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That assertion was based on the fact just 12 people had tested positive for the virus, including five in Ontario (none in Ottawa) and seven in B.C. And besides, the country’s main airports were carefully screening passengers from China, South Korea, Iran and Italy.
What the officials missed, or downplayed, was patients’ ability to spread the virus even before they showed signs of illness.
Liang Wanian, a senior official with the China National Health Commission, had emphasized this point the previous day in Beijing.
“In the case of COVID-19, there are asymptomatic patients,” said Wanian. “If these patients do not seek medical treatment in time, neither the patients themselves nor health care workers can spot it in time, let alone control it and track and manage contacts.”
