The third part of the timeline showing the Canadian government's unwillingness to do anything about the coronavirus (parts
). Do take screen caps at
March 4. Trudeau’s wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau is in London
England for a major event, WE Day. She posts image on Instagram and posed for
photos with celebrities including Idris Elba and Lewis Hamilton.
March 5: Justin Trudeau strongly affirms Canada’s open
borders approach to reporters: “We recognize there are countries that make
different decisions. The decisions we make are based on the best
recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the tremendous
health experts who work within Canada and around the world…We know that keeping
Canadians safe needs to be done in the right way and we’re going to keep doing
things that actually keep Canadians safe. There is a lot of misinformation out
there, there is a lot of knee-jerk reaction that isn’t keeping people safe.
That is having real, challenging impacts on communities, on community safety.”
March 8. Gregoire
continues to post on Instagram.
March 9: Canada confirms its first death related to COVID-19.
March 9: Alain
Rayes,Conservative MP for Richmond-Arthabaska, Que, asks in the House: “Many
countries are starting to talk about COVID-19 as a global pandemic. As of
today, the vast majority of developed countries have already implemented
measures for travellers. Here in Canada, there are no restrictions on or
monitoring of people entering the country. My question is for the Minister of
Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. Does he intend to ban travellers from
countries such as China, Iran or Italy from entering Canada?”
Health Minister Patty Hajdu replies: “We have been carefully
screening travellers from a variety of countries, based on expert advice from
the World Health Organization and many other medical professionals that have
indicated to us that the best effort is to ensure we are asking travellers at
the border to identify themselves, if they have travelled from specific
regions. There are special questions on the kiosks. If a traveller is unwell,
he or she is referred to public health and the local public health
authorities.”
Bloc MP Kristina Michaud asks: “On Friday, travellers at the
Montréal-Trudeau International Airport complained that passengers arriving from
at-risk areas were not being tested. Some travellers even likened the airport
to a sieve. We need to protect the public against the spread of this virus. The
government must issue clear directives to ensure that no cases of the virus are
allowed in. Will the government set up detection measures for the coronavirus
at all border crossings, starting with airports?”
Hajdu responds: “I would like to thank the hard-working men
and women of both the CBSA and the Public Health Agency of Canada who have been
working together so diligently for several months to ensure that we can support
the health of Canadians as they come back home and also support the health of
international travellers … As you know, and as I have been saying for two and a
half months, this is a situation that is very fluid. It has been evolving
across the globe, and we see it is evolving very rapidly here in Canada as
well. The number of cases in Canada and around the world continues to increase,
and globally now there are more than 100 countries affected. I am sure you all
saw that the World Health Organization has declared that this is a pandemic.
However, that is not shocking to us because we have been acting as if it had
this potential in the early days, and certainly over the last several weeks and
months we’ve been working to prepare Canada for a worst-case scenario. I will
remind the members that we have been acting as if we were in a pandemic since
the beginning. When we noticed the small cluster of illnesses in Wuhan, we knew
that this was an issue of significant concern. Dr. Tam is an expert adviser on
the World Health Organization committee that continually reviews the evidence.
We have been having these conversations daily.”
March 11: The World Health Organization declares the global
outbreak of COVID-19 a pandemic.
March 11: Dr. Theresa Tam,Canada’s chief public health
officer, at Parliamentary Health Committee: “The WHO did call this a pandemic
today, but the key message is that all countries can still change the course of
this pandemic by doing a number of things. I will go through them very quickly,
but I believe we’re already doing them.”
In her list of things needed to be done, she did not include
border closures or strictures, but says: “Second is to detect and then to
protect the population, and to treat if necessary. I think the detection is
very important. We have been setting up surveillance systems and laboratory
testing since the start.”
Bloc MP Luc Thériault asks: “You said earlier that, from the
start, you’ve managed this crisis as if it were a pandemic. With all due
respect, I doubt this very much … The federal government must — and this falls
under its jurisdiction — protect the public, properly identify cases and
determine any restriction. In that respect, the news isn’t necessarily good,
based on what we’re hearing from the customs workers. Will you tighten up these
measures? When will the Public Health Agency of Canada take responsibility for
tightening up screening measures and send clear guidelines to the Canada Border
Services Agency officers working at the border? Your current approach is to
inform people and let them decide what they must do in terms of good practices
to protect themselves. When will the Public Health Agency of Canada take
responsibility for tightening up screening measures and send clear guidelines
to the Canada Border Services Agency officers working at the border?”
