A Hamilton infectious disease specialist said evidence shows testing all travellers before and after they arrive in Canada will identify most cases of COVID-19 entering into the country.
Dr. Zain Chagla said the recent travel bans affecting only some countries are meaningless and based on political advantage, not science.
“It’s silly,” He said in an interview on Morning Live on Friday. “At the end of the day, there’s no meaning to this. South Africa discovered that there was a problem but they weren’t the cause of the problem.”
He referenced the beginning of the pandemic when Canada’s travel policies targeted China and Iran, and COVID-19 quickly entered Canada from the United States and western Europe.
Chagla said the Omicron COVID-19 variant is already spreading in several countries not targeted by Canada’s travel ban including the United States, which isn’t even being subjected to enhanced testing policies yet.
He said a study completed in Canada in the fall of 2020 found that a single test done the day people arrive will pick up two-thirds of those infected with COVID-19.
A test taken one week later identified another 25 per cent of cases while only six per cent were detected with a test done two weeks after arrival.