Canada can be proud of Dr. Jody Boffa.
However, the epidemiologist currently working as a research fellow at Stellenbosch University in South Africa wasn’t in much of a mood to reciprocate this week.
Boffa was asked during an interview with CBC Radio’s Metro Morning how she felt about the reaction of Canada and other countries to South Africa’s recent identification and prompt reporting of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
“Is disgusted too harsh a word?” Boffa asked.
“It is absolutely abhorrent to me that good science and a reputable response – a responsible sharing of information for a global pandemic – was met with ostensibly ostracizing us from the rest of the world.”
Her irritation was not difficult to understand.
Almost immediately upon learning of the new variant Canada and many other countries banned international travel from South Africa and other countries in the region.
Even though, Boffa notes, there was no evidence that South Africa was the country of origin, or even had the most cases of the new variant.
It had merely been first to report. And that’s where the danger lies.
“Let me tell you, the next place to find a new big variant – if they don’t already to it, and let me tell you, let’s be honest, this information doesn’t get published as quickly as it did here very often – nobody’s going to want to come forward with that kind of information, and that’s just going to cause more havoc.”
The risk of creating such a chill on prompt scientific reporting by imposing extreme consequences on those who are the first to bear bad news is could have serious consequences down the road.
Boffa is not alone in her view. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has called repeatedly for countries that imposed travel bans to reverse their decisions. (France, for one, has already done just that, while requiring travellers from South Africa to quarantine for 10 days.)
Ramaphosa said blanket prohibitions on travel – coming on the eve of the tourism season so vital to South Africa and the region — will only damage the economies of countries that are already struggling.
It seems that South Africa, which has significant expertise in COVID sequencing because of its experience treating tuberculosis and HIV, is essentially being punished for its success and forthrightness.
Canada and other countries acted quickly in response to news of the Omicron variant. Some now think that hastily would be a better adverb.
As the Star’s Raisa Patel reported this week, Steven Hoffman, director of the Global Strategy Lab, called border closures “good politics, not too great epidemiology.”
Frustration and confusion over new testing protocols ordered after the Omicron discovery has also spiked among Canadian travellers stranded overseas or about to depart on trips abroad, Patel reports.
Experts in pandemic communications have long said clarity is essential to encourage public compliance with safety protocols and any confusion of that kind undermines chances of success.
There are cases of Omicron all over the world. If it’s not everywhere, it soon will be.
To pick out a dozen or so African countries for draconian treatment while failing to react in similar ways to their European counterparts sends a particularly disturbing message.
In the name of both fairness and science, Canada and other countries should reconsider their travel bans on South Africa and neighboring countries. More targeted measures to screen travellers, no matter where they come from, are likely to be more successful in containing the latest COVID threat.
Discussion about this post