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Travel during the continuing PANDEMIC


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Bit of a drift here, but I was watching a hockey game the other night between Boston and Washington. There were 12,000 fans in attendance, and it looked to me like most people in the crowd were masked. I was surprised!

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Feds Say There’s No ‘Specific Date’ Planned For Restarting Travel In Canada
Helena Hanson  3 hrs ago

Federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra has revealed that there is no specific date set for travel restrictions in Canada to end.

Speaking during a virtual news conference on May 23, the federal minister confirmed that restarting international in and out of Canada will depend on expert advice and "data and evidence."
"These decisions will depend on public health... data and evidence. At this moment I can't give you a specific date," Alghabra explained, per CTV News.

"We're going to have all of these measures and all of these thresholds outlined in detail when we feel it's time to do so," he added.

The transport minister said Canada's travel and aviation industries will restart "when it's safe," but provided no further details related to when this could happen.

This came just days after the European Union announced it would allow fully-vaccinated travellers to visit, although it's not clear yet when Canadians will be able to enter.

Shortly after, Canada's largest airlines called on the federal government to announce an official plan to restart international travel.

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Bahamas travel health visa requires that you upload proof of vaccination or a time-stamped negative pcr test result. Some countries are working to facilitate movement of both goods and people.

There are distinctions within the Bahamas between islands/communities. As of now, Great Harbour in the Berries is under lockdown; Andros under caution but Exumas restriction-free.

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U.S. Cruise Ships One Step Closer to Returning to Alaska
Alison Fox  2 hrs ago

Alaska summer cruises are one step closer to reality after President Joe Biden signed the Alaska Tourism Restoration Act into law on Monday, allowing ships to bypass Canada as they travel to the state.

"Today, I signed the Alaska Tourism Restoration Act into law," Biden tweeted Monday evening. "Tourism is vital to the state of Alaska — and this law will help revitalize the industry and support Alaskans by allowing large cruise ships to return to the state this summer."

The new law, which nullified a century-old law that required large foreign-flagged ships to first stop in Canada, will allow cruises to eventually sail from the mainland U.S. directly to Alaska. The law became a priority after Canada extended its ban on cruise ships until at least next year.

The bill was first introduced in March by Alaska Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, and passed by the Senate on May 13 before being passed by the House on May 20.

"For over a year and a half many Alaskan communities who rely solely on tourism have been completely cut off from business due to COVID-19 restrictions. The Alaska Delegation has worked for months to try to find opportunities to provide a safe path forward for Alaskans—to help salvage what is left of the 2021 tourism season," Murkowski said in a statement on Monday. "Together, with the support of so many Alaskans, there is now a light at the end of a long, dark tunnel."

Now, cruise lines are just waiting on CDC approval.
In anticipation of the law being signed, several cruise lines announced plans to sail from ports like Seattle directly to Alaska this summer, including Princess Cruises, Holland America, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Royal Caribbean.

While cruise lines are preparing to sail to The Last Frontier as soon as July, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not yet approved the restart of cruises in the United States. The agency, which has said it hopes to resume sailings by mid-July, will require cruise lines to complete test sailings unless 98% of crew and 95% of passengers are fully vaccinated.

Those test sailings will likely start soon. Royal Caribbean, for example, submitted its initial plans for test sailings to the CDC for approval on Friday.

Alison Fox is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure. When she's not in New York City, she likes to spend her time at the beach or exploring new destinations and hopes to visit every country in the world. Follow her adventures on Instagram.m.

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Get Vaccinated, have fun...

https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/25/business/plane-ticket-airlines-airfare/index.html

Planes are filling up and tickets are very expensive

New York (CNN Business)Americans making summer vacation plans are about to find airfare costs are near or even above pre-pandemic levels, according to the nation's major airlines.

Executives from most of the major carriers said the recovery in domestic leisure travel is already here. That means yields, which measure how much passengers pay for every mile traveled, are up more than the airlines had been forecasting.
"Domestic leisure [travel] will be 100% restored by June, with ... bookings ahead of 2019 levels and yields essentially recovered," said Glen Hauenstein, president of Delta Air Lines (DAL), speaking at the Wolfe Research conference.
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EXPLAINER: How vaccine passports for global travel will work

 

LONDON (AP) — Boarding pass, suitcase, passport and ... digital vaccination certificate?

