Lockdown supported by majority of Canadians if COVID-19 cases spike

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — Despite flattening the COVID-19 curve, it seems most Canadians are in favour of tighter restrictions, if necessary.

A NANOS poll done for the Globe and Mail shows most Canadians support some sort of lockdown if there’s another spike in coronavirus cases. More than 70 per cent of Canadians say they would support, or somewhat support, shutting down all non-essential businesses and ask people to self-isolate if cases were to increase.

Fewer Canadians (60 per cent) report feeling more worried, or somewhat worried, about contracting the virus when more businesses opened and physical distancing measures were relaxed. Twenty-five per cent of people say the changes made no difference to them.

About nine in 10 Canadians support mandatory masks in indoor places while eight per cent oppose the idea.

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As of Tuesday, B.C. has reported 3,641 confirmed cases of the virus.

Meanwhile, Ontario is the latest province to show promise in flattening the curve. Recent anti-body blood testing data from the province shows the number of people who have been infected could be four times higher than reported; closer to 160,000 versus the almost 40,000 confirmed cases. However, that number isn’t considered to be that high.

The numbers from the U.S. show its caseloads are anywhere between six to 24 times higher than reported.