Hajdu replies: “I’ll first of all say that we’ve been using
science and evidence to make the decisions around borders. I’ll point you to
Italy, who had some of the strongest border measures in the G7, who closed
their borders in fact to China, and who then, all of a sudden, had an
incredible outbreak. That’s because … of course, the science will settle this
as well, but there is some speculation that it’s because people came in from a
whole bunch of other routes that were not as direct.
“Instead, we chose to use World Health Organization
recommendations that said it is much better to have targeted measures at the
border. That helps you identify the people who are coming from severely
affected areas, which can help ensure that you know who is coming in, that they
have the information about what to do and that we can monitor them as they
self-isolate.
“The first location that was added to the screening kiosk
was Hubei. When people came from an affected region, they were met by CBSA and
public health officials. CBSA would pull them aside and ask them some questions
about their health. Public health would work with them, if in fact they were
symptomatic, and would transfer them to the local health facility. If they were
not symptomatic, then they were asked to self-isolate at home with a mandatory
requirement to check in with public health within 24 hours. We have evidence
that there was a very high compliance rate. We added Iran as a country of
concern as well, because Iran, obviously, had cases that in fact weren’t
detected until we had identified a case from Iran. I would also remind you that
a virus does not know borders. Over 100 countries now have coronavirus in their
country. No country will be left unaffected by the time this is over.”
Tam adds: “I think that in the public health domain we
certainly have to remember that our borders are not a solid wall, as was just
said. They’re but one layer of protection, and it is never a perfect layer. The
greater the number of countries affected, you can imagine that trying to screen
people at the borders becomes a much more ineffective means of addressing the
coronavirus outbreak.
“Nonetheless, we do use a very rigorous risk assessment.
We’ve also put several countries on our level three travel health notice, those
being China, Iran and, now, all of Italy and some areas of Korea. You have to
focus your efforts. Otherwise, you’re screening every single traveller.
“What we have chosen to do, which I think is really important,
is to tell every international traveller that when they come back into Canada
or come into Canada they must watch for symptoms, immediately go home if
they’re sick and then call ahead to their health system. It is not manageable
with over a hundred countries having coronavirus. You need to shore up your
health system, protect the vulnerable, such as those in long-term care
facilities and hospitals, and protect your health workers.
“It is a massive societal effort. Every aspect of the public
health system is already turned on and fully alert, but you cannot flatten this
curve without every member of the public working with you. That’s why, while
borders are one layer, the other layers are more important if you’re going to
actually do something about breaking any chains of transmission in Canada.
“I do know that we have really stepped up our presence at
the border. I think the border is the moment for education and telling people
what to do when they come in.”
Tam mentions the mortality rate for this virus was just
under 1 per cent. “I think we can assume that this is an outbreak that’s very
serious … Right now the best estimate is that it could be just under one per
cent, depending on which country you’re in, whereas a pandemic influenza, the
worst one, is going to be one per cent to two per cent. If this is close enough
to a one per cent case fatality, it is a very serious situation.
“It is the first coronavirus to cause a pandemic. It is
probably a virus that has hit the sweet spot. It is not completely lethal, so
there are people with mild illnesses and a range of clinical symptoms who can
transmit the virus, for instance. The severe end of the spectrum is with people
who are older in age and have underlying medical conditions, but there’s a bulk
of the illness in working-age adults. We’re not seeing it much in kids.”
March 12. It is announced that the Prime Minister’s wife
Sophie Gregoire has contracted COVID-19 and the Prime Minister has gone into
14-day sequestration.
