Mr. Chair, I'll start.
Thank you to the member for those questions. Part of my reflection on lessons learned is that hindsight is 20/20. Information and the evolution of the understanding of the virus are changing all the time. At that point in time, at the end of January, we were very good in Canada to be able to pick up our first case. There was no discernible community transmission at that moment in time. However, as everyone could see, things were evolving fairly rapidly.
For pandemic preparedness going forward, I would suggest that we need to increase global collaboration, share information more rapidly if possible, and reduce the rapidity of transmission from the original source if we actually know where it started. However, the way this coronavirus was transmitted changed over time. At the beginning, the R value, what we call the reproduction number, wasn't that high, and then it just kept gaining more and more momentum. Then our understanding of asymptomatic transmission came into play. That's when we really stepped up the recommendations for mask wearing, when it was much better understood.
We need to have humility in the face of these viruses, for sure. I'm sure there's a lot we can do, but shoring up public health is a really important aspect of preparedness going forward.