Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the Canadian military is gearing up to join his government approach against the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
"Over the past few weeks the Canadian Armed Forces have been gearing up to support our efforts and our communities, as we fight COVID-19," Trudeau said at his daily press conference.
He said his government has not yet received a formal request from a province or territory for the military's intervention, whether sending supplies or to aid with the coming flood or forest fire seasons.
Trudeau also announced that Canadian businesses whose revenue has decreased by 30 percent or more due to the pandemic will be eligible for the 75 percent wage subsidy promised, regardless of the number of employees they have.
"If your businesses revenues have decreased by at least 30 percent because of COVID-19, you will be eligible for this subsidy. The number of employees you have will not determine whether you get this support," he said. "It will apply to non-profit organizations and charities as well as companies both big and small."
He said the aim of the wage subsidy program is about making sure that people are getting paid whether they work for a business that employs 10 people or 1,000 employees.
The emergency wage subsidy is back-dated to March 15, and is an increase to the initial commitment of a 10 percent subsidy. It comes alongside a special emergency guaranteed business loan of up to 40,000 Canadian dollars (about 28,000 U.S. dollars).
The number of confirmed cases in Canada has increased rapidly since the beginning of the month as testing ramped up and travelers were called home from abroad.
As of 2 p.m. Canada Eastern Time on Monday, there were 7,288 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 70 death in the country.
Canadian Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam said on Sunday that this coming week will be a crucial time during which public health officials will start to see if the aggressive physical distancing measures taken to prevent the spread of the coronavirus are working. Enditem