In the House of Commons, Conservative leader Andrew Scheer
states: “The World Health Organization has declared coronavirus to be a
pandemic, and while the government says that the risk to Canadians is low,
countries around the world are taking decisive action. Italy is one of the
hardest-hit countries and it has initiated many measures to lock parts of that
country down. However, when the final flight out of Italy landed here,
passengers were not screened. No temperatures were taken and no one was
quarantined. They were given a pamphlet and sent on their way. Is the
government convinced that a departmental pamphlet is enough to reduce the
spread of this disease?”
Chrystia Freeland, deputy prime minister and minister of
intergovernmental affairs, replies: “We need to continue to listen to our
medical experts. They are telling us that the situation will get worse before
it gets better. They also say that Canada is well prepared.”
March 12: Bloc MP Claude DeBellefeuille asks in the House:
“Just yesterday, travellers arriving from Italy at Pierre Elliott Trudeau
airport were shocked to see that no one asked them any questions. They were
coming from one of the largest outbreak zones in the world, yet they were
simply handed a pamphlet. This afternoon, the government’s travel advisory for
Europe still indicated the lowest possible risk level, even though when we are
in a full-blown pandemic. There is a happy medium between panicking and doing
nothing. Will the government finally take real measures to monitor the
coronavirus?”
Bill Blair, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency
Preparedness, replies: “Mr. Speaker, let me assure the member opposite that we,
in fact, have implemented very significant new enhanced screening and detection
processes for all of our CBSA officers. In addition, we have made sure that
they have the training and equipment they need to do this important job. All
persons who enter this country from affected regions are subject to questioning
by our CBSA officers, and those who are determined to be symptomatic are
quickly referred to our public health officials. I want to assure the member
opposite that our officers stand ready. They have the tools and training they
need to do their part to assist in this public health crisis.”
March 13: Canada advises Canadians to avoid all
non-essential travel outside of Canada until further notice. “My advice is to
postpone or cancel all non-essential travel outside of Canada. This means
reconsidering your vacations, going to sporting and entertainment events, large
international conferences,” Tam says
during a press conference.
Asked if Canada was considering a similar ban, or imposing
border measures between our country and the United States, Minister of
Health Patty Hajdu says: “Canadians think
we can stop this at the border. But what we see is a global pandemic, which
means that border measures are highly ineffective and, in some cases, can
create harm. We see that in countries that had the worst expressions, the
tightest borders.”
March 16: The federal government changes direction abruptly,
with Canada closing its doors to the world by severely restricting
international flights. The federal government advises all returning Canadians
entering home to voluntarily self-isolate for 14 days. Prime Minister Trudeau
also says all international visitors to Canada will be turned around at the
airport, with the exception of Americans, diplomats and flight crews.
“We will be denying entry to Canada to people who are not
Canadian citizens or permanent residents,” Trudeau says.
At a press conference, Dr. Tam says they’ve asked that no
one go outside the border unless it’s essential and that when you come back you
self-isolate. “We have to maintain essential movement of people and services as
well. And I think that’s the key to every country in the world,” she says.
Is self-isolation mandatory? “We’re asking that all travels
who come back self-isolate. This is not essentially ordered … It is impossible
to keep tabs on every traveller that comes in.”
Before they had asked every traveller to self-monitor, Tam
explains, now they’re asking to self-isolate.
Why not close the border?
“Countries that have enacted travel bans have not been able
to keep out this particular virus,” she says.
The key, she says, is rapid detection, looking to contact
tracing and breaking the chains of transmission in Canada. “The front end
border is but one layer of protection and is never perfect. You can get people
coming in in other ways as well.”
Countries impacted by the virus the most have sometimes had
the most stringent border measures, she says.
March 17: Public Safety Minister Bill Blair says Canada will
continue to allow in irregular border crossers and pledges to screen them for
COVID-19 and put them in quarantine. “Because of the need for the 14-day
self-isolation, we are now making separate arrangements for those individuals
to be placed in appropriate shelter in order to accommodate the requirement for
the period of isolation. We are doing this because we believe it is necessary
and in the best interest of keeping all Canadians healthy and safe.”
March 18: Canada implements the ban on foreign nationals
from all countries, except the United States, from entering Canada. The
Canada-U.S. border is closed to all non-essential travel, and redirected
international passenger flight arrivals to four airports in Calgary, Vancouver,
Toronto and Montreal.
