Trudeau says Ottawa ready to help ramp up COVID-19 testing in Ontario, Quebec

The federal government is ready to help provinces massively scale up their COVID-19 testing capacity to fend off a potential second wave of the novel coronavirus, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday.

Testing needs to increase immediately in Ontario and Quebec, where the economies are starting to reopen but the number of new COVID-19 cases remains high, said Trudeau, who first offered provinces federal help on testing and contact tracing last week.

Trudeau said he’s received positive responses from across Canada so far and planned to further discuss the offer on his weekly call with provincial and territorial premiers later Thursday.

“We know, particularly in those areas that are still trying to get the virus under control, it is going to be important to increase testing now,” Trudeau said.

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Even in areas with a low number of new cases, Trudeau said governments need to be able to instantly increase their testing capacity in the event of fresh outbreaks.