Coronavirus tracker: Follow the spread of COVID-19 as cases rise in much of Canada. CBC obtains documents revealing gap in early pandemic information gathering between Canadian health, military officials. At least 950 staff at the Cargill plant — nearly half its workforce — tested positive for COVID-19 by early May in what remains the largest workplace outbreak in Canada. A small, specialized unit within the Canadian military's intelligence branch began producing warnings about COVID-19 in early January 2020, based largely on classified allied intelligence. Wark said Canada's public health system was redesigned almost two decades ago with the aim of preventing "strategic surprise," but many of initiatives planned or implemented following the SARS outbreak were allowed to wither away and die.

Source: CBC News January 11, 2021 21:33 UTC