Evidence of meeting #6 for Health in the 43rd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was subamendment.
A video is available from Parliament.
4:40 p.m.
Conservative
4:40 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
A recorded vote has been requested.
(Motion as amended agreed to: yeas 7; nays 4)
Thank you.
Dr. Kitchen.
4:40 p.m.
Conservative
Robert Gordon Kitchen Conservative Souris—Moose Mountain, SK
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
In light of how long it's taken to get to where we are right now, I will defer the second motion to a later date.
4:40 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
Very well. Thank you.
That being the case, we will move to our witness testimony.
Once again, thank you all for being here, for putting up with the interesting life that is Parliament, and for your patience. Some of you I have seen before and I welcome you back.
We have four groups. Each group is able to present a 10-minute opening statement, and once all groups have made their statements, there will be one or more rounds of questions, depending on time.
First off is the Public Health Agency of Canada, with Dr. Howard Njoo, deputy chief public health officer, and Cindy Evans, acting vice-president, health security infrastructure branch.
Please go ahead.
4:40 p.m.
Dr. Howard Njoo Deputy Chief Public Health Officer, Public Health Agency of Canada
Thank you, Mr. Chair, for the opportunity to update the committee on the Public Health Agency of Canada's efforts to respond to the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, in Canada. A lot has happened since the last briefing on February 5.
As you are aware, things continue to evolve globally in terms of the spread of illness and response efforts. There are now more than 80,000 confirmed cases globally and more than 2,500 deaths worldwide. Although China remains the epicentre of the outbreak, accounting for 97% of cases and the majority of deaths related to COVID-19, the spread of the virus is now occurring at the community level in several countries, and that is concerning.
To date, Canada has 12 confirmed cases: seven in British Columbia and five in Ontario. The three most recent cases—two in British Columbia and one in Ontario—are different from the others thus far in that there is no connection with travel to China. Rather, they are linked to travel to Iran. Despite the increase in global cases and the fact that there are more confirmed cases in Canada in recent days, the risk of the virus spreading in Canada remains low for the time being.
Prudence and planning are important, though, as it is impossible to know the exact trajectory that the outbreak will take. That is why, as we continue to monitor the situation and learn more about the spread of this virus, we are also planning for all possible scenarios and basing our response on evidence and science.
We continue to believe that Canada's public health system is well equipped to contain cases coming from abroad, which will limit the potential for their spreading within Canada. Our system is working as it should to protect Canadians against this novel coronavirus. We are ready to respond should we find ourselves in the midst of a global pandemic.
We are acting now to ensure that we can shift our approach quickly if necessary from delaying spread as long as possible to pandemic preparedness and response. The Public Health Agency of Canada is working collaboratively with partners at all levels of government to respond to COVID-19 and to plan and prepare and adapt our response to this rapidly changing situation.
We continue to adjust our border measures as the international situation evolves, ensuring individuals have the information they need to protect themselves and their fellow Canadians.
We continue to ask travellers arriving from Hubei province to go into voluntary isolation and travellers arriving from China to monitor their health for signs of symptoms. These individuals are given documents with essential information and instructions in airports. The information tells them what to do should they develop symptoms.
General information is provided in all airports, and a general document is handed out to all travellers arriving from other countries. They are asked to monitor their health for the development of symptoms related to the COVID-19 virus and to contact a local public health authority should they develop symptoms.
This information is also available on Canada.ca/coronavirus, along with the latest travel health advisories on travel.gc.ca, so that all travellers prior to departure and upon returning to Canada can stay informed and know what to expect.
This includes, for example, updated travel health notices for affected areas such as South Korea, Iran, Italy, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore. As the cruise ship season opens in April in Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada will be proactively engaging with operators to reinforce obligations under the Quarantine Act and provide public health travel advice to cruise ship passengers on infection prevention and control and on what measures they can take if they become sick. We have also assisted Canadians in returning to Canada from highly affected areas.
To date, Canada has chartered three flights to bring people back from Hubei province, China, as well as individuals aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was docked in Japan.
I'm pleased to announce that everyone in quarantine at Canadian Forces Base Trenton has now been released.
All the individuals in quarantine remained in isolation for a period of 14 days. They pose no risk to others and can resume their normal activities.