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Keen to avoid losing another summer of holiday revenue to the coronavirus pandemic, the European Union, some Asian governments and the airline industry are scrambling to develop so-called COVID-19 vaccine passports to help kickstart international travel.

They're working on systems that would allow travelers to use mobile phone apps to prove they've been vaccinated, which could help them avoid onerous quarantine requirements at their destinations.

But the multiple efforts underscore the lack of one central international system to electronically verify vaccination status. The projects also face technical challenges in working together, while questions about privacy and vaccine inequality linger.

Vaccination passports would add another digital layer to the multitude of existing coronavirus health and contact tracing apps many countries and U.S. states have rolled out. Their use domestically to reopen local economies has been hotly debated, with many opposed to requiring them for pubs, concerts and sporting events. However, there's more momentum to use them for international travel, especially as countries like Iceland open their borders to vaccinated visitors and others like Saudi Arabia start allowing vaccinated citizens to travel abroad. The EU's decision last week to open its borders to fully vaccinated travelers adds even more urgency.

Here's a look at how vaccine passports work:

OFFICIAL EFFORTS

The first part of a vaccination passport is the user's official or approved electronic immunization record.

The European Union, China and Japan are all working on their own digital vaccination certificates for cross-border travel. The U.K., meanwhile, updated its National Health Service app last week to let fully vaccinated users prove their status when traveling abroad, coinciding with an easing of travel rules.

Testing is under way for the EU's digital certificate, which will also confirm COVID-19 test results or recovery from the virus and is set to go live by the end of June, allowing residents to reunite with friends and relatives living across 30 European countries. It’s still unclear where and how exactly travelers in the EU, which doesn’t have internal border checkpoints, will have their certificates checked. Officials in Brussels say that will be up to individual countries. The idea is that travelers will flash a QR code on their phones so it can be scanned at, say, an airport or train station, using an official verification app that checks with national databases, via an EU technical “gateway.”

The World Health Organization doesn’t recommend vaccination proof as a requirement for international travel, citing unequal distribution of vaccines, even as it consults on interim guidance for developing a “Smart Vaccination Certificate.”

TRAVEL APPS

Travelers also need a smartphone app to carry any eventual official vaccination certificates.

The EU's project includes open source technology European countries can use to build their own official mobile wallets.

The International Air Transport Association, an airline industry group, has its smartphone IATA Travel Pass, which airlines including Qantas, Japan Airlines, Emirates, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have signed up to. A rival effort, the nonprofit CommonPass, has gained traction with carriers like Cathay Pacific, JetBlue, United and Lufthansa.

Travelers can already use the apps to verify that their COVID-19 test results are accepted at their destination. Travel Pass and CommonPass are so far only available to travelers on airlines that are using them. Both can also be integrated into airline travel apps so users can verify their vaccine status when they check in online. Both are also expected to work with the EU certificates. CommonPass says users will be able to import vaccine credentials by mid-June.

Amid a pandemic-dimmed travel outlook, CommonPass CEO Paul Meyer said vaccine passports will only become more widespread. “Our expectation is it will remain a requirement for international travel."

WHAT TRAVELERS WANT

Business travelers like British public relations executive Richard Fogg welcome vaccine passports. Fogg's firm scaled back plans to attend a major telecom trade show in Barcelona next month, given quarantine rules for people returning to the U.K.

“Those 10 days of quarantine will have negative business implications – there’s no way around it,” Fogg said, while acknowledging tradeoffs including concerns about data privacy.

Eymeric Segard, CEO of Geneva-based private jet broker Lunajets, noted travelers already hand over passports with personal data on arrival.

“Personally, you know, I would be happy to tell anybody, yes, I am vaccinated or no I’m not vaccinated," he said, adding that vaccine passports would help avoid the “logistical nightmare" of multiple COVID-19 tests Europeans face when visiting other EU countries.

WHAT ABOUT FAKES?

Phony paper COVID-19 document s sold by fraudsters have been a problem during the pandemic but developers say digital versions have safeguards that make them hard to fake.

