Assumptions are dangerous

DEAR EDITOR:

You have published several letters, some supporting the government and others being quite critical of the government and personally critical of Dr. Theresa Tam.

We are not privy to all the facts and so should be careful before jumping to conclusions. What can be said with some certainty is that:

— There is little doubt Chinese authorities were not as responsive or open about the epidemic as they could have been.

— There is little doubt the World Health Organization, a relatively underfunded and understaffed organization, which has to manage many health crises at the same time, did not stand up to the Chinese and take a stronger position. That this happened in a largely bureaucratic organization is understandable, but it is also highly regrettable.

— Anybody with senior management experience of managing a big crisis will know one of the real challenges at the early stage is to determine when to start raising the alarm. Raise it too soon and the issue comes to nothing and there are accusations of causing unnecessary panic which can have all sorts of negative consequences. One consequence is that credibility is reduced when the next and perhaps real crisis appears. There is always a, quite understandable, temptation to wait for more facts. That too has potential serious consequences.

— Reaching conclusions on the federal government’s management of the crisis part way through a crisis by making comparisons with unnamed countries is also dangerous. Until last week, there was a widely held view that the Swedes had got it right. Now that may not seem to be the case.

— Tam is the federal government’s scientific advisor. It is up to the government to manage the crisis and manage Tam.

It should be noted the House health committee is looking into issues around the COVID crisis. Given the complexity of the issues we should refrain from jumping to conclusions until all the evidence is available. It is unwise and unfair to jump to conclusions based on hearsay and bits of reporting which may not accurate or complete.