We worked with provincial and territorial partners, as well as local public health authorities and non-governmental organizations, to ensure that social services were in place to support these Canadians and their family members after they left CFB Trenton. Repatriated Canadians from the Diamond Princess cruise ship remain in quarantine at the Nav Centre in Cornwall, Ontario, where they continue to receive the same regular health assessment and mental health supports as those who were under quarantine at CFB Trenton.
To date, four individuals have reported symptoms similar to COVID-19. Samples from all four individuals have been tested and confirmed negative. We will continue to provide updates to the community and all Canadians regarding these repatriation efforts and the health and safety of our fellow Canadians during their stay at the Nav Centre.
As we look to the future, we are concerned by recent developments in the world, which underscore the importance of examining when and how we adjust our approach.
Now, I'd like to tell you about our broader approach, which is aimed at reducing the spread and impact of the virus in Canada.
When it comes to the Government of Canada's response, there are three phases: containment, delay and preparation, and mitigation. While Canada's enhanced border measures and ability to detect, treat and, through isolation and quarantine, limit the spread of COVID-19 have been effective to date, it is prudent for Canada to ramp up planning and preparations to be ready for all potential outcomes, including the possibility of a more widespread outbreak. This means shifting to a containment-and-delay phase. This does not mean that we currently think the risk to Canadians has changed. As I mentioned earlier, the risk within Canada remains low at this time.
However, our efforts now need to focus on getting the health care system, communities and families ready to deal with the virus and its continued spread in Canada.
This shift in our planning and response effort is part of Canada's existing framework to manage public health events as they evolve.
This is not a new approach. Its foundation is in our planning and preparation for pandemic outbreaks that we're constantly working on with partners from all levels of government. The “Federal/Provincial/Territorial Public Health Response Plan for Biological Events” and “Canadian Pandemic Influenza Preparedness: Planning Guidance for the Health Sector”, for example, serve as anchors in coordinating our domestic planning and response. These plans were tested during our response to H1N1, and they were effective.
However, we recognize that every event is different, and we must be ready for a variety of scenarios. We also recognize that it takes more than governments and the health sector to protect the health and safety of Canadians.
Now is the time for all Canadians to really think about getting prepared to cope with a general outbreak in the community. Everyone—from individuals, families and communities to schools, employers and operators of essential infrastructure—has a role to play in preparing for the potential spread of COVID-19 at a broader level.
In the event of widespread illness, it will be especially important that individuals continue to take actions to stay healthy and prevent the spread of respiratory infections, including washing their hands frequently, coughing into a sleeve or tissue and staying home when sick.
Being prepared also means staying informed. For the latest and most up-to-date information, Canadians should visit Canada.ca/coronavirus or call our toll-free phone line at 1-833-784-4397 to get answers to questions about COVID-19.
As the situation evolves and the Public Health Agency of Canada adapts its response accordingly, we are committed to providing updates and information as soon as they become available.
We are working vigilantly with our partners across Canada to ensure that the Government of Canada's response is comprehensive and effective, including being prepared for the possibility of a pandemic in the coming weeks and months.
We would be pleased to answer your questions.
4:50 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
Thank you, Doctor.
We go now to the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development. We have Ms. Heather Jeffrey, assistant deputy minister of consular, security and emergency management.
Welcome and thank you. You have 10 minutes.
4:50 p.m.
Heather Jeffrey Assistant Deputy Minister, Consular, Security and Emergency Management, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
As we've heard, overall the preparedness and response activity for COVID-19 is being led by the Public Health Agency of Canada in close co-operation with Health Canada. Global Affairs Canada is a part of those efforts, with a specific mandate for the international dimensions of the response under the federal emergency response plan. Our primary responsibilities include the provision of consular services to affected Canadians abroad, management of the international emergency responses that might be required in that regard and the provision of travel information and advisories to Canadians.
At our last meeting, we spoke of the complexity inherent in any infectious disease outbreak and of some of the barriers faced in delivering consular assistance to Canadians in these difficult circumstances. Over the past weeks, we have responded on multiple fronts: providing up-to-date travel advice updated on a 24-7 basis to supplement the travel health notices being issued by the Public Health Agency of Canada; providing information and consular services to travelling Canadians or Canadians resident abroad; repatriating Canadians in some instances; and developing new methods to extend consular support to those Canadians in quarantine abroad.
In the case of Hubei province, China, following the decision of local authorities to close transportation routes in and out of the province on prolonged basis, the Government of Canada arranged two charter flights and also worked to place Canadians on U.S. charters. That transported a total of 404 Canadians and their families from Wuhan, China, to Canada. As noted earlier, all these Canadians have now completed their 14 days in quarantine.
