Trudeau sends army to fight pandemic in Ontario, Quebec

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Thursday that the army would be sent in to help Ontario and Quebec provinces combat coronavirus outbreaks.

Thelong-term care facilities in the provinces have been hit the hardest by the pandemic.

Seventy to 80 percent of all COVID-19 deaths in the two provinces were at long-term care homes, with the number of fatalities at the homes surpassing 1,000 in Quebec and 500 in Ontario.

Trudeau said, "There have been requests for military assistance by both Ontario and Quebec which, of course, we will be answering."

"Our women and men in uniform will step up with the valour and courage they've always shown," he added.

Ontario has asked for an unspecified number of soldiers to be deployed at five of its most affected care homes.

Quebec asked for 1,000 troops in addition to 130 military doctors and medics previously requested, to help overwhelmed staff at elderly care homes.

Trudeau said the Canadian military "will be there with support so that provinces can get control of the situation."

Quebec had tried to recruit 2,000 new staff for its long-term care facilities in recent weeks to ease the workload for existing staff, but few applied.

Even with a salary top-up from the government, the jobs are relatively low-paying.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault lamented on Thursday that 9,500 healthcare and senior care workers in the province had not shown up for work this week; 4,000 are under quarantine or are being treated for the virus, while 5,500 feared exposure.