Federal COVID-19 briefings stopped during election, sources say. Experts concerned
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) hasn’t held a single
COVID-19 briefing since the announcement of the
federal election on Aug. 15 and doesn’t plan to provide any more in-person health updates until it’s over, Global News has learned.
Since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, PHAC had been providing at least weekly updates in person on the progress of the coronavirus and the country’s response in dealing with it.
However, shortly before the election was confirmed, PHAC turned to news releases once a week instead of live briefings. And, it plans on continuing with that approach unless anything changes — at least until the election is over — sources have confirmed to Global News. The sources added that there is always the possibility this could change.
The last full modelling update on COVID-19 from the federal government was on July 30.