Canada unveils a $1 Billion action plan to deal with COVID-19

The Canadian government has announced an official plan to deal with COVID-19 and it’s looking pretty hefty. In order to combat the impacts of a possible outbreak in Canada, Prime Minister Trudeau has announced a $1 billion COVID-19 response fund.

Now, we know what you’re thinking. “The media is blowing Coronavirus coverage out of proportion in order to keep the news cycle going and distract us from everything else in the world.”

Hey, we don’t blame you, but trust us when we say this response fund is a good thing. After all, Canada’s hospitals run near-capacity without a possible pandemic in the country – can you imagine what they’d look like if half a million Canadians got sick?

Regardless, the government has deemed this enough of an emergency to shell out some serious cash. Let’s take a look and see how the COVID-19 response fund will be distributed:

• Support for provinces and territories: $500 million
• Investing in research: $275 million
• Immediate and additional public health response, including funding for Indigenous Services Canada:
  $150 million
• Sustained communications and public education: $50 million
• Personal protective equipment: $50 million
• International assistance: $50 million
• Repatriation of Canadians: $7 million
• Employment Insurance sickness benefits: $5 million
• Initial support to the World Health Organization: $2 million

One thing that sticks out is that the government is waiving the one-week waiting period for EI, plus tossing $5 million towards EI sickness benefits. That means that Trudeau is aiming to ensure no one loses their job due to being in self-isolation, which we definitely appreciate.

Now, we know you’re tired of hearing about this stuff, but being prepared is the best way we can keep any COVID-19 activity to a minimum. Stay safe out there, folks.