Canada needs more medical equipment against COVID-19, Trudeau says

Healthcare workers acknowledge applause and cheers from people outside the St. Paul's Hospital on World Health Day in Vancouver, Canada, April 6, 2020. (Photo by Liang Sen/Xinhua)

The Canadian government is working with some companies to produce up to 30,000 ventilators in an effort to meet the increasing needs of critical medical equipment.

OTTAWA, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday that demand for critical equipment, such as test kits and ventilators, is urgent across the country because of the huge increase in COVID-19 cases in the country.

Trudeau said many Canadian companies have offered to produce those medical supplies.

"To keep our frontline workers safe and care for Canadians with COVID-19, we need a sustainable, stable supply of these products, and that means making them at home," he said at his daily news conference against the COVID-19 crisis in Ottawa.

Trudeau said his government is working with some Canadian companies to produce up to 30,000 ventilators. Now there are about 5,000 ventilators in Canada, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Healthcare workers receive donated meal at Vancouver General Hospital in Vancouver, Canada, April 6, 2020. (Photo by Liang Sen/Xinhua)

"We need to be ready for any and every circumstance. The opportunity to make sure we have ventilators available is extremely important. We certainly hope we won't be needing all those ventilators," Trudeau said. But he did not say when they will be ready.

Canadian Public Services and Procurement Minister Anita Anand said on Tuesday that Canada received 8 million surgical masks from China on Monday. Canada expects more deliveries from China in the days to come, Anand said.

Canada has sourced more than 230 million surgical masks, and over 60 million have been delivered to date, she said.

In Canada, all provinces and territories except Nunavut have cases of COVID-19.

As of Tuesday afternoon, 17,827 people were confirmed to have the coronavirus in the country, 374 of whom died, according to CTV.