HALIFAX - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says provincial health authorities won't be alone in their fight against the novel coronavirus because the federal government will ensure they have the resources to contain and treat cases.
The Public Health Agency of Canada has said that Canada is preparing for a pandemic outbreak, though the risk of contracting the illness known as COVID-19 here is still low.
That preparation includes increasing lab capacity to test possible cases and making sure provincial hospitals have the surge capacity, supplies and ventilators to treat an influx of potentially contagious patients.
Trudeau said Tuesday the federal government has been working closely with the provinces to make sure they have what they need.
"We recognize that the coronavirus presents a particular and very real challenge to health-care systems across the country and indeed around the world," he said.
"We're all going to be working together to make sure that the impacts are minimized on Canadians."
Trudeau said Canada has been at the table with international partners and the World Health Organization to chart the best way to fight the global spread of the virus.
More than 90,000 cases of COVID-19 have been diagnosed around the world and more than 3,100 people have died. The virus began in China but has spread across the globe and reached at least 70 countries.
"Our decisions are based on science, our decisions are based on the best recommendations of experts and we're going to continue to keep Canadians involved and informed," Trudeau said. He said people should take the same precautions that they do during flu season, such as frequent hand washing, to help keep themselves and their families safe.
Health officials have recorded at least 29 cases in Canada so far, with Ontario reporting 20 of those.
Trudeau also recognized that some businesses and entrepreneurs may need help if the illness spreads through Canada. He said the government knows how important it is to support small businesses, and perhaps help if it is needed.
The prime minister made the comments in Halifax, after announcing funding to help young people find jobs.
Ottawa is spending $492 million on more than 270 projects across Canada to help those facing barriers to employment.
Timeline of COVID-19 cases in Canada
Public health officials say 29 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus have been diagnosed in Canada so far, with 20 cases reported in Ontario, eight in British Columbia and one in Quebec.
Here is a timeline of cases in this country.
Jan. 25, 2020: A man in his 50s who arrived in Toronto from Wuhan, China, the epicentre of the outbreak, becomes the first "presumptive" case of the new coronavirus in Canada. The man called 911 as soon as he got sick with relatively minor symptoms and was placed in isolation in Toronto's Sunnybrook Hospital.
Jan. 26, 2020: The wife of the Toronto man who was Canada's first "presumptive" case of the new coronavirus becomes the second presumptive case. The woman is kept in home isolation.
Jan. 27, 2020: The National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg confirms that a man in quarantine in Sunnybrook Hospital is Canada's first documented case of the new coronavirus.
Jan. 28, 2020: Health authorities confirm Canada's second case of the novel coronavirus. The woman had recently travelled to Wuhan with her husband, who was the first case confirmed in Canada.
Jan. 28, 2020: Health officials in British Columbia say a man in his 40s is presumed to have the new coronavirus and is doing well as he recovers at his Vancouver home. B.C.'s health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, says the man often works in China and voluntarily isolated himself upon returning to Canada.
Jan. 28, 2020: The presumed case of the new strain of coronavirus in B.C. is confirmed by the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg.
Jan. 31, 2020: Toronto man hospitalized with the novel coronavirus is well enough to go home. Sunnybrook Hospital says he'll continue to recover at home, where his wife is also in self-isolation.
Jan. 31, 2020: Ontario's third case of the new coronavirus is confirmed. The patient, a woman in her 20s, had travelled to the affected area in China. The London university student initially tested negative for the virus, but a subsequent test at the national lab in Winnipeg was positive. Health officials say her symptoms are minor.
Feb. 4, 2020: Health officials announce another presumptive confirmed case in B.C. Henry says the woman had family visiting from China's Hubei province and she is in isolation at her home.
Feb. 5, 2020: British Columbia's second case of coronavirus is confirmed by the National Microbiology Lab.
Feb. 6, 2020: Henry announces two new cases of COVID-19 in B.C., noting both people were in the same household as the woman diagnosed with the province's second case.
Feb. 12, 2020: Ontario health officials say the woman from London, Ont., no longer has the novel coronavirus in her system. It marks the first time a case of the illness has been resolved in Canada.
Feb. 14, 2020: Officials in B.C. announce the province's fifth case of COVID-19. The woman in her 30s who lives in B.C.'s Interior recently returned from Hubei province.
Feb. 19, 2020: Henry announces that the person diagnosed with B.C.'s first case of the new coronavirus has recovered. It's the first time this has happened in the province.
Feb. 20, 2020: A woman who recently returned from Iran is diagnosed with British Columbia's sixth case of COVID-19. She's the first person in the country diagnosed with the illness who did not recently visit China. Meanwhile, in Ontario, the man who had Canada's first case of the virus is cleared after testing negative for the illness twice in 24 hours.
Feb. 21, 2020: A third case of coronavirus in Ontario is resolved.
Feb. 23, 2020: Officials in Toronto announce Ontario has a new case of coronavirus — the fourth to be diagnosed in the province. The woman arrived in Toronto from China several days earlier.
Feb. 24, 2020: Henry announces a seventh person in B.C. has been diagnosed with the new coronavirus. The man in his 40s was in close contact with the woman who has the province's sixth case of the illness.
Feb. 26, 2020: Ontario officials announce a fifth diagnosis in the province: a woman in her 60s who recently travelled to Iran.
Feb. 27, 2020: Quebec public health officials report the province's first presumptive case, a woman from the Montreal region who recently returned from Iran. Ontario officials also confirm a sixth case of COVID-19 in the province. They say the man in his 60s is the husband of Ontario's fifth patient with the virus.
Feb. 28, 2020: Ontario reports a seventh confirmed case — a man in his 50s who had travelled to Iran. The man arrived in Toronto on Tuesday, Feb. 25 and went to the emergency department of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre the next day. It also reports its eighth case: a man in his 80s with a travel history to Egypt. Officials said he arrived in the city on Feb. 20 and went to the Scarborough Health Network's General Hospital's emergency department on Thursday.
Feb. 29, 2020: Health officials in British Columbia say a woman in her 60s who travelled from Iran is the eighth case of COVID-19 in the province. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says the woman has a relatively mild case and she is in self-isolation at home. Health officials in Ontario report another three cases — two women who had recently made separate trips to Iran, and the 69-year-old husband of one of those women, who had no recent travel history.
March 1, 2020: Ontario officials diagnose four new cases — three in York Region and one in Toronto. All four patients had recently travelled abroad. One had travelled to Egypt with a man who was later diagnosed with the virus, while the rest had recently been in Iran.
March 2, 2020: Ontario announces three new cases — two women who had travelled to Egypt and a man who had travelled to Iran.
March 3, 2020: Ontario announces two new cases — one person who had travelled to Egypt and another who had travelled to Iran.