OTTAWA —
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the Canada-U.S. border is likely to close to non-essential travel by the weekend, though talks are still ongoing to iron out all the details as both sides implement increasingly restrictive measures to combat COVID-19.
Speaking from outside his residence at Rideau Cottage, the prime minister said that his best estimate for when the border will be closed to tourists and non-essential visitors is between Friday and Saturday.
“We are continuing to work on the fine tuning of the agreement between Canada, the United States. I think it’s almost there. My understanding is that the measures will probably come into place in the night between Friday and Saturday, so in about a day and a half,” Trudeau said.
The discussion on implementation continues between Canadian officials and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
When governments on both sides announced the restrictions on Wednesday, talks were still underway about the details, given the need for commerce and trade to not be interrupted by the shutdown across the longest undefended border in the world.
Canada has already shut its border to most non-citizens looking to enter the country. International flights have been rerouted to four airports where more intensive screening is being conducted on passengers arriving, and travellers with symptoms are being denied entry on flights to Canada.
If a passenger demonstrates symptoms of the virus upon arriving in Canada they are being taken under the care of public health officials, and everyone arriving in Canada from abroad is being asked to acknowledge they are to self-isolate for 14 days.
‘Weeks or months’
A week into his self-isolation, Trudeau once again addressed Canadians on the latest developments in the COVID-19 pandemic and Canada’s response and emphasized the steps taken so far.
In his remarks, Trudeau also said Canadians across the country have seen significant interruptions to their daily lives, due to the virus.
“Over the last week, we’ve seen significant changes in what COVID-19 means for the country,” Trudeau said.
“I know it’s also a lot to take in,” Trudeau said, going over the research, treatments, and supports the government is working on.
He offered another thank-you to those on the front lines of the fight against the novel coronavirus and said more information will be coming soon on the procurement of essential supplies and how industry can chip in, after hearing from many who have offered to retool their manufacturing setups to start producing supplies needed to combat the disease.
Trudeau said based on the best advice they are getting, the social distancing measures are set to be the reality for “weeks to months.”
“There’s no doubt, these are uncertain times. But no matter what happens next, we can count on each other,” Trudeau said.
Plan to pass financial aid
With the number of confirmed Canadian cases continuing to rise, and citizens slowly adjusting to the reality of necessary self-isolation and social distancing, there is pressure to see the promised financial assistance reach Canadians’ wallets as quickly as possible, to allow people to continue to heed public health advice without fear of being unable to make ends meet.
On Wednesday, Trudeau also unveiled a major $82-billion two-pronged financial package, but questions remained about when these policy actions will come into force.
While some assistance is coming through pre-existing programs such as Employment Insurance and the Canada Child Benefit, the government needs to pass legislation to fully enact the suite of financial top-ups, tax deferrals and loans they have readied to help Canadians and stimulate the economy badly hit by the novel coronavirus outbreak.
The prime minister said Thursday that the public service is already working on getting these supports rolling out the door, and he’s planning to speak with the Clerk of the Privy Council later this afternoon “to talk about how we can support our public servants and ensure that Canadians can access these new programs.”
Trudeau did not offer any more concrete timing of Parliament’s return to pass those measures, though the opposition parties have made it clear that they are on board. Both the House and Senate suspended last week in an effort to combat the spread of the virus on Parliament Hill.
Plans are being set for the minimum number of politicians — ideally those with the shortest distance to travel — to reconvene in Ottawa early next week.
‘Plank the curve’
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland chaired a meeting of the special cabinet committee focused on the federal response to COVID-19 on Thursday morning, and then joined her colleagues and health officials for another noon update on the virus.
There, Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam implored Canadians to go beyond flattening the curve, suggesting instead that Canada’s job at the moment is to “plank the curve.”
“We don’t just need to flatten the curve, we need to plank it. And we need everyone, from government to communities, families and individuals to work together. We all have got to get it right, and get it right, right now because the price of not doing so is too high,” Dr. Tam said.
As of Thursday afternoon there are 773 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Canada.
PARIS (AP) — French judicial authorities are investigating the disappearance of two Paralympic athletes from Congo who recently competed in the Paris Games, the prosecutor’s office in the Paris suburb of Bobigny confirmed on Thursday.
Prosecutors opened the investigation on Sept. 7, after members of the athletes’ delegation warned authorities of their disappearance two days before.
Le Parisien newspaper reported that shot putter Mireille Nganga and Emmanuel Grace Mouambako, a visually impaired sprinter who was accompanied by a guide, went missing on Sept. 5, along with a third person.