Global Affairs continues to provide consular services to Canadians in China through the embassy in Beijing, our network of consulates in China and the 24-7 emergency watch and response centre in Ottawa.
Global Affairs Canada also worked to assist Canadians affected by the quarantine of the Diamond Princess cruise ship. Following the approval by the Government of Japan for the departure of foreign nationals, Canada worked quickly to charter an aircraft to repatriate 129 Canadians who were quarantined on the Diamond Princess. Those Canadians are currently serving a 14-day quarantine in Cornwall, Ontario, at the Nav Centre. All the Canadians who have been repatriated were screened by medical personnel from the Canadian Armed Forces prior to their departure and were asymptomatic. To date, there have been no cases of coronavirus confirmed amongst those passengers.
Consular officials continue on the ground to deliver assistance to Canadians from the Diamond Princess who remain in Japan. There are 54 Canadians hospitalized across 24 Japanese hospitals. Of those, 43 are hospitalized for reasons related to coronavirus, while the remaining 11 have other medical issues or are accompanying family members in their quarantine. Eleven Canadians have now recovered and been released.
To assist in this response, our consular response team in Tokyo has been supplemented with additional specialized personnel from the consular standing rapid deployment team, personnel from the Public Health Agency of Canada, medical personnel from the Canadian Armed Forces and a medical liaison and psychosocial support team from the Canadian Red Cross. This integrated team is providing comprehensive consular services to affected Canadians, including visits to hospitals, medical liaison, translation, communications, addressing essential needs, psychosocial services and a wide variety of other elements tailored to the individual needs of our consular clients. Our consular service is being constantly adjusted in line with the unique context of quarantine and isolation requirements for Canadians who find themselves abroad.
As noted by the Public Health Agency, a growing number of countries have reported cases of coronavirus. I think it is 33 at last count. We've also seen additional border and travel restrictions in many affected areas, as well as flight cancellations by commercial carriers. Our travel advice is being updated continually in this regard. We are urging Canadians to check the travel advice and travel health notices for their destinations before travelling, given that this situation remains extremely fluid. The travel advice pages for all destinations carry a link to the Public Health Agency's latest information pages and allow travellers to see how the country they are travelling to may have been affected. In addition, specific travel advice for China, Italy, Hong Kong, Iran, South Korea and Singapore has all been specifically updated in response to the coronavirus.
Where Canadians encounter challenges abroad, our emergency watch and response centre, as well as our embassies across the world, stand ready to provide further assistance as might be required.
Since the outbreak began, our consular officials in Ottawa have been working 24/7 to answer questions and provide services and information to Canadians seeking assistance. Our call centre and emergency response team in Ottawa are working non-stop. They receive and answer a high number of calls and emails, communicating directly with Canadians looking for help.
We are also working with our health partners across the Government of Canada to confirm that all necessary procedures and protocols are in place to keep our consular staff deployed around the world safe.
Despite these challenging aspects of the situation, all essential services continue to be offered at our embassies abroad, including in particular full consular and emergency services on the ground to support Canadians.
In closing, I'd like to add that Global Affairs Canada officials are continuing to work closely with health experts and our like-minded partners and are engaging fully in the medium- and longer-term planning for responding to the eventual development of this outbreak.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
4:55 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
Thank you, Ms. Jeffrey.
We will go now to the Canada Border Services Agency, with Calvin Christiansen, director general, travellers operational guidance and support, travellers branch.
Welcome, and thank you.
4:55 p.m.
Calvin Christiansen Director General, Travellers Operational Guidance and Support, Travellers Branch, Canada Border Services Agency
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. I'd like to thank you for the invitation to appear today to provide an update on the additional measures that the Canada Border Services Agency has put into place since our last appearance here on February 3.
As you know, we are the first point of contact for all incoming international travellers. As such, we support an effective multi-layered system that keeps Canada and its people safe.
I would like to reiterate that under the Quarantine Act border services officers are designated as screening officers as part of their normal day-to-day duties. International travellers also play an important role by holding responsibility to inform our border services officers if they are feeling unwell.
Since the outset of the COVID-19 outbreak, the CBSA has added enhanced screening and detection processes to our robust border measures to keep our officers and Canadians safe. We continue to maintain an open line of communication with Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada and Global Affairs Canada in this whole-of-government effort.
