VANCOUVER —
The latest rules for travellers arriving in Canada are ruffling feathers among snowbirds wintering south of the border, while those who stayed home wonder why thousands opted to travel during the pandemic.
Valorie Crooks, Canada research chair in health service geographies, said everyone has had access to the same public health information and snowbirds who flocked south “did what they felt was allowable.”
There is no ban on travel and snowbirds don’t think of themselves as vacationers, said Crooks, a professor at Simon Fraser University who’s done research for years with snowbird communities in Florida and Arizona.
“They’re viewing this as part of their life or lifestyle,” she said, noting snowbirds relocate for extended periods of time and they’re used to factoring health considerations into their decision-making.
Some snowbirds feel late government communication on travel during the pandemic has left them hanging, said Crooks, as stricter requirements come into force in days ahead for anyone arriving in Canada.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said this week that anyone arriving in Canada by land must present negative COVID-19 test results starting Monday. Those without the requisite test results could be fined up to $3,000.
Travellers arriving by air have been required to show the results of a molecular (PCR) test no more than three days old since last month.
The Canadian Snowbird Association has decried an added requirement that air travellers take a second test upon arrival and stay in a hotel for around three days while awaiting results, with a potential price tag of $2,000 each.
In a recent letter to the federal transportation minister, president Karen Huestis wrote the cost of the hotel stay poses financial hardship for many and travellers who test negative should be able to quarantine in their homes.
Those arriving in Canada by land won’t be required to quarantine in a hotel.
It’s unclear when air travellers will start being ushered into hotels near one of the four Canadian airports currently accepting international flights in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal. Hotels had until Wednesday to apply to be among those on a list inbound passengers may choose from.
The prospect of quarantining in a hotel sent some snowbirds flying back to Canada early, while others take their chances or extend their southern stays.
Dr. Morley Rubinoff, 71, said he left his condo in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, about six weeks early this year to avoid what he called “hotel hell.”
The semi-retired dental specialist said he arrived in Mexico on Dec. 31 and planned to stay until mid-March before returning to Toronto.
Rubinoff said he wore a mask “constantly” and had very little contact with anyone while in Mexico, setting him apart from tourists at nearby resorts.
“We’re not the same,” he said, adding he has permanent residency in Mexico.
Rubinoff said he believes the latest travel rules are mainly aimed at preventing short trips by vacationers over holidays in February and March, while snowbirds should be recognized as a distinct group.
Denise Dumont, a Canadian who lives full time in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., echoed Rubinoff, saying snowbirds “don’t act like regular visitors.”
“I don’t think it is fair to treat them like a simple visitor who will go for an all-inclusive two-week vacation in Mexico,” said Dumont, the editor in chief of Le Soleil de la Floride, an online source for francophone news in Florida.
Dumont would like to see an exemption to the hotel stay so that snowbirds returning to Canada with a negative COVID-19 test and proof they’ve been vaccinated against the illness may go straight home to quarantine.
Toronto-based insurance broker Martin Firestone said he’s advised against travelling during the pandemic, but more than a thousand of his snowbird clients are abroad and they’re all opposed to the hotel quarantine.
He said about a third of his clients headed south in November and hundreds more were spurred on in January by the accessibility of COVID-19 vaccine in Florida for people age 65 and older, though Firestone is careful not to count his clients among “vaccine tourists,” since most own property there.
Some of Firestone’s clients are extending their travel insurance in hopes of returning to Canada when travel rules are relaxed, but he noted Canadians may only stay in the United States for 182 days per year before having to file U.S. taxes or potentially putting their Canadian health insurance at risk.
“I’m very wary to tell all clients who are extending, if you went down in November, I have concerns that you’re still sitting there in May and June because you’re waiting to avoid this three-day hotel thing.”
He’s also concerned clients who buy travel insurance to cover treatment in case of illness or injury unrelated to COVID-19 could encounter hospitals where resources are stretched to the limit due to the pandemic.
There are many reasons behind snowbirds’ decisions to travel to warmer climates each year, including during the pandemic, said Crooks.
“You get a lot of people discussing things like improved arthritis symptoms, even changes to the amount of medication that is required.”
Others have planned their retirement finances around “snowbirding” and the pandemic has not changed that budgetary reality, she said.
Crooks said she believes snowbirds are a distinct group needing tailored messaging that addresses specific concerns related to their return to Canada “with all the baggage that entails,” including pets, for example.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 12, 2021.
This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The Miami Dolphins will bring in another quarterback while starter Tua Tagovailoa deals with his latest concussion, coach Mike McDaniel said Friday.
For now, Skylar Thompson will be considered the Dolphins’ starter while Tagovailoa is sidelined. Tagovailoa left Thursday night’s 31-10 loss to Buffalo in the third quarter with the third known concussion of his NFL career, all of them coming in the last 24 months.
“The team and the organization are very confident in Skylar,” McDaniel said.
McDaniel said the team has not made any decision about whether to place Tagovailoa on injured reserve. Tagovailoa was expected at the team facility on Friday to start the process of being evaluated in earnest.
“We just have to operate in the unknown and be prepared for every situation,” McDaniel said, noting that the only opinions that will matter to the team will be the ones from Tagovailoa and the medical staff.
McDaniel added that he doesn’t see Tagovailoa playing in Miami’s next game at Seattle on Sept. 22.
“I have no idea and I’m not going to all of a sudden start making decisions that I don’t even see myself involved in the most important parts of,” McDaniel added. “All I’m telling Tua is everyone is counting on you to be a dad and be a dad this weekend. And then we’ll move from there. There won’t be any talk about where we’re going in that regard … none of that will happen without doctors’ expertise and the actual player.”
Tagovailoa was 17 for 25 passing for 145 yards, with one touchdown and three interceptions — one of which was returned for a Buffalo score — when he got hurt. Thompson completed eight of 14 passes for 80 yards.
Thompson said he feels “fully equipped” to run the Dolphins’ offense.
“What’s going to lie ahead, who knows, but man, I’m confident, though,” Thompson said after Thursday’s game. “I feel like I’m ready for whatever’s to come. I’m going to prepare and work hard and do everything I can to lead this team and do my job.”
TORONTO – Unifor says workers at a Walmart warehouse in Mississauga, Ont., have voted to join the union.
The union says it’s Walmart’s first warehouse to unionize in Canada.
Unifor national president Lana Payne says the employees stood up for their rights and the union is excited to get to work on their first collective agreement.
Unifor’s campaign at Walmart’s facility began in December 2023.
The vote was held from Sept. 10 to 12.
Unifor represents 315,000 workers across the country.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
