Madam Chair, I want the member opposite to know that since December 31, we have been aware of the outbreak from Wuhan, China. In fact, on December 31, Dr. Tam was alerted to the outbreak of illnesses, and at that time we still did not know what we were dealing with regarding this new virus on the scene. By December 31, Dr. Tam began notifying members of the Canadian Council of Chief Medical Officers of Health. By January 2, all members of the CCMOH were advised of the outbreak of illness by Dr. Tam, and by early January I was briefed by officials on the status of this new virus.
We were aware of this virus very early on and have been actively working on Canada's response to it.