic, the territory opened its first public university in the north, Yukon University.

COVID-19 testing

can be used to track the prevalence and spread, to diagnose individuals for treatment, to identify infections for isolation and contact tracing, to screen at-risk populations, to clear exposed healthcare workers to return to work, and to identify individuals with potential immunity. The World Health Organization says that jurisdictions should aim to test every suspected case of COVID-19. Since health care is under provincial jurisdiction, almost all testing is conducted by the provinces and territories rather than the federal government. On April 23, Trudeau identified broader testing as key to reopening the country, mentioning the target of 60,000 tests per day set by Dr. Theresa Tam, but warned that up to 120,000 per day may be required. As of late April, approximately 20,000 tests per day were being performed in Canada. Total numbers of tests conducted for the provinces and Canada show that over 800,000 Canadians have been tested as of early May 2020. The displayed chart shows the testing rates per capita in the provinces and territories from March to May 2020.

Role of the Government of Canada

Federal approval and regulation of diagnostic tests

Only COVID-19 tests approved by Health Canada can be imported or sold in Canada. Since this is usually a lengthy process, on March 18, Minister of Health Hajdu issued an interim order to allow expedited access to COVID-19-related medical devices for use by healthcare providers, including diagnostic test kits. The same day, the first commercial tests were approved, RT-PCR tests from Roche and Thermo Fisher. Another 13 diagnostic products have since been approved, all based on Nucleic Acid tests. As of April 30, 21 diagnostic device applications were listed as submitted by Health Canada.

National Microbiology Lab

Canada's National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg performs diagnostic testing for and research into COVID-19. Samples from suspected cases early in the pandemic were sent by provinces and territories to this national lab for testing, either as the sole test or as a check of an in-province test result. The first confirmed case in Canada was diagnosed by the lab on January 27, 2020. Since then, provinces and territories have established their own testing capacity but have occasionally sent samples to the national lab for a second test as a check.

Federal facilitation of testing

Provinces have faced COVID-19 testing backlogs due to a shortage of supplies, including the chemical reagents required to complete the tests. In late April, the federal government arranged for a cargo flight from China that delivered the equivalent of about six to nine months of production for one particular raw material for the 20-odd raw materials needed by supplier LuminUltra to supply reagent kits for RT-PCR machines.

Types of COVID-19 Tests

Virus-RNA tests

Health Canada identifies nucleic acid-based testing as "the gold standard used in Canada and abroad, for the diagnosis of active COVID-19 infection in patients with symptoms." The predominant type of testing used is RT-PCR. In it, a carefully produced and validated swab is used to collect a sample from a person's throat, back of the nose, or front of the nose. The swab is put inside a sealed container containing a medium that preserves the virus, which is sent to test-processing centres in the corresponding province or territory. At the centres, highly skilled technicians use large commercial machines from a variety of manufactures to process batches of tens to hundreds of samples at a time. The test chemically strips the RNA from the sample then mixes it with a test kit containing chemical reagents designed to detect RNA signatures of SARS-CoV-2. The sample is cycled between a set of temperatures to amplify the chemical RNA signature. This leads to processing times that range from 4 to 24 hours. The actual RT-PCR test is 99 percent accurate. However, false negative results are estimated to occur 8 to 10 percent of the time due to poor swabbing technique and might be as high as 30 percent depending on how long after symptom onset the test was performed.
Provinces have faced COVID-19 testing backlogs due to a shortage of the chemical reagents and swabs required to complete the tests.
Virus-RNA test reagent kits
LuminUltra Technologies Ltd. of Fredericton is producing reagent test-kits to use with automated RT-PCR machines. On April 15, Trudeau announced that the company would be "ramping up production... to meet the weekly demand in all provinces." The company announced the same day that it would provide "500,000 urgently needed COVID-19 tests per week to the Canadian federal government for use across Canada."
Canadian-made Virus-RNA test systems
A few companies have developed alternate methods to test for the RNA of the virus. These might be faster than laboratory RT-PCR or portable making them useful at border crossings, isolated communities, prisons, and care homes.
Spartan Bioscience Inc. of Ottawa signed contracts with the federal government and the provinces of Alberta, Quebec, and Ontario to supply virus-RNA testing systems that process a single swab sample in 30 to 60 minutes. Together the contracts were for over one million swab test kits, and at least 250 handheld devices. While these machines cannot process many samples in total, they have the advantage of being small and easy to use. Thus, they can be used to provide rapid results at the point-of-care On April 13, Health Canada approved this test but on May 3 the test was recalled due to unreliable results.
Precision Biomonitoring of Guelph signed a Letter of Intent on March 31 with the federal government to co-develop a novel point-of-care test kit for COVID‑19, which is now pending an authorization from Health Canada. Their 1.2 kg battery-operated mobile device performs nine tests per hour and takes 60 minutes to produce a result.
Bio-ID Diagnostics of Edmonton has developed a direct 24-hour virus test that can be scaled to 20,000 samples per day. Since it is based on sequencing DNA it avoids false positives, and it detects a low concentration of the virus substantially reducing false negatives in asymptomatic individuals.

