Lockdowns only delay COVID-19 cases, witness testifies at hearing on Manitoba's restrictions

Lockdowns meant to reduce the spread of COVID-19 push the problem into the future, an outspoken critic of pandemic restrictions said Tuesday at a court hearing on a challenge to Manitoba's right to impose such orders.

JayBhattacharya, a professor of medicine at Stanford University who has criticizedlockdowns in the United States, acknowledged that the strict measuresreduce the initial peak number of cases, butsaid the practicedelays those infections to a later point.

Bhattacharyatestifiedas a key witness Tuesday of the applicants seven rural Manitoba churches, a pastor, a deacon and a man ticketed for attending an anti-lockdown protest who argue Manitoba's lockdown measuresare unjustified violations of Charter-protected freedoms of conscience, religion, expression and peaceful assembly.

Under cross-examination byHeather Leonoff, a lawyer for the province of Manitoba,Bhattacharyawas asked if it made sense to continue with some levelof restrictions to delay infections until enough vaccines arrive, given that hesaid lockdownshave a purpose intheshort-term.

Bhattacharya, who testified by video from California,said that is "one strategy," but whether it was agood or badis up for debate.

Lockdowns an 'extraordinary measure': witness

In response, the province is arguing limits on personal freedoms are a reasonable measure to reduce COVID-19 transmission rates.

As of Tuesday, Manitoba has had a total of 39,814 COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, and 980 deaths related to the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, according to provincial data.

Bhattacharya has made a name for himself in the United States for speaking outagainst lockdowns and questioning chief COVID-19 medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci's support of restrictions.

Bhattacharya is one of three authors of the controversial GreatBarrington Declaration, which, if followed, would permit the novel coronavirusto spread naturally. It suggests limitson personal freedoms only be placed onindividuals at a high risk of dying of COVID-19, while allowing everyone else to continue without restrictions and build up herd immunity.

"The Great Barrington approach isn't an intervention in the same sense of a lockdown," he said. "A lockdowninvolves an extraordinary set of measures to prevent human interactions from taking place on a grand scale."

When Bhattacharya said he encourages a"focused protection" approach,Leonoffargued Manitoba's interventions already target the most vulnerable, through measures such as limitingvisitors to personal care homes and Indigenous communities.

Questionedon the lack of evidence for a model of pandemic restrictions that only protects the most vulnerable,Bhattacharyatold court that supporting those most at risk of severe health outcomesis already a standard principle of public health.

Leonofftold court she hadmore than 50 pieces of literature that disagreed withBhattacharya's positions.

Throughout the morning, he was presented with published journalstudiesthat saidstrict restrictionsreduced transmission rates. He regularly questioned Leonoff's interpretation of the data and repeated his position that lockdowns simply push high case counts to a later date.

Lockdownscause"enormous mental stress,"Bhattacharyasaid, but Leonoff responded with a report from theCentre for Addiction and Mental Health, Canada's largest mental health teaching hospital, that stated the country was in the throes of a mental health crisis long before the pandemic.

Bhattacharyaalso praised Sweden for notinstitutinga major lockdown,but recordinga death rate lower than some European countries that did.

Leonoffanswered that any comparison of countries has to be done with caution because of a variety of biological and socialfactors.

Asked by Leonoff laterifAmerican states with much higher death rates than Manitoba should have adopted the province's tighter restrictions, Bhattacharyahimself questioned thecomparison of jurisdictions. He said states such as Californiahave a more dense population than Manitoba.

The case,heard by ManitobaCourt of Queen's Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal, began on Monday. It's scheduled for nine days this month.

Shared Health Chief Nursing OfficerLanette Siragusa and infectious disease expert Jason Kindrachuk are scheduled to testify on Wednesday.

Dr. Brent Roussin, the province's chief public health officer, is set totestify on Friday.

American critic of pandemic lockdown measures challenged in Winnipeg courtroom

3 years ago

Duration 1:21

Lockdowns meant to reduce the spread of COVID-19 push the problem into the future, an outspoken critic of pandemic restrictions said Tuesday at a court hearing on a challenge to Manitoba's right to impose such orders.