Trudeau wishes Trumps 'speedy recovery,' says Canada 'lucky' pandemic is not polarizing
October 2, 2020OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is wishing President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump a full recovery from the coronavirus.
Trudeau also said Friday that Canada is "extremely lucky" that Covid-19 has not become the polarized political issue it has in the United States and he recommended all politicians around the world cooperate to deal with the pandemic.
"My first thoughts are in support of them for a speedy recovery," Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa on Friday after wishing the Trumps well at the start of his news conference. "They had certainly reached out when Sophie [Grégoire Trudeau] got her diagnosis earlier in the spring."
Impact of Trump's diagnosis on the U.S. pandemic response? Trudeau was asked if he thought the president's positive test could lead the Trump administration to take the pandemic's threat more seriously.
"Obviously, there is an election going on in the United States where stances or approaches on Covid-19 have been a polarized political issue," Trudeau said. "In Canada, we've been extremely lucky that it has not, that there has been a concerted effort across orders of government, across political parties to work together, to be there for Canadians and to get this virus under control. We're certainly going to continue with that in Canada and we recommend it as a path for people around the world."
The positive tests: Trump announced the presidential couple's infections early Friday. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows revealed later in the day that Trump was experiencing "mild symptoms."
Trudeau, whose wife contracted Covid-19 in March, added that it's important not to forget that thousands of Canadians also received a positive diagnosis Thursday.
"People are challenged with this every single day across our country," Trudeau said. "Our responsibility as a government is to do everything we can to support them and to arrest the spread of Covid-19. And that will continue to be our priority."
Trudeau recently announced that much of Canada is now dealing with a second wave.
Source: https://www.politico.com/