Good afternoon.
Thank you, Mr. Chair and committee members, for the opportunity to come back to speak with you again today.
The emergence and rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has challenged global capacities in unprecedented ways.
In Canada, there are now around 78,500 cases of COVID-19, including 5,857 deaths. Around 50% of cases have now recovered. Labs across Canada have tested over 1,337,000 people for the novel coronavirus to date, with about 5% of them testing positive overall. Collectively, provinces and territories are testing an average of over 27,000 people daily. As these numbers change quickly, we update them on the Canada.ca/coronavirus web page.
While COVID-19 remains a serious global health threat, our collective efforts to slow down the spread of COVID-19 and bring the epidemic under control have flattened the curve in Canada. The slowed rate of transmission has reduced daily case counts, but there are still localized outbreaks and active transmission in different areas of the country, so we must remain vigilant.
As the initial epidemic wave in Canada comes under control, rapidly detecting and suppressing any new surge in cases is the priority. Simply put, we must keep infection rates low while we accelerate the development of treatments and a safe and effective vaccine for COVID-19.
Given the uncertainties of the path forward, we will need to exercise caution and learn as we go. Canada’s response has and continues to rely on science, our evolving knowledge on how the virus spreads, and the deployment of effective public health measures. We will adjust rapidly, as needed, to effectively reduce the spread of this virus as we reopen Canada’s economic and social life.
Canada’s response to COVID-19 must continue as a collaborative response that supports and includes individuals, communities, different sectors and governments.
Our federal public health role can best be described as leadership through research and science, international collaboration, data and monitoring, and continuous risk assessment; leadership in keeping Canadians informed about what we know, what we don’t know and how we are finding answers to the complex questions that a new infectious disease brings; and leadership by mobilizing capacities to rapidly address gaps wherever they exist and by providing resources that strengthen the public health response wherever it is needed.
A cornerstone of Canada’s overall response to date has been excellent collaboration among federal, provincial and territorial governments.
As we move forward, we will continue to work closely through the federal-provincial-territorial special advisory committee on COVID-19, which includes all the chief medical officers of health, as well as Correctional Service Canada and Indigenous Services Canada officials. At the moment, we are meeting several times per week.
The public health working group on isolated and remote communities, reporting to the special advisory committee, has also been formed to collaborate on addressing the unique needs of remote and isolated communities and those of first nations, Inuit and Métis.
I will take a few minutes to provide an update on some of the key areas where the Public Health Agency of Canada is supporting the Government of Canada and our provincial and territorial partners in the response.
Testing is a critical aspect of our COVID-19 response. Canada’s testing strategy will continue to be adapted as science on the virus evolves, as more test options become available and as the pandemic progresses. It is based on the three central public health priorities of testing all suspected cases, aggressively tracing their contacts, and isolating infected people and quarantining contacts.
Testing and contact tracing are critical to setting up a ring fence around every case and breaking the chains of transmission. Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory, NML, has played a critical role in this area.
Within five days of the novel virus' genetic sequence becoming available, scientists at the NML developed a molecular diagnostic test, and now more than 30 labs across Canada can perform confirmatory tests. As commercial tests became available, the NML’s validation and quality assessment programs rapidly ramped up to ensure that these tests deliver accurate results.
The special advisory committee on COVID-19 recently updated the national laboratory testing guidance with a focus on broadening testing to anyone with symptoms, even those with mild symptoms. Considerations for testing asymptomatic individuals were also provided.
The Government of Canada also recently announced the COVID-19 immunity task force to coordinate population-based serology or antibody studies to determine the extent of COVID-19 infection in Canada. This will help determine the fraction of the population who have some immunity to the virus to inform effective public health responses going forward, including any vaccination programs.
A robust testing approach is a key component of the reopening phases, and Canada is looking to implement a multi-pronged testing approach that encompasses a combination of lab-based PCR testing, point of care and serology testing.
A priority for all countries is the development of a vaccine for COVID-19. The National Microbiology Lab is part of a national network using genome sequencing to understand how the virus works, how it is evolving and why people experience such differences in the severity of illness. The NML's work on vaccine development builds on a track record that includes the successful development of an Ebola vaccine. We are pursuing seven vaccine development technologies and collaborating with industry and academia to contribute to vaccine discovery.
Another important area of focus for the Government of Canada has been securing critical personal protective equipment and medical equipment for front-line health care workers. We are doing this through collaborative bulk procurement with provinces and territories, building domestic production capacity and identifying potential alternatives and ways to extend product life.
The Public Health Agency also continues to work closely with provinces and territories to update infection prevention and control guidance based on the best available evidence for a variety of health care settings, including long-term care.
Another important area of focus is keeping Canadians informed. The Public Health Agency of Canada has been providing Canadians with timely information about how they can protect their health and our broader health care systems. This includes the Canada.ca\coronavirus web page, a toll-free COVID-19 information line and the Canada COVID-19 app that has been downloaded more than 540,000 times to date.
Nationally we have witnessed the impact of Canadians working together to slow COVID-19 epidemic growth through collective adherence to recommended public health measures, including physical distancing and hygiene measures. In moving forward, all levels of government are committed to working together towards a shared evidence-based approach to the cautious lifting of public health measures with the primary objective of protecting the health of Canadians while taking into consideration regional differences.
There is a need to strike a critical balance between public health control measures that minimize health impacts and the social and economic consequences. For instance, border measures under the Quarantine Act to strengthen and restrict entry into Canada from abroad, including from the U.S., remain in place. These measures will be continually reassessed as new information becomes available.
The special advisory committee on COVID-19 recently provided recommendations and national public health guidance with shared objectives, principles, criteria and indicators that serve as the foundation for lifting restrictive measures.
We must also continue to strengthen public health capacity across the country in anticipation of potential future waves of COVID-19, which includes capacity for enhanced testing to rapidly detect cases, investigate outbreaks and find and manage contacts. The Government of Canada is also working closely with provinces and territories to expand testing capacity beyond the existing laboratories and strategies to mobilize human resources to support contact tracing.
The impact of COVID-19 on the overall physical and mental health of Canadians has been significant. The direct health impacts have been devastating, with the most severe outcomes being suffered by seniors residing in long-term care and assisted living facilities. Our approach going forward must ensure that vulnerable or high-risk groups are better protected. These include those who are vulnerable because of age, underlying health conditions, remote location, close living spaces and temporary or unstable living spaces.
We must also consider the unintended consequences of restrictions in place, including increased domestic violence and social isolation, delayed care for acute and chronic health conditions and problematic substance use.
As public health restrictions are lifted, the aim is to be able to rapidly respond to any new cases or clusters to keep the epidemic suppressed. However, we must prepare for the possibility that public health restrictions may need to be reinstated if cases spike again.
While we do not know what will happen with COVID-19 in a few months, public health has to prepare for the possibility of another wave coinciding with the annual influenza season. This and more challenges lie ahead of this unprecedented global health crisis. Public health authorities are aware, engaged and fully committed to tackling these challenges head on with the full weight of Canadian ingenuity, collaboration and innovation.
Thank you for your attention.
I will be pleased to answer any questions.