This month marks the one year anniversary of Canada swiftly moving into lockdown after the World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic
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On March 8, Canada recorded its first death from COVID-19, and just a few days later, on March 11, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a pandemic. That same day, the NBA suspended its season after a Utah Jazz player tested positive following a game against the Toronto Raptors.
Canada moved swiftly into lockdown after that, with Parliament shutting down on March 13 and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urging Canadians abroad to come home. In the days that followed, provinces issued public health orders and declared states of emergency. Meanwhile, Canada and the United States announced on March 18 that they would close their shared border to non-essential traffic. The Olympics were postponed on March 24 and by April 2 more than 100 people had died in Canada.
One year later, 2.5 million people around the world have died due to COVID-19, with more than 22,000 of them in Canada. Quebec has recorded nearly half the country’s death toll, with over 10,500 dead. “For families and close ones, each death has a before and an after,” Trudeau said on March 11, 2021 — the one year anniversary of WHO’s declaration of a pandemic.