Serological testing for antibodies

These blood tests look for antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 virus and range in complexity from laboratory tests to at-home kits similar to pregnancy tests. Antibodies do not form immediately upon infection, so these tests are not well-suited for detecting a current infection. However, they can potentially identify those who have been infected in the past. Health Canada has been evaluating a number of antibody tests. Health Canada deemed that "Serological tests are not appropriate for early diagnosis of COVID-19, largely due variability in the time required after infection to develop antibodies." On May 12, 2020, Health Canada announced the first antibody test approved for use, a laboratory test from DiaSorin, an Italian multinational biotechnology company. Health Canada wrote that the test will "contribute to a better understanding of whether people who have been infected are immune to the virus."
Research and population immunity
Health Canada posts "studies will be required to determine how long the antibodies remain detectable, whether for weeks, months or years" and "the relationship between antibodies and immunity to future viral infection." Nonetheless, many countries are conducting or planning large-scale testing to determine what proportion of the population has been infected and is potentially now immune. As of April 20, the WHO estimated that at most 2 to 3 percent of people in affected countries have been infected. On April 23, 2020, Trudeau created a COVID-19 Immunity Task Force of researchers, including Dr. Tam, Dr. David Naylor, and Dr. Mona Nemer, to coordinate monitoring of immunity and vulnerability to COVID-19 in the Canadian population. The taskforce will oversee national antibody surveys over the next two years in which will test one million Canadians. Researchers at Sinai Health's Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute in Toronto are developing a robotic system that can process mass numbers of antibody tests.
Canadian-made antibody tests
MedMira of Halifax developed one of the first rapid detection kits for HIV and has now developed a COVID-19 antibody test that takes three minutes from taking the blood drop specimen.
Plantform Corp. of Guelph has applied for funding from the National Research Council to develop an antibody test for COVID-19.

Rapid antigen testing

These test for antigens, proteins that are part of the surface of the virus. Antigens can be detected almost immediately after infection, like nucleic acid-based tests and unlike antibody tests. However, these tests use similar technology to at-home antibody tests, and are rapid, small, and could be mass-produced. Like the nucleic-acid tests, they can use nasal or throat swabs and do not require blood. They have been held up as a solution for achieving mass testing of the population by Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus task force coordinator. However, as of April 2020, the WHO estimates that the sensitivity of these tests might vary from 34 percent to 80 percent and writes the "WHO does not currently recommend the use of antigen-detecting rapid diagnostic tests for patient care, although research into their performance and potential diagnostic utility is highly encouraged."
Canadian-made rapid antigen tests
Sona Nanotech of Halifax is developing point-of-care COVID-19 antigen test kits that provide results in 5–15 minutes and is anticipated to cost less than $50. If successful, the project will yield 20,000 test kits available per week, with the potential to scale-up to 1 million test kits per week.

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