IATA says it doesn’t verify test results or vaccination status but acts as the conduit for registered labs to securely send those details to travelers whose identity the app can match to the person who took the test or vaccination. The app scans a traveler's face using the phone camera and matches it to passport biometric details, and there are checks to prevent someone else using their identity.

SECURITY AND PRIVACY

Vaccination passports are a polarizing topic, with online discussion highlighting unfounded fears that they’ll be used to control people, restrict freedom and erode privacy. Developers stress that minimal personal data is kept on phones, and the only thing that gets transmitted are encryption keys allowing information to be exchanged securely.

“If done correctly, this doesn’t bring an additional level of privacy risk because you’re just putting in a credential status of yes or no,” said Kevin Trilli, chief product officer at ID verification company Onfido, which is working on vaccination cards technology.

There's also the question of how well various vaccine credential systems will work together and whether countries will recognize each others' certificates. The U.K. government has warned that not many countries currently accept proof of vaccination from travelers.

“You can’t have an interoperable system on day zero,” but over time the kinks will be worked out, which helps lay the groundwork for the next pandemic, Trilli said.

What about people who don’t have smartphones? Or families that don't have a device for each member? IATA and EU officials say they're are working on solutions, including paper-based options.

___

For all of AP’s tech coverage, visit https://apnews.com/apf-technology

___

 

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Hi conehead;

As you'd know already, Canada's "Dept. of National Health and Welfare" answered something like this question a long time ago in their issuance of the "International Certificates of Vaccination" document. That document was on par with the passport when travelling in places in which vaccination was required for entry. One of the aspects about globalization, travel and pandemics is, the time has come to assure one is both a "citizen-of..." and one has taken measures to be, and remain healthy in terms of communicable disease. The privacy issues arise out of economic concerns, (health insurance coverage, job applications, etc. Are we still required to have a blood test before marriage?).

The harsh, blunt reality of the COVID-19 pandemic and high levels of vaccination-hesitancy wherever they may be, is, if all COVID-19 vaccines continue to live up to their initial statistically-established protection/prevention numbers including protection against variants, then the only people who need to worry about serious illness, hospitalization, being on ventilators or their death are those not vaccinated. The rest are protected and essentially can go about their business. I think this notion is at the heart of the American decision regarding masks.

For those concerned about the risk posed by the Astrazenica vaccine, I think a good, realistic response is statistical and is all about "the denominator" in the equation, and not about the question, "should I or not?" get vaccinated. By this I mean, if we take a look at the number of deaths by blood clots in a population, (the numerator) and the population who have had this vaccine, then the numbers are very tiny indeed although, admittedly, not for that one person for whom statistics are no longer relevant, but such odds, such chances are far more likely outside of this vaccination.

Given the numbers today and without intending to be unkind or step on others' "freedoms", I see the decision to vax or not as "Why wouldn't we?" We live in a world completely, ultimately informed by probabilities and we are very good at that science, although by its very nature, there is no such thing as an accurate prediction!

Many years ago, when pondering the question of whether we could use flight data analysis to "predict" an accident, (privacy issues again), I used the term "stochastic", not to be fancy or obscure but to use a notion that I thought useful in understanding decision-making which is what most human behaviour is about, (the other being the "trying to convince others that one is right" ! ).

The term is "stochastic". It comes from "stocha" or "to shoot with a bow at a target". Those who play darts also already know what that means...it's a set of random events but with a "preferred" outcome, "center of the board or target! 

So, with COVID-19, no matter what they publicly broadcast, we really don't know whether people are vaccinated or if they are infected or not.

But for vaccinated people, the "stochastic process" is immediately altered in favour of the vaccinee, no matter which vaccine one has had, and any "proof" is merely an administrivial backup to the constant reality, mostly for the hesitant, of whether one will get COVID or not and if so, whether one will get seriously ill or worse, or just endure mild flu symptoms for a bit.

The book "Thinking Fast and Slow", (Kahneman) is well worth taking a look at.

 

Edited by Don Hudson
add book title
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Good questions....Trudeau said that proof of vaccination was "problematic" several weeks ago...but apparently has flip-flopped on this when he realized it was going to happen anyway...

