Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government began preparing for a possible pandemic as soon as it received the first alert about a mysterious cluster of pneumonia cases in China on New Year's Eve.
Trudeau is defending his government against accusations it didn't act fast enough to warn Canadians about the danger COVID-19 posed to their health and the economy.
This comes as U.S. President Donald Trump is accused of downplaying the danger of the novel coronavirus while privately telling journalist Bob Woodward in early February, during an interview for his book, he knew it was much worse than the flu.
"Every step of the way, we were informed by our experts as to how to keep Canadians safe — what needed to be done, what measures would be helpful in continuing to support Canadians as we were aware of this potential," Trudeau said Friday during a news conference in Gogama, Ont.
"But as people know, we were very much learning on the way as we responded.
Have an opinion? Send it to [email protected]