While he admits that the public’s willingness to follow public health measures may wane, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calls on Canadians to stay focused on preventing the Omicron variant from ruining the coming winter and spring.
“Omicron doesn’t care if we’re tired of the restrictions,” Trudeau said in a year-end interview broadcast on Rosemary Barton Live on Sunday. “He’s going to keep doing what he’s doing anyway.
“We have a choice, because we have seen it so many times. If we act early and carefully to restrain ourselves, to starve Omicron, if we don’t feed him in the next two weeks, don’t give him the opportunity. by spreading more than enough, we’ll have a much better winter and a much better spring. “
Trudeau made the remarks as the federal government announced stricter testing requirements for international travelers in a bid to control the spread of the COVID-19 variant Omicron.
Starting Tuesday, all travelers will be required to take a COVID-19 molecular test again before returning to Canada. Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said today he is canceling the exemption announced last month, which allowed fully vaccinated Canadians and permanent residents on trips abroad lasting up to less than 72 hours of returning home without proof of a negative test.
The reinstated test requirement will be applied from Tuesday, December 21. The federal government also advises against unnecessary travel during the Christmas season.
The Liberals and New Democrats have said their MPs and staff are not allowed to travel internationally at this time. Conservative leader Erin O’Toole has not given her team that direction.
In an interview aired Saturday, O’Toole told CBC radio The House let him not ask Conservative MPs to heed the federal government’s recommendation against foreign travel because there are other ways to stay safe.
“We have vaccination rates of over 80% with a double test at the start and at the finish, with the use of the mask, all the rules,” he said. “You can mitigate the risk and try to have the right balance for the economy and for our way of life while still focusing on safety. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
The number of Omicron cases is now doubling every two days or less – an unprecedented rate of spread for a COVID variant.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told CBC News chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton that he believes public health orders should not be enforced to the same degree as in previous waves because Canadians have since they were working. 1:28
Strengthening of public health measures
On Thursday, the Ontario government’s COVID-19 science table released modeling suggesting that without ‘circuit breaker’ restrictions to reduce social contact by about 50%, booster shots alone are unlikely to be enough to stop the number of daily cases in the province to reach between 6,000 and over 10,000 per day by the end of the year.
Trudeau said he believes that despite widespread fatigue from the pandemic, Canadians will do whatever it takes to control the spread of the Omicron because they are now “knowledgeable.”
“We have had the highest vaccination rates of so many other countries because people are doing the right thing. We know what to do,” Trudeau told CBC chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton.
The Prime Minister also said he believes public health orders should not be enforced to the same degree as they were in previous waves because Canadians saw they were working.
We can “have a lot of faith in what Canadians have shown, which is reasonableness and thoughtfulness, a willingness to protect our frontline healthcare workers and our most vulnerable,” Trudeau said.
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