March 19: From Dr. Tam: “All persons arriving in Canada: You
must self-isolate for 14 days. Join Canada’s effort to disrupt the transmission
of COVID-19.”
March 19: Taiwan’s Vice President Chen Chien-ien lashes out
at China and the WHO, saying that early in the pandemic Taiwanese doctors had
heard from their mainland China colleagues that medical staff treating patients
were getting sick — an obvious sign of person-to-person transmissions, the
Financial Times reports. Taiwan continues to try to share information about its
work stopping COVID-19-spread, but is unable to share that information at the
International Health Regulations site, which is run by the WHO to update
countries.
March 20: The federal government reverses itself on asylum
seekers, announcing they will now be rejected at the border and returned to the
United States. Prime Minister Trudeau tells reporters: “Irregular migrants will
be sent back and put back in the hands of U.S. authorities.”
And Bill Blair tells reporters: “It’s part of a larger suite
of measures that we are putting in place to have better control of
non-essential passage of that border. This is a challenge to manage and
regulate, and so to address that challenge in these extraordinary
circumstances, we’ve agreed that this is the appropriate measure to put in
place.”
March 22: Travel advice from the Government of Canada:
“Travellers arriving in Canada should self-isolate for 14 days and monitor
their health for #COVID19 symptoms. If you have symptoms upon arrival, you will
be given instructions on the next steps to take.”
March 24: From Dr. Tam: “To lower travel-related cases,
travellers coming into Canada MUST self-isolate at home for 14-days, even if no
symptoms. As long as no symptoms, it’s okay to go outside for walk but keep 2
metres away from others.
March 25: Again going against WHO policy, Canada puts in
mandatory self-isolation for incoming travellers, with large fines for
violators.
March 25: From Dr. Tam: “Day over day increases in COVID-19
cases and a fundamental shift from mostly travel-related cases in the early
part of the outbreak, to now over half of new cases being linked to community
spread… GOC advisories to avoid non-essential travel have reduced travel
related cases, but we still need to do all that we can to reduce the impact and
spread from travel imported cases. Today the GOC began implementing new
measures making 14-day isolation mandatory under the Quarantine Act for all
travellers coming to Canada. This is part of an all out effort to #SlowTheSpread.”
March 25: From Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu,
secretary-general of the WHO: “If you remember, we have been saying for more
than two months now, this virus is public enemy number one. I think we
squandered the first window of opportunity. But we are saying today in my
message, I made it clear that this is a second opportunity which we should not
squander and do everything to suppress and control this virus.”
At the same time, the Change.org petition calling for the
resignation of Dr. Ghebreyesu now has more than 600,000 supporters.
March 26: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs for China says
Chinese leader Xi Jinping has written to WHO leader Ghebreyesu, praising him:
“Xi noted that WHO’s vigorous efforts in promoting international cooperation
against COVID-19 under the leadership of Dr. Tedroshave been widely recognized
by the international community. China will continue to lend firm support to his
personal and WHO’s active role in leading the international cooperation against
the outbreak. China has all along been an enthusiastic supporter to the global
fight against the outbreak.” The department communication notes Jinping wrote
to China in response to Dr. Ghebreyesu’s letter of March 17, where the WHO
leader “expressed his deep appreciation for the Chinese government’s financial
support for WHO and the international response effort.”
March 26: China brings in a travel ban, making it the latest
country to go against the WHO guidelines to not ban travel.
March 26:Canada now has 4043 cases of COVID-19, 39 deaths.
Taiwan, expected to have the world’s second biggest outbreak, has 252 cases and
two deaths.
March 26: Justin
Trudeau tweets: “We are implementing the Quarantine Act to keep all Canadians
safe. So let me be clear: If you do not go home and stay home for at least 14
days after coming back into Canada, you could face serious fines or prison
time.”
March 26: Dr. Tam:
“The lesson we are learning from COVID-19 pandemic is that none of us can be
safe and healthy unless we are making sure that all of us, worldwide, are safe
and healthy. #OneWorld #StrongerTogether… The seriousness of COVID-19 cannot be
overstated.”
