Monitoring Desk
TORONTO: Canada’s Parliament agreed on Friday to shut down for more than a month while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau governed remotely from his home, in self-imposed quarantine after his wife tested positive for the new coronavirus
Canada’s House of Commons voted to shut down for at least five weeks to help ensure lawmakers do not contribute to the spread of the virus.
The moves a day after Trudeau’s wife tested positive. The prime minister himself has been in self-imposed quarantine.
All parties in Parliament agreed to the suspension, which means lawmakers will miss two weeks of sessions since they had previously planned to be away next week and two weeks in April. The House is scheduled to next meet Monday, April 20.
Government House leader Pablo Rodriguez said the House of Commons could come back sooner if an emergency requires a meeting.
Trudeau was quarantining himself at home because his wife Sophie Grégoire Trudeau tested positive for the new coronavirus after returning from Britain.
“She’s getting lots of rest and drinking lots of fluids and we’re paying very close attention to what the medical professionals are saying,” Trudeau said to the CBC. “I am feeling fine, no symptoms. The kids are all fine, happy to being staying home from school. We’re doing well.”
Trudeau was spending the day in briefings, phone calls and virtual meetings from home, including speaking with other world leaders and joining a special Cabinet committee discussion of the coronavirus. Trudeau spoke with US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday.
But Trudeau did cancel an in-person meeting with Canada’s provincial premiers. The prime minister will address the nation later in the day, according to his office.
Trudeau himself had not been tested because he was not showing symptoms, his office said. The doctor’s advice to the prime minister is to continue daily activities while self-monitoring.
Trudeau said his government will likely recommend that Canadians avoid travel outside the country except for essential purposes.
“We are going to be able to get through this if everyone is going to follow the advice of our medical professionals and experts,” Trudeau said to CBC. (AP)
