Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is touting his country’s response to the coronavirus outbreak — especially compared to the current state of the pandemic in the United States.
During a press conference on Wednesday, Trudeau said, “We were able to control the virus better than many of our allies, particularly including our neighbor.”
While Trudeau praised his country’s handling of the outbreak, the deputy chief public health officer Howard Njoo warned that if the country lifts its restrictions too early, there could be a resurgence of the virus.
“If we relax too much or too soon, the epidemic will most likely rebound, with explosive growth as a distinct possibility,” Njoo said.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Canada has over 108,000 confirmed cases of the virus and roughly 8,800 deaths. Meanwhile, the United States has over three million confirmed cases of the virus and more than 130,000 deaths.
As the virus began spreading in North America, both Canada and the U.S. banned non-essential travel between the two nations. That restriction is set to expire on July 21, and both countries are discussing whether it should be expanded.
A recent poll conducted by Nanos Research found that 81% of Canadian adults said they would like the border to the U.S. to remain closed.
Trudeau’s comments come as the U.S. has set new record highs for the number of new daily coronavirus cases as more than 40 states are reporting an increase in coronavirus cases.
Earlier this week, Trudeau turned down an invitation to visit the White House to celebrate the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) due to a scheduling conflict and concerns about the virus, as IJR reported.
