Coronavirus: Trudeau creates new Cabinet committee to tackle COVID-19 outbreak

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated Jean-Yves Duclos is Minister of Families, Children and Social Development. He is, in fact the Treasury Board President.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Wednesday that he has created a new Cabinet committee to tackle the new coronavirus.

In a news release issued Wednesday, the Prime Minister’s office said the committee will “complement the work being done by the Incident Response Group” and will meet regularly to “ensure whole-of-government leadership, coordination and preparedness for a response to the health and economic impacts of the virus.”

According to the release, the committee will continue the measures already taken by the government to limit the spread of the virus.

The novel coronavirus was first detected in China’s Hubei province late last year. In the months since, the disease caused by the virus, COVID-19, has infected more than 90,000 people across the globe, and has killed more than 3,100.

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In Canada, 30 cases of the virus have been confirmed, with 20 cases reported in Ontario, nine in B.C. and one in Quebec.

0:54 Coronavirus outbreak: Trudeau says he is confident that Canada is taking the right measures

In a statement on Wednesday, Trudeau said the government is taking the spread of COVID-19 “seriously,” and the government and health officials are “working tirelessly” to keep Canadians safe.

1:50 COVID-19: World Health Organization says virus death toll has surpassed 3,100 worldwide

“This new committee will continue to monitor the health and economic impacts of the virus, and make sure our response takes all possible measures to prevent and limit the spread of the virus in Canada,” he said.

Speaking to reporters in Saint-Jerome, Que., on Wednesday, Trudeau said the government is also “continuing to work extremely hard” to counter the impact the virus has on Canada’s economy.

“We recognize there are many different people and industries that are seeing challenging situations because of the coronavirus,” he said. “This is not a situation that Canada created, but it’s a situation that we are going through and we will continue to work with our partners, with communities, with industry to ensure that we are minimizing the impact and disruptions on Canadians.”

According to the release, the Cabinet committee will be chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, while Treasury Board President Jean-Yves Duclos will serve as vice-chair.

In total, the committee will be comprised of eight members.