Officials warned Canada couldn’t enforce coronavirus quarantine for travellers from China: memo - Global News | Canada News Media
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Officials warned Canada couldn’t enforce coronavirus quarantine for travellers from China: memo – Global News

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Federal health officials appear to have warned in early February, as the novel coronavirus spread globally, that Canada did not have the resources to enforce a quarantine order on travellers returning from China’s Hubei province.

Federal, provincial and territorial health departments agreed not to order tens of thousands of travellers arriving in Canada from China to quarantine in February in order to reduce pressure on public health resources, according to a memo addressed to Health Minister Patty Hajdu and signed by the Public Health Agency of Canada’s president and chief public health officer.

The memo was included in roughly 1,000 pages of documents shared by public health officials with the federal health committee last month.






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Coronavirus outbreak: Federal ministers outline process for new mandatory quarantine practices


Coronavirus outbreak: Federal ministers outline process for new mandatory quarantine practices

In it, officials said there were roughly 20,000 passengers coming into Canada from China every week and that attempting to enforce or track a mandatory quarantine on them would be unrealistic.

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“If this approach were to be extended to China, it would be unsustainable given the volume of travellers,” the memo explained.

“A voluntary self-isolation places less pressure on public health resources.”


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The senior public servants also agreed, at the time, that “most individuals” would respect requests to self-isolate after receiving a handout from officials at the airport.

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“Canadians may question a voluntary approach since there is no ability to enforce or ensure compliance,” said the memo.

“However, there is anecdotal evidence that individuals who have returned from Hubei are already self-isolating. We could expect that most individuals would be compliant, given concern and anxiety associated with the coronavirus.”

Asked about that advice from federal health officials and why the federal government didn’t do more to bolster public health resources at that time, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded: “We recognized early on that this was a challenge and we did take many measures to try and control or prevent or ensure that Canada was less vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19 that we were seeing elsewhere in the world.”

“With hindsight, I’m sure there are lots of things that we could have done differently, could have done differently, but I can tell you that every step of the way, we took the advice of our medical professionals and our public health experts seriously and did as best we could,” the prime minister said during a news conference Wednesday about Canada’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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“I’m sure there will be many many people reflecting on different countries’ responses and what we need to do to ensure we’re even better prepared next time.”


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The memo sent to Hajdu was prepared following a briefing delivered by the country’s top public health officials to their managers in health departments across Canada about how to address the growing crisis.

The memo said that enforcing the Quarantine Act would require more resources for local public health units so they could “undertake active monitoring of each individual,” as well as an emergency order.

A month later, on March 25, the federal government made an emergency order under the Quarantine Act that required any traveller entering Canada by air, sea or land to quarantine for 14 days, whether they were experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 or not.

The government has asked all residents, regardless of travel history, to stay home except for essential trips and to keep a two-metre distance from other people when they are out in public.

Results of an Ipsos poll conducted for Global News suggests one in four people are not practicing these physical distancing recommendations as much as they should.






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Coronavirus outbreak: Trudeau says everyone must use good judgment during pandemic


Coronavirus outbreak: Trudeau says everyone must use good judgment during pandemic

Trudeau was asked by a journalist at his daily briefing on Wednesday whether there are any further tools he would consider using to enforce social distancing or punish those who break the rules.

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He said the government is continually evaluating the situation.

“Unfortunately we do see that there are some people who are not choosing to follow these instructions,” he said.

“We continue to impress upon everyone that we need to do what is necessary to get through this as quickly and safely as possible. We will continually work with cities and jurisdictions on measures they may feel are necessary.”

© 2020 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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Under-20 coach Cindy Tye named interim coach for upcoming Canada senior friendlies

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Canadian under-20 coach Cindy Tye will serve as interim coach for Canada’s upcoming women’s friendlies against Iceland and South Korea.

Canada Soccer has said head coach Bev Priestman will not be returning in the wake of the recent independent report into the Olympic drone-spying scandal. Priestman, assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joey Lombardi are currently serving one-year suspensions from FIFA, with Lombardi having already resigned his Canada Soccer position.

Tye a former Canadian international who doubles as associate athletic director and women’s head coach at Dalhousie University, will be joined by returning assistant coach Neil Wood. The rest of the staff consists of Katie Collar (interim assistant coach), Jen Herst (incumbent goalkeeper and set play coach) and Maryse Bard-Martel (interim performance analyst).

Canada Soccer said assistant coach Andy Spence, who ran the team during the Olympics and last month’s 1-1 draw with third-ranked Spain, is “unavailable for this camp and is scheduled to return for the next FIFA window.”

Spence has not talked to the media since the Olympics.

Former Canadian international Diana Matheson, now chief growth officer of the new Northern Super League, and Collar, head coach of Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite, were added to the staff for the game against Spain and served as the team’s spokeswomen with the media.

The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face No. 13 Iceland on Nov. 29 and No. 19 South Korea on Dec. 3, with both games at the Pinatar Arena in Murcia, Spain.

