That Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, he's got a real way with words. First, there was the time he said "peoplekind," correcting a female audience member who dared to use the term "mankind." And today, during a press briefing, he succinctly boiled down all of our thoughts on the global COVID-19 pandemic:
"This sucks, it really, really does," Trudeau told reporters this morning. "It's going to be a tough winter. It's easy for us to want to throw up our hands ... it's frustrating to have to go through this situation."
This sucks, he said! Couldn't have phrased it better myself. Preach.
Acknowledging annoyances over partial lockdowns and scrapped Halloween plans around the country, Trudeau went on to warn that the second wave of the pandemic could jeopardize large gatherings with friends and family over the Christmas holidays.
“It’s frustrating to have to explain to your kids in many parts of the country, like here in Ottawa, that we’re not going to be trick-or-treating this weekend. And it’s frustrating knowing that unless we’re really, really careful, there may not be the kinds of family gatherings we want to have at Christmas," he said.
"My six-year-old asked me a few weeks ago, 'Dad, is COVID-19 forever?' I mean, he's in Grade 1, this was supposed to be his big year as a big boy, and they're not even singing in his classroom."
On Tuesday, Canada registered 220,000 infections and nearly 10,000 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, according to data released by federal health officials.
Trudeau urged Canadians to continue following the advice of health authorities across the country, despite frustrations over conflicting information being released by some of them.
Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada's chief public health officer, recently suggested using hockey sticks as a tool to hand out Halloween candies. But the Ontario government has recommended against trick-or-treating altogether in parts of the province that have been rocked the hardest by the coronavirus.
Meanwhile, back-to-school plans have caused confusion over what symptoms in students warranted COVID-19 tests, resulting in unwieldy lineups at assessment centres.
Trudeau said that while authorities advised a general lockdown during COVID-19's first wave, the situation is different this time around.
“We could have a single unified message: ‘Everybody stay home,’ but nobody wants that,” Trudeau said.
“So we have a more targeted approach that provinces are designing, that the federal government is there to support the provinces on and yes it’s more complicated, but it’s also far less difficult and painful for all of us as a country.”
Still, Trudeau gave us all reason to keep our (mask-clad) chins up.
“We will get through this. Vaccines are on the horizon. Spring and summer will come and they will be better than this winter,” he said.
