Justin Trudeau says Canada will have enough COVID-19 vaccines for everyone who will be eligible to receive a fourth dose, if needed.
The Prime Minister met with provincial and territorial leaders on Monday, and a statement released by his office said he assured them Canada had secured enough doses for a third and potential fourth round of vaccines.
The statement says Ottawa will do all it can to help provinces and territories deal with the fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, as infections fueled by the Omicron variant threaten to overwhelm healthcare systems.
The federal government said provinces and territories will receive 140 million rapid tests this month, although the release did not provide any new details on the delivery date.
The statement said Trudeau also stressed the need to promote supportive programs, such as the federal wage subsidy, to help people and businesses survive the latest public health closures and restrictions.
The call with the premiers came as the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to rise across Canada.
Quebec reported an all-time high of 2,554 patients on Monday, including 248 in intensive care, while Ontario confirmed 2,467 hospitalizations and 438 intensive care patients.
The provinces also recorded a combined total of 20,279 new cases of COVID-19, although the actual number is likely much higher due to a lack of access to testing.
The Ontario government is expected to provide an update Tuesday on the capacity of its health care system to deal with the highly contagious Omicron variant.
The spread of the variant across the country has raised alarm bells south of the border, where the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a new Level 4 advisory recommending “avoid travel” to Canada, citing a “very high” level of COVID-19 in the country and urging all who need to get there to be fully immunized.
This promptly prompted the State Department to revise its travel advisory, which was at level 3, “reconsider travel”, to level 4: “Do not travel to Canada due to COVID-19” .