Nova Scotia's lockdown 'best way to keep safe,' says Trudeau - HalifaxToday.ca

With files from Rogers Sports & Media

Canada's prime minister says Nova Scotia's lockdown isn't what anybody wants, but it is necessary as the province battles a third wave of COVID-19.

"It's tough, it's unpleasant and it's the last thing you want to be doing right now ... but it's the best way to keep safe, to get those case numbers down and to get through this," Justin Trudeau told NEWS 95.7 fill-in host Todd Veinotte.

After posting a record high 96 cases on Tuesday, Premier Iain Rankin and Dr. Robert Strang announced a province-wide lockdown for the next two weeks. It kicked in at 8 a.m. 

Nova Scotia has reported another 75 new cases today, 67 of which are in the Central Zone, which includes Halifax. There are now 489 active cases in the province.

Trudeau said this pandemic has been hard on everyone and it's understandable that some are dealing with it by lashing out, but most Canadians willing to follow to the directives of public health officials.

"We saw in Nova Scotia how well the medical community responded quickly to the Northwood outbreak that was early on, as places across the country were being hit," he stated. "Nova Scotians stepped up and they did the right kinds of things."

"You went through a much less severe pandemic than lots of other places across the country because people were thoughtful, reasonable, and as Atlantic Canadians always are, were there for their neighbours.

Trudeau said he's optimistic Nova Scotia will be in a much better place in the coming weeks.

"We're going to get to the other side. We're going to have a much better summer than we've had a winter, but we need to continue to hold together and be thoughtful and reasonable," the prime minister added.

"If everyone does their part, we're going to get through this. The federal government's part is to have your backs. That's what we do and that's what we'll continue to do."

Listen to Todd Veinotte's full interview with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:

Trudeau also reassured the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is safe after the country had the first reported death due to a blood clot that may be linked to the shot.

On Tuesday, health officials in Quebec said a 54-year-old woman from Montreal died of a blood clot that occurred after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine. The Public Health Agency of Canada is investigating the death.

“Every single vaccine that is being used in Canada has been approved as safe by Health Canada, and I have tremendous confidence in all vaccines including AstraZeneca," Trudeau said.

"I got the AstraZeneca shot myself last week and didn’t even hesitate."

He noted that the risk of developing this rare blood clot is far less than the risks associated with COVID-19, or the risk of developing a blood clot when someone gets the virus.

In terms of the vaccine rollout across the country, the Canadian Medical Association and other groups have called for the reallocation of COVID-19 vaccine to hotspot regions of the country.

When asked if he would diverting vaccines, Trudeau said he does not support that approach but rather a per capita distribution system.

“The federal government worked with all the provinces months ago to establish a per capita basis with a carve out for Moderna to the northern Arctic territories in order to get the most vulnerable people vaccinated in one shot so you wouldn’t have to go through age strata.”

However, he said that if provinces want to change that agreement, then those decisions would be respected.

“If provinces want to come together and want to make that change, we will of course be there to listen and facilitate that, but the federal government isn’t going to take vaccines away from any jurisdiction to go another jurisdiction," he stated.

“We are however going to keep working every single day to get more doses more quickly into this country so that we can get everyone vaccinated as fast as possible, and we are working with Ontario to help them on reallocating internally the large number of doses they get.”

As calls grow for tougher restrictions on flights into Canada, Trudeau defended his government border measures.

“We brought in what been one of the most efficient measures and one of the stronger measures used, not by everyone around the world, but Canada is among the ones that used it best, is that two-week quarantine — that was brought in right from the very beginning,” Trudeau said.

Last week, the federal government suspended incoming passenger flights from India and Pakistan for the next month as cases of COVID-19 surge in both countries. However, cargo flights will still be permitted to ensure a continued supply of vaccines and PPE.

Trudeau said his government is “working as hard as we can” to get vaccines into the country, adding two-million doses of the Pfizer vaccine are expected to arrive next week.

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2021-04-28 16:18:41Z
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