March 28: The Chinese Embassy in Ottawa tweets of a supply
donation to Canada: “On March 27, Bank of China donates medical supplies
(including 30000 medical masks, 10000 sets of protective clothing, 10000
goggles and 50000 pairs of gloves, followed by N95 medical masks) to Canada
fighting against COVID-19. We are together!”
In response, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs
François-Philippe Champagne tweets: “Thank you for this donation. In the face
of a global pandemic, supporting each other is not only the right thing to do,
it’s the smart thing to do.”
March 28: Hong Kong english language show The Pulse
broadcasts interview (17:00 minute mark of Youtube video for full segment) with
the WHO’s Bruce Aylward. Aylward is a
Canadian, an international infectious disease expert, and an advisor to the WHO
director general. Aylward refuses to
address whether Taiwan should be part of the WHO or discuss in specific terms
Taiwan’s success. A clip of him trying to avoid the questions on Taiwan goes
viral internationally. As The Federalist described the interview:
“Will the WHO reconsider Taiwan’s membership?” asked Yvonne
Tong.
Her question was met with an awkward silence prompting a
“hello?” from the interviewer.
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear your question, Yvonne,” said
Aylward.
“Let me repeat the question,” Yvonne said back.
“No, that’s okay. Let’s move on to another one then,” said
Aylward.
When Yvonne refused, Aylward ended the interview and logged
off. After reconnecting, Yvonne asked about Taiwan again, and Aylward declined
to discuss the topic.
“We’ve already talked about China, and you know, when you
look across all the different areas of China, they’ve actually all done quite a
good job, so with that, I’d like to thank you very much for inviting us to
participate and good luck as you go forward with the battle in Hong Kong.”
March 28: Numerous commentators from around the world
rapidly weigh in on the Aylward
interview.
From the progressive U.S. outlet, Daily Beast
columnist Gordon G. Chang says: “Aylward’s behavior reminds us that either we
remove China’s pernicious influence in multilateral institutions like the World
Health Organization or the world’s free states defund them and start over.”
New York Times and CNN part time writer Ezra Cheung says:
“It is an embarrassing scene. WHO (senior advisor to the Director General)
Bruce Aylward, hangs up in an interview with RTHK when he is asked about
reconsidering Taiwan’s membership. Ironically, despite being so close to China,
Taiwan manages to keep the #coronavirus infection and fatality rate low.”
And Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, the China-USA reporter for the
tech business site Axios: “This is really stunning. Beijing’s power over the
speech of a Canadian WHO official.”
And Los Angeles Times columnist Jonah Golberg: “WHO really
carrying a lot of water for Beijing these days.”
March 29: United States Senator Marco Rubio weighs in on
Aylward in a statement: “Why is the WHO choosing to play politics amid a global
pandemic? Taiwan should be lauded for how they have handled Covid_19.”
And NBC news Beijing Bureau Chief Eunice Yoon: “The WHO in
damage control after Bruce Aylward’s cringey interview with Hong Kong The Pulse
RTHK’s Yvonne Tong.”
In Australia, Dr. Malcolm Davis, Senior Analyst of
Australian Strategic Policy Institute: “The WHO’s Dr. Bruce Aylward refuses to
mention Taiwan. This is a shameful display of lack of professional integrity,
not only by Aylward, but also by the WHO which clearly is loyal to Beijing
which funds them.”
But Conservative Senator Linda Frum put Aylward’s comment in
a different context: “Here’s another take: Dr. Aylward needs Chinese
co-operation to understand Covid-19 on behalf of rest of world and doesn’t want
to get bogged down in a political fight which distracts from his core mission.
I also did a double take but let’s remember he’s here as a doctor not a
politician.”
Yaqui Wang, the China researcher for Human Rights Watch,
reports: “Interestingly, Aylward’s reaction was called ‘brilliant’ by Chinese
state media. The media/internet environment in China is increasingly its own
universe, separated from the rest of the world.”
