Canadian Medical Association calls for extraordinary measures to fight COVID-19

2021-04-16 23:06:15 GMT2021-04-17 07:06:15(Beijing Time) Xinhua English

OTTAWA, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) on Friday urged the Canadian government to take unprecedented measures to stem the COVID-19 spread across the country amid a new surge of coronavirus cases.

"As the third wave of the pandemic wreaks havoc on the healthcare and public health systems, healthcare providers, and patients, we are at a critical juncture where a truly national approach to combatting COVID-19 will make the difference between more or fewer lives saved," Ann Collins, president of the CMA, said in a statement. "This country must come together to help support provinces most severely impacted."

On Friday afternoon, Canada reported 6,771 new cases of the COVID-19, bringing the cumulative total to 1,103,441, including 23,535 deaths, according to CTV.

Over the past week, there have been over 8,600 new cases reported daily on average, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada on Friday.

During the same time, the number of people experiencing severe and critical illness continues to rise. On average over 3,400 people with COVID-19 were being treated in hospitals each day, including 1,050 people being treated in intensive care units, representing increase of 34 percent and 22 percent, respectively, compared to the prior week.

In the statement, the CMA called for marshaling national resources, applying restrictive health measures and prioritizing national collaboration.

It added that province-to-province collaboration and national leadership are needed to address the scale and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic and recommended sharing health care resources across provincial and territorial borders to support areas that need help the most.

The CMA called on the Canadian government to alter its vaccine distribution and prioritize areas that have an urgent need for vaccines rather than the government's current per-capita approach. It also said that an enhanced form of paid sick leave is required.

At a press conference on Friday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government is working with provincial governments on the per-capita allocation of vaccines.

As of Friday afternoon, more than 9,475,653 doses of approved COVID-19 vaccines have been administered across Canada, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada,

The CMA noted that further restrictions must be considered for provinces with lower COVID-19 transmission rates than in Ontario and Quebec in order to support other jurisdictions in dire circumstances.

"These are strong measures, but they are absolutely needed," Collins said. "We are one country, and it's time we start acting as one by deploying resources where they are most needed. If we can't achieve this through voluntary cooperation, then more and stronger measures might be needed."

The call to action came as medical experts warned that Ontario province could see more than 10,000 new COVID-19 cases daily in May if the current trends continue. Enditem

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