Trudeau Says Canada’s Travel Restrictions Need to Stay in Place A While Longer
May 11, 2021 Jim Byers
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says health and travel restrictions need to stay in place a little longer, but that Canada can still enjoy a good year.
“There is hope” for a “slightly better summer,” Trudeau said on Tuesday. But he said restrictions need to stay in place until at least 75% of the population has at least their first shot and community transmission is better controlled through tracing, virus testing and tamping down on the spread of COVID-19.
According to federal data, 40 per cent of the adult population has had one shot already, the CBC reports.
“We all know, in some places, cases are really high,” the PM said. “We can’t ease public health restrictions until cases are way down. We all want to have a summer where we can see our loved ones and invite our friends over for BBQs.”
“We can have that summer,” Trudeau said. “That’s what I’m excited about.”
Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said case counts are “slowly declining” across the country but that the third wave is still going strong in several provinces.
The Canada-U.S. border closure is set to expire on May 21 but will almost certainly be extended. The same is likely for the federal government’s controversial quarantine hotel program.
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