As the CBSA briefed this committee on February 3, the following measures were put in place: targeted signage in CBSA arrival halls; additional health screening to identify individuals who may have been in Hubei province in the last 14 days; the referral of travellers to PHAC officials at ports of entry; the dissemination of information brochures advising travellers what to do should they become ill following their arrival in Canada; and also, ensuring that our officers are provided with and trained on how to use the personal protective equipment recommended by Health Canada.
Travellers who answer positively to the enhanced screening question were and still are subject to additional screening in order to help prevent the possible spread of the disease. Those experiencing flu-like symptoms are referred to a PHAC staff member, and all others are provided with information and permitted to continue their travels.
The CBSA also took steps with our colleagues at Transport Canada to remind airlines that under the Quarantine Act they are required to report as soon as possible whether ill passengers are on board. This allows adequate time to put the proper precautions in place before the aircraft arrives at its destination in Canada.
I'd now like to turn your attention to the additional precautions that we have put in place since February 3.
On February 8, as mentioned by our colleagues from the Public Health Agency of Canada, the CBSA issued a new information brochure, with more specific instructions for travellers who have been to the province of Hubei, China, to monitor themselves for symptoms, to self-isolate at home for 14 days and to contact local public health in their jurisdiction within 24 hours of their arrival. Also, they are to contact again if they develop any symptoms within those 14 days.
On February 9, the enhanced border measures that we outlined before were expanded to all Canadian international airports.
On February 14, the CBSA provided its officers with updated occupational health and safety advice from Health Canada on the processing of mail from China, which includes the wearing of nitrile gloves and handwashing each time gloves are changed or discarded. The agency is communicating regularly with our employees and with the Customs and Immigration Union on the occupational health and safety measures, and we are ensuring that the appropriate personal protective equipment is readily available to be used where required.
Also, as mentioned previously, as of February 17, all travellers who indicate that they have been in the province of Hubei are required to fill out a Public Health Agency of Canada contact form to allow health authorities to monitor and track those who have been in the impacted region. The form captures basic biographical data, flight data and contact information for the passenger while in Canada. Once it's completed, the Public Health Agency determines when and how to share this information with provincial authorities if required.
As of February 19, at the direction of the Public Health Agency of Canada, border services officers began issuing surgical mask kits to all travellers who report that they have been in the province of Hubei.
Throughout this period, the CBSA has been supporting federal partners in the repatriation of hundreds of Canadians from China impacted by this outbreak. On the ground in Wuhan, CBSA officers verified the identities and documents of passengers and ensured that a risk assessment of all passengers was completed prior to their departure, to ensure that no high-risk travellers from a security perspective were boarding the aircraft.
On their arrival, CBSA officers processed the travellers through our normal border clearance processes. During this process, all appropriate measures were taken to ensure the health and safety of our employees and Canadians.
To close, we continue to work in lockstep with our partners in ensuring that our responses at the border are in line with the current situation while protecting our workforce.
Thank you.
5 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
Thank you.
We will now go to the Department of National Defence. We have Major-General Cadieu, director of staff, strategic joint staff; and Major-General Downes, surgeon general, commander of the Canadian Forces health services group.
Thank you, gentlemen.
Go ahead, for 10 minutes.
5 p.m.
Major-General T. J. Cadieu Director of Staff, Strategic Joint Staff, Department of National Defence
Mr. Chair, committee members, thank you for the invitation to discuss the role of the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces in the whole-of-government response to the evolving COVID-19 situation.
With me again today is Major-General Andrew Downes, our respected surgeon general.
When I last reported to you on the 5th of February, our team was poised to support Global Affairs Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada with the first assisted return of Canadians from Wuhan, China.
Mr. Chair, my colleagues have briefed you on the details of the assisted returns already, and in the interest of time, I will not repeat that information. As part of these assisted returns, your military has provided the following support to Global Affairs Canada, Canada Border Services and the Public Health Agency of Canada over the last several weeks.
First, we deployed multiple Canadian Armed Forces medical teams with each of those flights. These six-member elements were tasked to conduct health screening of returnees as part of the aircraft boarding procedures, and to monitor the health of returnees during their return flight to Canada. Two Canadian Armed Forces health professionals currently remain in Japan and are assisting Global Affairs Canada with the approximately 54 Canadians who remain in hospital.