March 29: The WHO responds to the Aylward situation, issuing
a statement about the organizations policy on information: “In a recent
interview, the WHO official who headed the joint international mission to
China, did not answer a question on Taiwan’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The question of Taiwanese membership in WHO is up to WHO Member States, not WHO
staff. However, WHO is working closely with all health authorities who are
facing the current coronavirus pandemic, including Taiwanese health experts…
Two Taiwanese public health experts participated in the Global Research and
Innovation Forum organized by WHO on 11-12 February 2020, thus contributing,
alongside other world scientists, including from mainland China, to critical
research questions and to finding ways to work together to advance the
response.”
In response to the WHO’s statement, Felicia Sonmez, the
Washington Post’s national political reporter, said: “Simple enough — why couldn’t
Aylward have just said this rather than pretending his audio cut out and ending
the interview?”
March 29: Dr. Tam: “Snowbirds, March Break & other
travellers coming into Canada now/in the coming days: A) You MUST respect the
mandatory quarantine now in place, which requires you to go straight home, Stay
Home & Self-Isolate for 14 days. B) DO NOT stop along the way. Do arrange
groceries & essentials by phone, online or through friends, neighbours,
community.”
March 30: Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper: “As we head
into the third week of undertaking emergency measures to battle COVID-19,
Laureen and I extend our heartfelt thanks to frontline healthcare and essential
service professionals across Canada who are working tirelessly to support our
communities; you are the real heroes!”
March 30: Dr. Tam on face masks: “We want to protect our
frontline healthcare workers and prioritizing supply is critically important
and we’re looking at all sorts of avenues to procure. For the public, I think
the current scientific evidence we are continuing to evaluation. Of course we
can be flexible if we find any new evidence.
But I think the scientific evidence is that if you are sick then put on
a mask to prevent those droplets from flying in any space as you’re perhaps
going to a clinic or having to move around the community for essential needs.
Putting a mask on an asymptomatic person is not beneficial obviously if you’re
not affected. If you have close contact of a case, under certain circumstances,
you’ll also be in self-isolation by the way if you’re in close contact of a
case, and you need to move for any essential reasons that’s perhaps another
situation. What we worry about is actually the potential negative aspects of
wearing masks, where people are not protecting their eyes or other aspects of
where the virus could enter your body and that gives you a false sense of
confidence. But also it increases the touching of your face. If you think about
if, if you got a mask around face a mask around your face, sometimes you can’t
help it because you are just touching parts of your face. The other thing is
that the outside of the mask could be contaminated as well. The key is
hand-washing, absolutely, for sure.”
March 30: Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner tweets: “If
we can reduce the R0 by wearing homemade masks while simultaneously saving the
limited supply of surgical / N95 masks for those providing care on the front
lines, why wouldn’t we? Even if it’s a small protection, why wouldn’t we add it
to everything else we’re doing?”
March 30: Conservative Sen. Linda Frum tweets about news
from Austria that wearing a mask in public is now compulsory there: “If the
pattern holds this means Canada will be reversing its current policy on masks 3
weeks from now.”
March 30: Trudeau is
asked if he regrets not bringing in more restrictive travel screening earlier
on. “I think there are going to be lots of analysis after the fact about what
around happened when, what could have happened a few days earlier, what only
needed to happen a few days later. Our focus every step of the way is doing
what was necessary at every moment based on the recommendations of experts,
based on science, and doing what we can to keep Canadians safe. We’re obviously
not — in an unprecedented situation — always going to get things perfectly
right but we’re going continue to being committed to doing the right things as
best we can, and figuring out what works, what doesn’t work, and moving forward
in a way that is both nimble and focused on helping Canadians in so much as a
government can be nimble and agile.”
March 30: Edmonton Journal columnist David Staples discusses
Canada’s border response with Danielle Smith in Calgary in radio interview.
March 30: Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights
Watch in New York, links to a Guardian story on the Aylward incident and
tweets: “This WHO official’s evasive and dishonest response to a journalist’s
simple inquiry about Taiwan is consistent with his dishonest and slanted
reporting about the coronavirus in China. He ignores Beijing’s cover-up and
refusal to allow independent inquiry.”
March 30: Alberta Premier Jason Kenney at telephone public
town hall: “China lied to the world.”
(David Staples of the Edmonton Journal has done a tremendous job of compiling these dates.)
