According to the two most likely scenarios released Thursday by Canadian health authorities, the coronavirus could kill between 11,000 and 22,000 people in Canada by the end of the pandemic. In addition, Ottawa expects between 934,000 and 1.9 million cases of covid-19 by the end of the crisis, if strict measures are maintained in the coming months, according to projections disclosed for the first time at the federal level.
>> LIVE - Coronavirus: follow the evolution of the situation Thursday March 9
The country counted nearly 20,000 cases and 476 died Thursday late in the morning, according to official figures published by the various provinces. By April 16, the death toll from the epidemic is expected to be between 500 and 700, said Public Health Canada Theresa Tam during a media briefing. "These figures show us that everything must be done to control the epidemic," she said, calling on Canadians to respect the rules of isolation and social distancing to stay in low estimates. "These models are not crystal balls and they do not allow us to predict the future," she added.
Peak could be reached mid-April
Currently the number of cases doubles every three to five days, authorities said, but declined to predict when the epidemic would peak at the federal level. Authorities in Quebec, the province most affected with more than half of the cases in the country, estimated that the peak could be reached in mid-April.
>> READ ALSO - Coronavirus: an expert evokes 100,000 to 200,000 deaths in the United States
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had been ordered for several days to publish projections at the national level, as have already done the four most affected provinces, which represent 94% of the cases in the country: Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and Colombia -British.
Justin Trudeau reiterates at each of his daily press conferences that the evolution of the crisis will depend on the behavior of Canadians, who are called to stay at home and respect social distancing. Each province has taken more or less stringent measures to enforce these injunctions.