At home here in Canada, Canadian Forces Base Trenton provided the logistical framework within which the Public Health Agency was able to coordinate public health measures, emergency social services and security services with the Province of Ontario for this period of the quarantine, as per the emergency order. That support included infrastructure for use by federal and provincial authorities for the conduct of their tasks associated with the quarantine period; ground transportation and accommodations; food services, which included the preparation and packaging of meals that were delivered by the Canadian Red Cross; and general duties support and limited augmentation to security services as contracted providers surged into Canadian Forces Base Trenton.
For the most recent assisted return from Japan, DND and CAF personnel provided the following additional support beyond the medical teams that I have already mentioned, and that support is ongoing now. We planned and conducted the road move of all returnees by bus from Canadian Forces Base Trenton to Cornwall. In addition to providing the buses and drivers, CAF provided returnees with personal protective equipment and medical support throughout their journey. In Cornwall, we're providing the architecture for a command and control node that's being used by our whole-of-government team, as well as continued general duties support.
In all, nearly 200 CAF personnel have been deployed to support this whole-of-government effort, with countless staff also committed at various echelons.
Finally, I will speak to some of our DND/CAF planning efforts that we're undertaking right now.
DND/CAF continues to support whole-of-government planning, which is being led by Health Canada. That includes efforts to contain, delay and mitigate the impacts of COVID-19.
Internally, our planning is focused on ensuring that we remain postured to provide support to other government departments while putting in place measures to protect the force. This could include additional directives and advisories, changes to the posture of the Canadian Armed Forces, preventative health measures and the mobilization of additional materiel and personal protective equipment for our teammates. We are currently refreshing contingency plans for a larger domestic response and, of course, business continuity planning.
In closing, Mr. Chair, nothing is more important to DND/CAF than our “home game”. We remain poised to assist federal and provincial partners moving forward.
Mr. Chair, ladies and gentlemen, Canada's surgeon general and I look forward to taking your questions.
5:05 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ron McKinnon
Thank you, General.
Thank you all for being here and for your excellent information.
I think we have time for one round of questions.
We will go to Mr. Jeneroux, for six minutes.
5:05 p.m.
Conservative
Matt Jeneroux Conservative Edmonton Riverbend, AB
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
It's unfortunate that Dr. Tam couldn't join us today. I know we were expecting her. It was a last-minute change to the agenda. We're hoping that doesn't preclude her from coming back to future meetings if we see fit.
She made a statement the other day on CTV, when she was asked about whether we should shut down our borders. I am hoping, Dr. Njoo, that you'll be able to answer this. She stated that the more countries are infected, the less effective and feasible it is to close our borders.
I am curious if this is some sort of admittance that the government should have shut down the borders when China was—from what we understood at the time—the only country that was heavily infected.
5:05 p.m.
Deputy Chief Public Health Officer, Public Health Agency of Canada
Not at all. We certainly understand that border measures are just one layer in a multisystem approach to preventing and hopefully controlling the spread of COVID-19 in Canada.
It's never been understood or recognized that border measures alone will stop it. We know that with this disease—as with many other infectious diseases—there is something called an “incubation period”. Someone could actually be harbouring the disease, virus or bacteria and come into Canada feeling totally well, having no symptoms at all, and then only declare and come forward with symptoms once they have actually entered the country.
Our current measures, in terms of the Quarantine Act, have always been in place. Any sick traveller needs to present to a quarantine officer—or at least a border agent and then a quarantine officer—for further assessment. If appropriate, under the Quarantine Act, they can be forwarded for further medical assessment.
The supplementary measures that we put in place were certainly appropriate for what's happening in China right now. I won't go into the details in terms of the advice we're giving specifically for travel from Hubei province and also for mainland China, but I think the proof is in terms of what's happened in Canada so far.
We have contained the virus. There have been 12 cases to date in Canada. That's a relatively low number compared to other countries. All of the cases, I would say, are isolated or at least isolated to travellers coming to Canada or their very close contacts. Nine of the cases coming to Canada were all linked to travel to China. Now the three most recent ones—which is quite interesting in many ways—are linked to travel from Iran.
That's also reflected in what's happening globally in other countries and regions around the world. Canada is well positioned to actually address any COVID-19 that may come to Canada.
5:10 p.m.
Conservative
Matt Jeneroux Conservative Edmonton Riverbend, AB
Great. Thank you, Dr. Njoo.
Just to clarify the comments, she indicated in her statement that the more countries are affected, the less effective and feasible it is to close the border. This is essentially alluding to the fact that if there is only one country, then closing the borders would be an effective mechanism for containing the virus.
