Canada extends Omicron variant to people and businesses affected Coronavirus pandemic News

“We are going through even harder times,” Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Wednesday.

Canada will roll out support programs to help people and businesses affected by Omicron coronavirus variants, Ottawa said on Wednesday, warning that it could get worse as the virus spreads.

Theresa Tam, the country’s chief public health official, called on Canadians to take action, saying in a press conference that “the situation can be quickly escaped anywhere”.

The highly contagious variant of Omicron has led to the reintroduction of several restrictions in 10 Canadian provinces.

“I don’t want to diminish … We are in an even harder time for the future. That is true and that is really hard,” said Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.

Canada has confirmed 2,360 Omicron cases to date. New daily cases rose to 11,300 on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, revealing that his three employees and three other members of his security detail were positive, said he knew the Canadians did not want to face another threat.

“None of us want to be here; we’re tired of COVID, we want it to go away,” he said in the same news release.

Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia – Canada’s three most populous provinces – have announced a series of restrictions to tackle Omicron, with business associations warning that restaurants and bars will be hit particularly hard.

Freeland said in a speech, Ottawa is temporarily expanding programs designed to cover salary and rental costs.

This extension, which will run until February 12, 2022, will help companies that have reduced their capacity by 50 percent or more due to the measures put in place to reduce COVID-19.

Alla Drigola Birk of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce said the announcement “will be essential [help] companies to act safely in this phase of the pandemic ”.

Ottawa said in October that much of the pandemic-related aid was coming to an end, citing the resurgent economy and the success of vaccination efforts.