Canada tightens borders over coronavirus will it curb COVID-19s spread? – Global News

Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus decision to tighten Canadas borders in an effort to flatline the number of COVID-19 cases in the country was met with mixed reaction from experts on Monday.

The prime minister announced that Canada will be closing its borders to foreign travellers, with the exceptions of air crews, diplomats, immediate family members of citizens and U.S. citizens.

Trudeau also said that air operators will ban anyone who is showing symptoms of the virus from getting on a plane.

Anna Banerji, director of global and Indigenous health at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto, told Global News that the move is not an over-reaction, but is warranted.

I think if you look, most of the cases are related to travel coming from certain parts of the world, Banerji said.

Story continues below advertisement

Its really the people who have been travelling and coming back who are sick and have the potential to spread it to other people.

Four people in Canada have died of COVID-19, while provincial authorities reported 403 confirmed cases Monday afternoon, as well as 15 presumptive cases. Ten cases have been resolved.

Banerji said Canada doesnt have the outbreak that some European countries are dealing with, and curbing travel is a good way of lowering the chances.

Alison Thompson, a professor at the University of Torontos Dalla Lana School of Public Health, was less certain that such drastic travel limits would be effective.

Its generally not considered an effective way to manage the spread because its already here. Its a little bit like closing the barn door after the horse has escaped, Thompson said.

Thompson said officials could have other aims in mind, such as reassuring the public that they are willing to make drastic decisions for their safety.

It may be the optics of it that theyre going for, she said.

Theres been a lot of clamouring for this, so maybe its a way of showing that theyre being responsive to public concerns. But its not really aligned with what the WHO is recommending.

Story continues below advertisement

Earlier this month, the World Health Organization said that large-scale travel bans are not recommended.

In late February, the organization recommended against travel bans except in very limited circumstances, saying they are ineffective in most situations and may divert resources from other interventions.

That hasnt stopped countries from imposing travel restrictions.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced sweeping restrictions on travel to the United States from Europe last week. The European Union also announced limits on non-essential travel Monday.

Days before announcing the sweeping travel restrictions, Canadian officials also casted doubt over their effectiveness.

Health Minister Patty Hajdu told reporters last week that viruses dont know borders.

What we have to remember is viruses dont know borders, she told reporters.

A border is not going to contain the virus. The borders are important measures though for making sure that people have important information about what to do when theyre in a particular country should they find themselves ill.

Hajdu added: Canadians think we can stop this at the border, but what we see is this is a global pandemic meaning that border measures are highly ineffective and in some cases can create harm.

Story continues below advertisement

The health minister noted the example of Italy, which placed travel restrictions early on but is now dealing with one of the worst outbreaks in the world. As of Monday, Italy had more than 27,980 cases, with 2,158 deaths.

On Monday, Trudeau commented on Hajdus remarks from last week, saying that the governments opinion has changed.

In Canada, we based our decisions on public health recommendations that ensured that Canadas approach worked for many, many weeks and keeping a very slow spread of the virus in Canada, but through contact tracing and other measures, he said.

Weve now come to the point where the best advice from public health officials is that additional border member measures, on top of the social distancing measures that we are encouraging domestically, is the right combination to move forward.

While there is some disagreement on border closures, both Banerji and Thompson agreed that its vital for Canadians to monitor their health, practice social distancing and self-isolate if needed in an honest and effective manner.

Its impossible to police that, because there are so many people who are coming back from overseas. I think its really important for people to do that, I guess on an honour system, to do that to protect other people.

Story continues below advertisement

Canadians have been asked to self-isolate for 14 days after returning from international travel. Those who are sick, or have a confirmed case of COVID-19, have also been told to isolate.

Thats really the most effective thing that we can do, Thompson said.

With files from The Canadian Press

2020 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

More:

Canada tightens borders over coronavirus will it curb COVID-19s spread? - Global News