Yes, there has been a very rapid response. I'll quote our in-house legal counsel, who said, “In all of my career, I have never seen things done more quickly on any issue between multiple levels of government and the private sector.” People have truly rolled up their sleeves and really done their very best, both in research and in attempting to crack the supply chain challenges.
PHAC as well has been very accessible and available. Much of that has come through our chief medical officers of health, but also direct outreach. I know PHAC has been very active in the reagent pursuit, particularly for testing.
Personally, based on the expertise of my colleagues in virology and immunology, I think we will be looking at a massive testing and tracing strategy going forward. I know Dr. Naylor is chairing a committee nationally that will be looking more broadly at this.
I was heartened today to see in South Korea that this is their first day with zero new cases. I think there is much to be learned internationally by looking at, first, those countries where the pandemic struck earlier, and second, those countries that are now coming out of it and what has been most effective.
I think PHAC has also been openly available for consultation with our infectious disease experts.
Regarding Health Canada, I want to give a special shout-out to the deputy minister, who has been available, accessible and readily reaching out to the field.
I have to say, while hospitals can be places where we're quick to be critical about things during difficult times, or maybe not so difficult times, the response and the collaboration across multiple levels of government, including, in our case, the City of Toronto, have really been second to none in terms of the ability to roll up our sleeves and get going.
However, we are very frustrated by some of those things that don't happen quickly, that are beyond the control of any level of government, particularly the international supply of personal protective equipment and testing equipment. I suspect we run the risk of that being true in vaccine production when, hopefully not if but when, a vaccine becomes rapidly available.