With so much still unknown about a new virus multiplying in China, many countries are closing the curtains on Chinese travellers. But experts are raising doubts about whether that will actually help.
“People will find a way around. You can say, ‘Stop all direct flights,’ but that doesn’t stop all travel,” Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease specialist based out of Toronto General Hospital, told Global News.
“If someone wants to get from Point A to Point B, they will find a way to do that. If there’s not a direct route, there will be alternative routes. This is just human nature.”
This week, Air Canada extended a suspension of its flights between Canada and the Chinese cities of Beijing and Shanghai until March 27. The airline first halted flights to the cities after the federal government issued a travel advisory in late January, urging Canadians to avoid all non-essential travel to mainland China because of the viral COVID-19 outbreak. The same recommendations have been in place for weeks.
Dozens of other nations have implemented travel-related measures since the outbreak began in late December, including outright bans.
Canada, at this point, has not taken that route. The advisory currently in place is not a ban.
“The decision to travel is your choice, and you are responsible for your personal safety abroad,” it reads.
So while Air Canada has chosen to suspend its service to China, it’s not a requirement. It’s left airlines that offer service between Canada and China with a choice — to fly or to not fly.
As of Feb. 14, a number of international airlines are still operating between Canada and China throughout February, March and April. Hainan Airlines offered non-stop flights between Toronto and Beijing. China Eastern offered some non-stop trips between Toronto or Vancouver and Shanghai. And Air China had some non-stop flights between Vancouver and Beijing available.
Travel bans and quarantines are an age-old answer to stop the spread of the disease, but it’s exactly what the World Health Organization (WHO) has advised against since the outbreak began. The agency’s general-director, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, called the bans unnecessary and said they fan fear and stigma “with little public health benefit.”
“This is still and foremost an emergency for China,” he said.
Of the more than 64,000 cases, 99 per cent are in China. Of the 1,384 deaths, all but two are inside China.
Banning travel from an affected country is an oversimplified response to a complex situation, said Bogoch, and it “can do more harm than good.”
Bogoch pointed to the 2009 outbreak of H1N1, which became a pandemic. Many countries banned travel from North America, its believed country of origin, despite the WHO saying there was “no rationale” for it.
“At best, it slowed down the spread of infection by two to four weeks. It certainly did not prevent this from turning into an epidemic,” Bogoch said.
The measures also come with huge economic consequences.
One study found that the travel restrictions related to H1N1 contributed to a 40 per cent decline in air travel to and from Mexico but did relatively little to stave off the disease.
While simply stopping flights may, by definition, have the ability to reduce new cases to certain regions, it’s not foolproof, said Jason Kindrachuk, a professor of emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba.
“While there is sustained human-to-human transmission in China, we have not seen this outside of the region. What this suggests is that self-monitoring by passengers coming from these regions has worked quite well,” he said.
During the 2014 West African Ebola outbreak, travel bans actually made stopping the outbreak more difficult. The closed borders pinched a country already ill-equipped to cope with a rapidly spreading disease by “compromising connectivity to the region, mobilization of resources to the affected area and sustained response operations,” according to one study.
“The long-term ramifications of travel bans on both relations and economic tolls may outweigh any potential benefit from a travel ban,” Kindrachuk said. “Now, it’s also a question of how extensive a ban would be needed to even capture all potential cases, considering that there are increasing numbers across Asia at this point.”
With no Canadian travel ban in place and other airlines offering non-stop flights, why would Air Canada opt to keep China-bound flights grounded until March?
Optics play a huge role, Bogoch believes.
“Obviously, to the general public, the optics are favourable when we say we’re not having any more travel to that particular area,” he said.
“People say, ‘Well, this epidemic is existing on the other side of the world. If we simply stop air travel to that part of the world, we won’t import cases.’ It’s just not that simple.”
But the decision by Air Canada — or any of the dozens of international airlines that have chosen to suspend or reduce service to Beijing, Shanghai and, in some cases, Hong Kong — isn’t an overreaction to Ross Aimer, a former pilot and CEO of Aero Consulting Experts. Aimer said passenger demand to visit the countries should be considered, as it’s likely reduced dramatically.
“There are considerations for their own crew’s safety as well,” he said. “That’s become a big issue.”
Ultimately, the efforts to stop the spread lie at the heart of the outbreak, Bogoch said.
“And that’s what happening right now,” he said. “There are significant resources being poured into China and being utilized by China to essentially prevent further transmission of this virus.”
