Officials Warn of COVID 19’s Potential Impacts on Canada’s Vulnerable Populations

Chief Public Health Officer of Canada Dr. Theresa Tam listens to questions at a press conference on COVID-19 at West Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on March 24, 2020. Officials are warning equipment shortfalls, lack of screening and outbreaks in confined settings are placing Canada's most vulnerable residents at growing risk of exposure to the COVID-19 pandemics. Justin Tang/The Canadian Press

Equipment shortfalls, lack of screening and outbreaks in confined settings are placing Canada’s most vulnerable residents at growing risk of exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic, officials across the country warned Tuesday as they took further steps to limit the damage.

Health-care workers, seniors, Indigenous Peoples and Canadians involved in the correctional system were all singled out as groups facing higher risk of severe impacts from the novel coronavirus.