In hindsight, possibly as part of this discussion afterwards, I would think that looking at when we close the borders and where we move to make sure that the borders are closed is pertinent for your department to consider, going forward.
Because my time is short, I am going to move on to the next point I want to raise.
There was some concern raised at the beginning of the government's lack of a plan. We know the minister has been doing scrums and news conferences. Dr. Tam has been making the rounds, but it seems not everything the minister or Dr. Tam has been saying has been satisfying Canadians in terms of the concern that's been raised.
Yesterday, the Minister of Health stated that we're no longer in a containment phase. I ask you two questions: What phase are we in now, if it's not a containment phase? Being that the government's containment phase plan was unsuccessful—and I would say poorly communicated—can you share with us the plan for the next phase, so that Canadians know exactly what's going on?
5:10 p.m.
Deputy Chief Public Health Officer, Public Health Agency of Canada
Let me respond to the previous comment about the border measures. I can't speak for Dr. Tam—I'm sure she'll have the opportunity to maybe clarify or speak for herself in terms of border measures—but it's not about closing the borders. From a public health perspective, closing the borders has never proven to be effective in terms of stopping the spread or the introduction of disease into any country.
I think what Dr. Tam might have been thinking about with the border measures was in terms of looking at what's happened in other countries, such as Italy now, and the spread to many other countries and regions. The supplementary border measures that we've had up to date include giving additional information to travellers from China, from Hubei province. You can imagine how if that list gets expanded—to Japan, South Korea, Italy and so on—obviously, there will be a trickle-down effect in terms of what provincial authorities may need to follow up on. That's the issue that I think Dr. Tam was addressing.
To your point about Minister Hajdu reflecting on containment, yes, in Canada we're still in a good position to maintain our containment approach, but we do recognize and are cognizant of what's happening at the global level. Dr. Tedros at the World Health Organization did indicate that the window of opportunity is closing. At the same time that Canada is still maintaining its containment posture, if I can put it that way, we're also starting to prepare for a possible pandemic. We can't do this with our eyes closed and not recognize what might happen weeks and months from now, which has nothing to do, maybe, specifically with Canada but with what's happening internationally.
As I said in my opening remarks, we have two foundational documents. There is a federal/provincial/territorial public health plan for biological events in terms of a response plan. Lots of things are already under way, including a special advisory committee of the chief medical officers of health for each of the provinces and territories. We meet with them regularly, multiple times during the week, to look at issues, guidance, policies and programs we need to put in place to address COVID-19. As well, there's something called the Canadian pandemic influenza plan. This was based on previous experiences, including with H1N1. That's what we're now looking at in terms of forward planning.
To give you an example of the kinds of things we're looking at—I think it's the same for other countries around the world—should there be widespread transmission in Canada and in many other parts of the world, we would be looking at such measures as what we call “social distancing”. Do we need to start looking at cancelling mass gatherings and public events? Would there be things like looking at what we need to do with schools, and students attending schools, and people sick in the hospitals and so on?
That's all in the future. We're certainly not there yet, but we are actually taking a close look and making sure we're prepared for that.
5:15 p.m.
Conservative
Matt Jeneroux Conservative Edmonton Riverbend, AB
Mr. Chair, just to clarify, I asked if there was a containment phase. We've now moved on. I believe the word he used was containment “posture”.
5:15 p.m.
Deputy Chief Public Health Officer, Public Health Agency of Canada
Yes. We're still in the containment phase—
5:15 p.m.
Conservative
5:15 p.m.
Deputy Chief Public Health Officer, Public Health Agency of Canada
Yes, we're still in a containment strategy, but we're not solely fixed on that. We're also, as I said earlier, preparing for a possible pandemic and further spread.
5:15 p.m.
Conservative
Matt Jeneroux Conservative Edmonton Riverbend, AB
Okay.
So there might be a text message we might want to see on that, maybe.
5:15 p.m.
Liberal
Marcus Powlowski Liberal Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON
Thank you, Chair.
I'm not sure to whom I should address this question. Am I correct that the enhanced measures—the brochures, the masks, the forms that people have to fill out—apply only to people who specifically have come from Hubei province? The same goes for the recommendation to self-isolate. Is it only Hubei province?
5:15 p.m.
Cindy Evans Director General, Centre for Emergency Preparedness and Response, Public Health Agency of Canada
That is correct, yes.