— With files from Reuters
© 2020 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
PORT ALBERNI, B.C. – RCMP say the body of a second person has been found inside their vehicle after a road washed away amid pouring rain on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Police say two vehicles went into the Sarita River when Bamfield Road washed out on Saturday as an atmospheric river hammered southern B.C.
The body of the other driver was found Sunday.
More coming.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
The B.C. Greens say Sonia Furstenau will be staying on as party leader, despite losing her seat in the legislature in Saturday’s provincial election.
The party says in a statement that its two newly elected MLAs, Jeremy Valeriote and Rob Botterell, support Furstenau’s leadership as they “navigate the prospect of having the balance of power in the legislature.”
Neither the NDP led by Premier David Eby nor the B.C. Conservatives led by John Rustad secured a majority in the election, with two recounts set to take place from Oct. 26 to 28.
Eby says in a news conference that while the election outcome is uncertain, it’s “very likely” that the NDP would need the support of others to pass legislation.
He says he reached out to Furstenau on election night to congratulate her on the Greens’ showing.
But he says the Green party has told the NDP they are “not ready yet” for a conversation about a minority government deal.
The Conservatives went from taking less than two per cent of the vote in 2020 to being elected or leading in 45 ridings, two short of a majority and only one behind the NDP.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio is making a difference, 4,175 kilometres away from home.
The 32-year-old Canadian international midfielder, whose parents hail from Colombia, has been working with the Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization, a charity whose goal is to help disadvantaged youth in the South American country.
Osorio has worked behind the scenes, with no fanfare.
Until now, with his benevolence resulting in becoming Toronto FC’s nominee for the Audi Goals Drive Progress Impact Award, which honours an MLS player “who showed outstanding dedication to charitable efforts and serving the community” during the 2024 season.”
Other nominees include Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and CF Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
The winner will be announced in late November.
The Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization (CCCO) is run entirely by volunteers like Monica Figueredo and Claudia Soler. Founded in 1991, it received charitable status in 2005.
The charity currently has four projects on the go: two in Medellin and one each in Armenia and Barranquilla.
They include a school, a home for young girls whose parents are addicted to drugs, after-school and weekend programs for children in a disadvantaged neighbourhood, and nutrition and education help for underprivileged youth.
The organization heard about Osorio and was put in contact with him via an intermediary, which led to a lunch meeting. Osorio did his due diligence and soon got back to the charity with his decision.
“It was something that I wanted to be a part of right away,” said Osorio, whose lone regret is that he didn’t get involved sooner.
“I’m fortunate now that to help more now that I could have back then,” he added. “The timing actually worked out for everybody. For the last three years I have donated to their cause and we’ve built a couple of (football) fields in different cities over there in the schools.”
His father visited one of the sites in Armenia close to his hometown.
“He said it was amazing, the kids, how grateful they are to be able to play on any pitch, really,” said Osorio. “But to be playing on a new pitch, they’re just so grateful and so humble.
“It really makes it worth it being part of this organization.”
The collaboration has also made Osorio take stock.
“We’re very fortunate here in Canada, I think, for the most part. Kids get to go to school and have a roof over their head and things like that. In Colombia, it’s not really the same case. My father and his family grew up in tough conditions, so giving back is like giving back to my father.”
Osorio’s help has been a godsend to the charity.
“We were so surprised with how willing he was,” said Soler.
The TFC skipper has helped pay for a football field in Armenia as well as an ambitious sports complex under construction in Barranquilla.
“It’s been great for them,” Figueredo said of the pitch in Armenia. “Because when they go to school, now they have a proper place to train.”
Osorio has also sent videos encouraging the kids to stay active — as well as shipping soccer balls and signed jerseys their way.
“They know more about Jonathan than the other players in Colombia,” Figueredo said. “That’s the funny part. Even though he’s far away, they’ve connected with him.”
“They feel that they have a future, that they can do more,” she added. “Seeing that was really, really great.”
The kids also followed Osorio through the 2022 World Cup and this summer’s Copa America.
Back home, Osorio has also attended the charity’s annual golf tournament, helping raise funds.
A Toronto native, he has long donated four tickets for every TFC home game to the Hospital for Sick Children.
Vancouver’s Berhalter was nominated for his involvement in the Whitecaps’ partnership with B.C. Children’s Hospital while Montreal’s Sirois was chosen for his work with the Montreal Impact Foundation.
—
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
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