The 23-player squad features some of Tye’s under-20 charges, including North Carolina State University defender Janet Okeke and SMU forward Nyah Rose who receive their first senior call-ups 

Okeke, an 18-year-old from Laval, Que., and Rose, a 19-year-old from Markham, Ont., both represented Canada at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in September in Colombia. Jade Rose, Nyah’s older sister, has already won 26 senior caps but the 21-year-old Harvard University defender misses the Spain trip through injury. 

There are also second call-ups for 18-year-old midfielder Jeneva Hernandez Gray from the Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls elite team and 28-year-old defender Megan Reid from the NWSL’s Angel City.

The FIFA window, which runs Nov. 25 to Dec. 3, marks Canada’s final camp of the year, with North American-based players entering their off-season and European-based players returning to club competition. 

Canada has played Iceland twice before, both at the Algarve Cup, with the teams playing to a scoreless draw in February 2019 and Canada winning 1-0 in March 2016.

The Canadian women are 7-1-1 all-time against South Korea and are unbeaten in their last five meetings. The teams drew 0-0 last time they met, in June 2022 in Toronto.

The roster announced Thursday has an average age of 23.

Kadeisha Buchanan, Sydney Collins, Cloé Lacasse and Quinn are also unavailable due to injury with Chelsea’s Buchanan the latest to go down, injuring her anterior cruciate ligament with England’s Chelsea. Canada Soccer said Seattle Reign forward Jordyn Huitema was unavailable due to personal reasons. 

Earlier this month Nyah Rose was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference’s third-all-star team, the first Mustang in program history to earn All-ACC honours. 

Rose led the American Athletic Conference with 11 goals as a freshman before SMU moved to the ACC.

She scored five goals in 11 games last season, missing five matches early due to international duty with the Canadian U-20 team. Rose scored Canada’s first tournament goal against France in a 3-3 draw and had seven shots on goal in the 9-0 rout of Fiji.

Earlier this year, Rose was one of only three sophomores named to the 44-player 2024 Hermann Trophy Watch List. The MAC Hermann Trophy honours the top NCAA soccer player.

There is another Rose on the team — Leicester City forward Deanne Rose, no relation.

Okeke played in 11 games for North Carolina State this season.

Hernandez Gray was also part of the Canadian team at the U-20 World Cup in Colombia and led the Whitecaps Girls Elite side at the inaugural CONCACAF W Champions Cup. 

Reid, a California native whose mother was born in Canada, gave up soccer after playing at the University of Virginia to pursue a career as a paramedic. She then returned to the sport, joining the NWSL’s Angel City for the 2022 pre-season as a non-roster invitee.

She was rewarded in January with a new contract that runs through 2025. Reid’s play also earned her an invitation in February to Canada’s camp in San Antonio ahead of the CONCACAF W Gold Cup.

 

Canada Roster

Goalkeepers: Sabrina D’Angelo, Aston Villa (England); Lysianne Proulx, Juventus (Italy); Kailen Sheridan, San Diego Wave (NWLS).

Defenders: Gabrielle Carle, Washington Spirit (NWSL); Vanessa Gilles, Olympique Lyonnais (France); Ashley Lawrence, Chelsea (England); Janet Okeke, North Carolina State (NCAA); Megan Reid, Angel City (NWSL); Jayde Riviere, Manchester United (England); Shelina Zadorsky, West Ham (England).

Midfielders: Marie-Yasmine Alidou, Benfica (Portugal); Simi Awujo, Manchester United (England); Jessie Fleming, Portland Thorns (NWSL); Julia Grosso, Chicago Red Stars (NWSL); Jeneva Hernandez Gray, Vancouver Whitecaps; Emma Regan, HB Køge (Denmark). 

Forwards: Janine Beckie, Racing Louisville (NWSL); Adriana Leon, Aston Villa (England); Nichelle Prince, Kansas City Current (NWSL); Deanne Rose, Leicester City (NWSL); Nyah Rose, Southern Methodist University (NCAA); Olivia Smith, Liverpool (England); Evelyne Viens, AS Roma (Italy). 

Follow @NeilMDavidson on X platform 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2024.



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Toronto woman, 30, charged in death of her four-month-old baby: police

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TORONTO – A Toronto woman has been charged in the death of her four-month-old after the child was reported missing on Wednesday.

Toronto police allege the father reported the baby was missing shortly before 11:30 a.m. at a residential building in the city’s midtown.

They say officers responded to the scene, found the infant and made attempts to save the child’s life.

They say the baby was rushed to hospital and pronounced dead.

Police say the mother, 30, has been charged with failure to provide the necessities of life. 

They say she was scheduled to appear in a Toronto bail court on Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2024. 

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Former Saskatchewan Party legislature member sentenced to probation for assault

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MOOSE JAW, Sask. – A former Saskatchewan Party legislature member has been sentenced to 12 months probation after pleading guilty to assault. 

Gregory Lawrence also faced a charge of assault by choking but it was dropped following the plea in court Wednesday in Moose Jaw, Sask.

A court document says Lawrence shoved and choked a woman during an argument in 2019.

As part of his probation, Lawrence is barred from contacting the victim and going within 50 metres of her home or workplace.

Lawrence resigned from the governing Saskatchewan Party caucus in January as police investigated complaints against him.

He represented the constituency of Moose Jaw Wakamow until October and did not seek re-election.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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