Canadian Military Deploying To Quebec To Assist With COVID-19 Containment - Statement

TORONTO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th April, 2020) The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) will be deployed to the northern part of the province of Quebec to assist with efforts to contain the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the Department of National Defense confirmed in a statement to Sputnik.

"Now that our assistance has been requested by the Province of Quebec, we are moving forward to coordinate CAF support, determine the number of troops and resources required for the specific requested tasks, and finalize plans to engage locally," the statement said on Friday.

The Department of National Defense explained that the operation is in the planning stages and more information will be released as it becomes available.

Quebec has been one of the hardest hit regions in Canada with 5,518 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infections and 36 deaths. Officials have expressed concern about areas of heightened vulnerability, especially indigenous and northern communities.

On Friday, public health data revealed that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Canada increased to 11,747, while the death toll increased to 152.

The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on March 11. To date, almost 1.1 million people have been infected with the new coronavirus worldwide and more than 58,000 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.