Don’t look for KN-95 masks used by front-line health workers to be made available to the public anytime soon.

Procurement Minister Anita Anand says, we are still in the middle of a crisis, especially from a procurement perspective and all procurements are based on federal and provincial orders for delivery to the health care system.

Anand also says officials are preparing for the eventuality of a vaccine for the coronavirus. She says they have signed a contract with a Canadian Company for 37 million syringes. Anand says they are also procuring other supplies needed for eventual mass vaccinations. Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam says there are no plans right now to make vaccinations mandatory.

Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains says 4 companies are vying to make a rapid, single-test kit that does not rely on a nasal swab. He says the companies have found a way to detect the presence of the COVID-19 virus in saliva. This would allow for a less invasive method than the nasal swab currently used. Bains says any test kit would need federal approval before being made available.

There are 92,157 COVID-19 cases in Canada, with 7,344 deaths and 50,070 recoveries.

[cjgx june 2 2020]