Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, everybody, for your presentations. They are greatly appreciated.
Dr. Possamai, I really appreciate your being here and the work you did with the SARS Commission, because that facilitated the start of PHAC, as you mentioned a little earlier today, and the setting up of protocols and policies to deal with pandemics. We've seen that not only has Canada done that, but other parts of the world did that at that time.
Taiwan did exactly the same thing, and they implemented those policies and procedures from day one, right from the very start. My colleagues and I brought forward, a number of times, with the minister as well as the government, the issues of shutting down the borders, using face masks, testing, etc. As I said, Taiwan closed its borders and utilized masks and temperature screening from day one, and they've done a tremendous job in reducing the impact of COVID-19 and the number of deaths.
I have a question on the issue of temperature screening. Last month, the committee questioned officials from Transport Canada regarding the effectiveness of temperature screening for travellers during the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically at airports. Dr. Tam herself has said that when it comes to SARS, temperature screening was ineffective. My colleagues and I asked the Transport Canada officials to provide us with new, scientific evidence that would support the effectiveness of temperature screening. However, they've only provided what seems to be an opinion piece, without any scientific paper. They state, “The greater number of COVID-19 cases increases the likelihood of temperature screening effectiveness”.
From your experience and your review of the SARS epidemic, I'm wondering what scientific data proved the effectiveness of temperature screening.