The Current

The Current for March 20, 2020

Health Minister Patty Hajdu on COVID-19 response; Why Canadians have what it takes to weather the pandemic; China's ambassador to Canada; Finding a COVID-19 vaccine during a pandemic; Health-care in rural Canada in the face of a pandemic.
Matt Galloway is the host of CBC Radio's The Current. (CBC)

Full Episode Transcript

Today on The Current:

As the number of COVID-19 infections in Canada continues to rise, Health Minister Patty Hajdu says it's tempting for politicians to just make people feel better — but we need to recognize it's a real health risk.

Then, astronaut Chris Hadfield, Giller Prize-winning author Madeleine Thien and Olympian Clara Hughes join us to share why they believe Canadians have what it takes to weather this pandemic.

And, China's response to the novel coronavirus has lessons for the world, according to China's ambassador to Canada Cong Peiwu.

Starting Friday, March 20, The Current will be broadcast for longer, to bring you the most up-to-date information during the coronavirus pandemic.

As part of our extended coverage, we look to Canadian researchers working hard on a COVID-19 vaccine. We speak to Dr. Alyson Kelvin who is at the front-lines of the research, and Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance in Geneva, Switzerland, who says we need to work together globally to create a vaccine against it.

And, as major Canadian cities pass landmark measures to contain the spread of COVID-19, isolated parts of Canada are doing what they can as well.