ABSTRACT
Public health practitioners are expected to make decisions based on scientific evidence. Addressing a critical public health problem is rarely simple, may require multiple approaches, and is typically perceived as both too much and too little by different stakeholders. The more serious the consequences of underreaction, the more that the precautionary principle holds: if clear-cut evidence is unavailable, use best judgment to prevent widespread potential harm. The management of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador offers a case study. To reduce viral transmission in the local population, the Chief Medical Officer of health invoked emergency powers to close the provincial border to non-residents. The legal challenge brought by a visitor denied entry offers an examination of the limits of ‘epidemiological evidence’ and the place of medical professional expertise in justifying a denial of Canadians’ right to mobility within their own country.
