Canada PM warns against social gathering amid COVID-19 threat ahead of Christmas

Christmas celebrations would be in jeopardy if Canadians continue their mass gatherings, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stressed highlighting that the threat of COVID-19 was still intact. While, Ottawa was successful in curbing the initial wave of coronavirus pandemic, last month’s Thanksgiving celebrations have posed a new threat. In a recent public statement, country’s healthcare officials clearly warned that the healthcare facilities were incompetent to tolerate another surge of infection.

'Reducing gatherings is most important'

 “Reducing your contacts, reducing your gatherings are going to be most important. And what we do in the coming days and weeks will determine what we get to do at Christmas," pleaded Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a news conference.

Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada's chief public health officer said that “casual socializing” was the key source of infection spread. “An important driver of this increased disease activity continues to be informal social gatherings and activities both inside and outside our homes," she further elaborated. She also warned that country’s new daily cases could more than double in just a few weeks if residents did not take the precautions and guidelines seriously.

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Recently, Trudeau announced an investment of up to $173 million through the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) in Quebec City based Medicago. The entire process is valued at an amount of $428 million. It is said to advance Medicago’s virus-like particle vaccine which is developed on the company’s unique plant-based production platform.

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As per the press release, the government is also planning to invest in a  Vancouver-based biotechnology company Precision NanoSystems Incorporated (PNI) through the SIF. The government will be contributing an amount of $18.2 million. The press release further stated, “the government is also providing up to $23.2 million in funding through the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program to advance six COVID-19 vaccine candidates in various stages of clinical trials”. 

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