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COVID-19 Federal Update April 15, 2020

Wednesday, 15 April 2020 at 13:24

The federal government has launched a new online mental health service to support people struggling in isolation.

The online tool allows people to assess their own mental health, connect with peers and gives them access to professional help from home. Health Minister Patty Hajdu said it can be difficult to maintain good mental health with all the disruptions we're experiencing.

Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says there is cause for cautious optimism that the COVID-19 epidemic is slowing down. In late March, the number of cases doubled every three days. More recently, it takes about 10 days for the number of cases to double. 

But Dr. Tam says that doesn't mean that Canada can ease up on physical distancing measures. She says coming down the other side of the epidemic curve will be like coming down a mountain in the dark. It must be done carefully and slowly, or the fall will be hard.

And, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says instituting wide-scale testing will be an essential part of reopening the economy once the first wave of Canada's epidemic is over. He says health authorities will need to be able to quickly respond to future outbreaks, and testing and contact tracing will be vital.

The Prime Minister warned that is still many weeks away.

He says if physical distancing measures are lifted too soon, all the sacrifices made up to this point will have been for nothing.

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