Canada nominally has the capacity to test 60,000 people per day, but has been averaging only about 28,000
OTTAWA — The federal government will fund provincial efforts to test people for COVID-19, track the contacts of those who test positive, and help different jurisdictions share data, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Friday.
Statistics Canada has also provided 1,700 interviewers who can make 20,000 calls per day to help with contact-tracing efforts, Trudeau said. But to do that, Canada needs to step up its testing for the virus, he said. Canada nominally has the capacity to test 60,000 people per day for COVID-19, but has been averaging only about 28,000 tests per day.
Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu said Friday her department has been working with provinces to make sure they have the materials needed to meet their testing goals, including swabs, reagents, and people to do the work. Provinces also need to improve the way they share information about the spread of the virus, Trudeau said.
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