TORONTO (NEWS 1130) — According to a poll conducted in Ontario, seven in 10 people are confident in Canada’s handling of the coronavirus.
Dave Korzinski, with the Angus Reid Institute, says it appears Canadians are staying relevantly calm about the coronavirus.
“Canadians are pretty calm when they think about their own personal risk of exposure,” he says. “Primarily, I think our concerns are looking outward, at places that might not have to health care access (or) the infostructure to handle this type of thing.”
Korzinski goes on to say, “In Ontario and Quebec, the most popular provinces, confidence is about seven in 10. In Saskatchewan and Manitoba, though, it drops down to half, you’ve got about half of residence that say they are not as confident.”
He says the epidemic has made some Canadians wary of travelling, and not just to China; The poll found some people would cancel trips to Japan and Thailand, too.
“You get about 48 per cent of people who say if they had plans, they would cancel them outright.”
According to the study 40 per cent of Canadains are concerned about the impacts the outbreak may have on their community, and 76 per cent are concerned about the global impact as the death count in China rises.
In Canada, there are still five confirmed cases, three in Ontario, two in B.C., as well as two presumptive cases in B.C..
“A considerable number of Canadians, 33 per cent overall, say they are not confident that their community would be ready for such an outbreak,” the survey reads.
There are also seven Canadians with confirmed cases of the coronavirus contracted aboard a Diamond Princess Cruise ship docked in Yokohama, just outside Tokyo.