TORONTO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st March, 2020) The Canadian government is allocating $1.4 billion Dollars to procure of protective equipment for frontline workers in the fight against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Tuesday.
"Our government is also allocating aside C$2 billion dollars [US$1.4 billion] to purchase protective personal equipment, including for bulk purchases with provinces and territories," Trudeau said.
During the daily COVID-19 briefing, Trudeau also announced that the Canadian government has reached a tentative agreement with another five companies to supply it with medical equipment.
Trudeau said that three companies, who earlier were announced to have signed a letter of intent, have formally entered into an agreement with the Federal authorities to produce essential supplies, such as respirators and surgical masks. According to the Prime Minister, the first batch of supplies should become available within the next several weeks.
Trudeau added that companies across Canada and the world are stepping up to donate equipment, including Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, which is providing the country with 500,000 masks and 10,000 testing kits.
The announcements comes as the government seeks to establish a domestic supply chain of protective equipment, amid reported shortages and growing international demand.
As of Tuesday, Canada has registered a total of 7708 COVID-19 cases and 89 deaths related to the disease, according to the country's chief medical officer.
Globally, COVID-19 has infected more than 823,000 people and killed more than 40,000, according to Johns Hopkins University's real-time tracker.