The athletes’ suitcases were also gone but their passports remained with the Congolese delegation, according to an official with knowledge of the investigation, who asked to remain anonymous as they were not allowed to speak publicly about the case.
The Paralympic Committee of the Democratic Republic of Congo did not respond to requests for information from The Associated Press.
Nganga — who recorded no mark in the seated javelin and shot put competitions — and Mouambako were Congo’s flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games, organizers said.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A linebacker at Division II West Virginia State was fatally shot during what the university said Thursday is being investigated by police as a home invasion.
The body of Jyilek Zyiare Harrington, 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was found inside an apartment Wednesday night in Charleston, police Lt. Tony Hazelett said in a statement.
Hazelett said several gunshots were fired during a disturbance in a hallway and inside the apartment. The statement said Harrington had multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said they had no information on a possible suspect.
West Virginia State said counselors were available to students and faculty on campus.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jyilek’s family as they mourn the loss of this incredible young man,” West Virginia State President Ericke S. Cage said in a letter to students and faculty.
Harrington, a senior, had eight total tackles, including a sack, in a 27-24 win at Barton College last week.
“Jyilek truly embodied what it means to be a student-athlete and was a leader not only on campus but in the community,” West Virginia State Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Nate Burton said. “Jyilek was a young man that, during Christmas, would create a GoFundMe to help less fortunate families.”
Burton said donations to a fund established by the athletic department in Harrington’s memory will be distributed to an organization in Charlotte to continue his charity work.
West Virginia State’s home opener against Carson-Newman, originally scheduled for Thursday night, has been rescheduled to Friday, and a private vigil involving both teams was set for Thursday night. Harrington previously attended Carson-Newman, where he made seven tackles in six games last season. He began his college career at Division II Erskine College.
“Carson-Newman joins West Virginia State in mourning the untimely passing of former student-athlete Jyilek Harrington,” Carson-Newman Vice President of Athletics Matt Pope said in a statement. “The Harrington family and the Yellow Jackets’ campus community is in our prayers. News like this is sad to hear anytime, but today it feels worse with two teams who knew him coming together to play.”
DETROIT (AP) — Joe Schmidt, the Hall of Fame linebacker who helped the Detroit Lions win NFL championships in 1953 and 1957 and later coached the team, has died. He was 92.
The Lions said family informed the team Schmidt died Wednesday. A cause of death was not provided.
One of pro football’s first great middle linebackers, Schmidt played his entire NFL career with the Lions from 1953-65. An eight-time All-Pro, he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and the college football version in 2000.
“Joe likes to say that at one point in his career, he was 6-3, but he had tackled so many fullbacks that it drove his neck into his shoulders and now he is 6-foot,” said the late Lions owner William Clay Ford, Schmidt’s presenter at his Hall of Fame induction in 1973. “At any rate, he was listed at 6-feet and as I say was marginal for that position. There are, however, qualities that certainly scouts or anybody who is drafting a ballplayer cannot measure.”
Born in Pittsburgh, Schmidt played college football in his hometown at Pitt, beginning his stint there as a fullback and guard before coach Len Casanova switched him to linebacker.
“Pitt provided me with the opportunity to do what I’ve wanted to do, and further myself through my athletic abilities,” Schmidt said. “Everything I have stemmed from that opportunity.”
Schmidt dealt with injuries throughout his college career and was drafted by the Lions in the seventh round in 1953. As defenses evolved in that era, Schmidt’s speed, savvy and tackling ability made him a valuable part of some of the franchise’s greatest teams.
Schmidt was elected to the Pro Bowl 10 straight years from 1955-64, and after his arrival, the Lions won the last two of their three NFL titles in the 1950s.
In a 1957 playoff game at San Francisco, the Lions trailed 27-7 in the third quarter before rallying to win 31-27. That was the NFL’s largest comeback in postseason history until Buffalo rallied from a 32-point deficit to beat Houston in 1993.
“We just decided to go after them, blitz them almost every down,” Schmidt recalled. “We had nothing to lose. When you’re up against it, you let both barrels fly.”
Schmidt became an assistant coach after wrapping up his career as a player. He was Detroit’s head coach from 1967-72, going 43-35-7.
Schmidt was part of the NFL’s All-Time Team revealed in 2019 to celebrate the league’s centennial season. Of course, he’d gone into the Hall of Fame 46 years earlier.
Not bad for an undersized seventh-round draft pick.
“It was a dream of mine to play football,” Schmidt told the Detroit Free Press in 2017. “I had so many people tell me that I was too small. That I couldn’t play. I had so many negative people say negative things about me … that it makes you feel good inside. I said, ‘OK, I’ll prove it to you.’”
