Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tests COVID-19 positive

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has tested positive for COVID-19. The 50-year-old tweeted, “This morning, I tested positive for COVID-19. I’m feeling fine — and I’ll continue to work remotely this week while following public health guidelines. Everyone, please get vaccinated and get boosted”.

The entire family has been isolated for the last several days after being exposed to the coronavirus. The Prime Minister’s office previously confirmed that at least one of Trudeau’s children has tested positive. While Trudeau didn’t disclose how he was exposed to the coronavirus, the Canadian prime minister met several members of his cabinet, in person, on Wednesday. Notably, Trudeau hasn’t contracted the coronavirus before, but his wife, Sophie, tested positive in March 2020. 

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Canada has one of the highest rates of vaccination in the world. Data from Johns Hopkins University suggests that four out of five Canadians are vaccinated.

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However, Trudeau’s call to his country people to prepare for continued restrictions didn’t sit well with all. Dr Howard Njoo, the deputy chief public health officer of the country said, “The strain on the health care system is tremendous, and as much as we can do, all of us, individually, collectively, to decrease the pressure on the hospital system, our exhausted health care workers on the front line, I think that’s really what we need to be focusing on”. 

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Currently, authorities have relocated the Prime Minister and his family to a secret location amid increasingly rowdy protests in Ottawa led by truckers opposing the health restrictions imposed in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The demonstrations started out with truck drivers speaking against the vaccine mandate for crossing from the Canadian side to the US but then snowballed into discontent with the restrictions in general. Now, Newsweek has reported that the protest organizers have enough funds to keep their trucks on Parliament Hill for two to four years.