Four planes full of N95 masks arrived in Canada over the weekend, said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during his first daily address since Saturday.
The planes carried a total of 1.1 million masks that are to be distributed to the provinces and territories over the next few days.
Trudeau also praised health care workers who are doing everything they can to help Canadians, saying, “They’re stepping up for us and we need to do the same for them.”
He added that millions of pairs of gloves and more protective gowns will be distributed soon.
The federal government is also working on a range of rapid testing kits in an effort to ramp up COVID-19 testing across the country.
More than 430,000 Canadians have now been tested for COVID-19, according to the Prime Minister.
Trudeau also echoed Premier Horgan’s announcement from last week, saying the government is strengthening measures regarding quarantine for those returning from abroad.
Any returning travellers returning to Canada without an adequate isolation plan will be placed in a quarantine site – and this will come into effect at midnight tonight.
See all the latest updates about the global COVID-19 pandemic on Vancouver Island
The BCCDC has set up a 2019 novel coronavirus telephone information line at 1-833-784-4397 for those who have further questions about this disease.
Anyone concerned that they may have been exposed to, or are experiencing symptoms of the novel coronavirus, should contact their primary care provider, local public health office, or call 8-1-1.
The Province has also created the 1-888-COVID-19 line to connect British Columbians needing non-medical information about the coronavirus pandemic.
As of the time of publication, the total number of COVID-19 patients worldwide has risen to 1,955,385.
Over 123,000 people have died from the illness and 462,459 have made a full recovery.
