Thank you, Mr. Chair. Despite my earlier intervention, it is a real pleasure to be here with every single one of the committee members, but also to be back at the health committee.
Dr. Tam, it's good to see you once again.
Dr. Njoo, it's been a while since our very many meetings back in early 2020 in the lead-up to the pandemic, but that's kind of where I would like to start, if we can.
There are a number of quotes here that I know have been associated with you, Dr. Tam, which I'm going to read, and then I would like you to perhaps reflect upon what we could do differently or next steps that could have perhaps been taken earlier to prevent the rapid spread at the beginning of the pandemic.
First of all, you said, “Canadians should not be concerned that they can pick up the virus from an infected individual by any casual contact, such as walking through the airport or another public place.” Dr. Tam, that was you on January 27, 2020.
“Dr. Theresa Tam said again that sealing off borders is not an effective approach to containing the virus.” That was you, Dr. Tam, on March 4, 2020.
“[P]utting a mask on an asymptomatic person is not beneficial.” Dr. Tam, that was you on March 30, 2020.
Dr. Njoo, I certainly won't miss a quote from you as well. On February 26, 2020, you stated, “We have contained the virus.”
Again, in terms of perhaps what you can do differently at the beginning of a pandemic and steps to stop the rapid spread, I would love to hear your insights based on those quotes.