Canada’s chief medical health officer Dr. Theresa Tam has said that there have been an equal number of community transmissions to travel cases of Canadians who have tested positive for COVID-19.
Deputy chief public health officer Dr. Howard Njoo said since last week, nearly 90 percent of cases reported to the public health agency came from the spread of the virus within the community.
Tam says this represents a fundamental shift in the spread of the virus in Canada.
If Canada is going to get a handle on community spread, she said social distancing and maintaining a two-meter barrier between people is essential.
Tam also said 220 passengers from the Grand Princess cruise ship who have completed their 14-day quarantine at CFB Trenton and are symptom-free were repatriated earlier today.
As of Tuesday, the total number of novel coronavirus cases across Canada has surpassed 2,000 with the death toll currently sits in the mid-twenties.
According to Tam, nearly 120,000 Canadians have been tested for the coronavirus, with an average of 10,000 people tested per day.
Meanwhile, the United States has seen their totals reach nearly 50,000, becoming the third-highest number of cases in any country next to China and Italy.
With files to Canadian Press.
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