Tam offers up a serving of Thanksgiving caution

Case counts continue to soar across many parts of the country

Plan ahead to make sure this year’s Thanksgiving holiday is safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada’s top public health officer urged on Sunday as case counts continued to soar in several parts of the country.

Dr. Theresa Tam said indoor holiday gatherings of family or friends should be kept small, especially in provinces such as Quebec and Ontario, where infection rates are highest.

“We’ve got some serious planning to do,” Tam said in a statement released nearly a week before the national holiday on Oct. 12.

“Not the carefree planning we had last Thanksgiving, but rather some ingenious Canadian COVID-19 ‘holiday-hacks’ that will ensure there are no viruses invited or passed around at our gatherings.”

Tam said people celebrating outdoors should follow physical distancing guidelines and encouraged people to avoid sharing food and other objects during their meals.

She also suggested that Canadians opt for virtual Thanksgiving dinners instead of inperson gatherings.

Her advice comes as new COVID-19 case numbers continued their upward trajectory in several parts of the country, most notably in central Canada, where tighter restrictions have been put in place in recent days to try to prevent the spread of the virus.

Quebec reported more than 1,000 new diagnoses for the third straight day on Sunday, while Ontario has recorded more than 500 cases every day for the past week.

The Quebec government announced plans to move three towns in the Gaspesie region to its highest COVID-19 alert level on Monday, and urged residents to minimize their contacts with people outside their homes.

In Ontario, stricter limits on restaurants, bars and fitness facilities took effect in three main hot spots — Toronto, Peel Region and Ottawa — this weekend in a bid to halt the surging case numbers in those regions.

The province also has announced other measures aimed at addressing a testing backlog, all of which take effect this week.

Manitoba said Sunday that multiple people tested positive for COVID-19 in Little Grand Rapids First Nation, after it said they attended events at a recreation centre late last month.

The province said the chief and council of the eastern Manitoba community have ordered residents to stay home and only go out for medical appointments and testing. If essential supplies are needed, only one person should venture out to collect them.

Meanwhile, Canadians struggling with the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic will be able to start applying on Monday for two new benefits available from the federal government after legislation creating them was rushed through the House of Commons last week.