MONTREAL, March 30, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
said Sunday that he would remain in self-imposed isolation even though his
wife, who had contracted the coronavirus, has recovered.
Although Sophie Gregoire Trudeau received the all-clear from her physicians
on Saturday, the prime minister said, and he himself has no symptoms, he had
been “sharing a roof with someone who tested positive for COVID-19.”
“I have to continue in isolation in order to be sure that we’re following
all the protocols and the recommendations by Health Canada,” Trudeau said.
Since doctors did not know exactly when Sophie Trudeau became virus-free,
the prime minister said he would observe another 14 full days of confinement.
Addressing reporters from the porch of his Rideau Cottage residence in
Ottawa, Trudeau noted that workers across Canada had discovered that they can
do an “awful lot of work via telephone, via video conferences — and that’s
exactly what I am doing.”
The prime minister has been in self-isolation since his wife tested
positive for the coronavirus on March 12 following a trip to London.
She announced Saturday that her physicians had pronounced her cured, giving
her a green light to return to normal life.
Justin Trudeau said his wife had taken their children to Harrington Lake,
just northwest of Ottawa, the site of a summer residence and official retreat
for Canadian prime ministers.
Trudeau also announced new financial measures to help vulnerable Canadians
— particularly children and the aged — hard hit by the side-effects of the
coronavirus.
Asked at the news conference whether he might call on Canada’s armed forces
to help enforce officially imposed travel curbs, Trudeau said he had no plans
to do so for now.
Separately, Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, called
on Canadians returning to their country to strictly respect the 14 days of
confinement imposed by the government.
She referred in particular to “snowbirds” — the Canadians who pass much of
the winter in Florida and other warmer locales, many of whom have recently
been returning home.
As of Sunday, 6,243 Canadians had tested positive for the coronavirus, and
64 have died, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University.