I was vaccinated in late Dec and mid-January...took my Vaccination booklet and the guy looked at me like I had horns...said they weren't going to fill out those booklets....they handed out a paper receipt of the vaccinations....and emailed one

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2 hours ago, Don Hudson said:

Hi conehead;

As you'd know already, Canada's "Dept. of National Health and Welfare" answered something like this question a long time ago in their issuance of the "International Certificates of Vaccination" document. That document was on par with the passport when travelling in places in which vaccination was required for entry. One of the aspects about globalization, travel and pandemics is, the time has come to assure one is both a "citizen-of..." and one has taken measures to be, and remain healthy in terms of communicable disease. The privacy issues arise out of economic concerns, (health insurance coverage, job applications, etc. Are we still required to have a blood test before marriage?).

The harsh, blunt reality of the COVID-19 pandemic and high levels of vaccination-hesitancy wherever they may be, is, if all COVID-19 vaccines continue to live up to their initial statistically-established protection/prevention numbers including protection against variants, then the only people who need to worry about serious illness, hospitalization, being on ventilators or their death are those not vaccinated. The rest are protected and essentially can go about their business. I think this notion is at the heart of the American decision regarding masks.

For those concerned about the risk posed by the Astrazenica vaccine, I think a good, realistic response is statistical and is all about "the denominator" in the equation, and not about the question, "should I or not?" get vaccinated. By this I mean, if we take a look at the number of deaths by blood clots in a population, (the numerator) and the population who have had this vaccine, then the numbers are very tiny indeed although, admittedly, not for that one person for whom statistics are no longer relevant, but such odds, such chances are far more likely outside of this vaccination.

Given the numbers today and without intending to be unkind or step on others' "freedoms", I see the decision to vax or not as "Why wouldn't we?" We live in a world completely, ultimately informed by probabilities and we are very good at that science, although by its very nature, there is no such thing as an accurate prediction!

Many years ago, when pondering the question of whether we could use flight data analysis to "predict" an accident, (privacy issues again), I used the term "stochastic", not to be fancy or obscure but to use a notion that I thought useful in understanding decision-making which is what most human behaviour is about, (the other being the "trying to convince others that one is right" ! ).

The term is "stochastic". It comes from "stocha" or "to shoot with a bow at a target". Those who play darts also already know what that means...it's a set of random events but with a "preferred" outcome, "center of the board or target! 

So, with COVID-19, no matter what they publicly broadcast, we really don't know whether people are vaccinated or if they are infected or not.

But for vaccinated people, the "stochastic process" is immediately altered in favour of the vaccinee, no matter which vaccine one has had, and any "proof" is merely an administrivial backup to the constant reality, mostly for the hesitant, of whether one will get COVID or not and if so, whether one will get seriously ill or worse, or just endure mild flu symptoms for a bit.

The book "Thinking Fast and Slow", (Kahneman) is well worth taking a look at.

 

Thanks for your reply Don. I am in complete agreement with you regarding vaccinations; I have received my first dose, and I eagerly await the second one. However, my question is more towards whether Canada will implement some sort of electronic proof of vaccination that will be acceptable for admittance to another country, such as Britain or the E.U.  I would like the freedom to travel again.

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We are also awaiting our 2nd jab - we are hoping for June.

Australia, with which I'm somewhat familiar, is planning on digital entry documents which will include a declaration of vaccination. Working out a system shouldn't be a problem and shouldn't take a lot of time, using Passport or NEXUS technologies and records.

Melbourne is in a 7-day, local lockdown to deal with 26 COVID-19 cases plus 11 new overnight COVID-19 cases making a total of 34, (not sure where the 3 cases went!), for the state of Victoria. Australia is serious about controlling COVID-19 even as they struggle with vaccine availability.

Here are the restrictions:

Quote

 

The Victorian government has announced a seven-day lockdown today in a bid to curb the state's growing coronavirus outbreak.

Key points:

  • The seven-day lockdown will start at midnight and apply to the whole state
  • Victorians will only be allowed to leave their homes for five reasons
  • Ten thousand primary and secondary contacts have been linked to the cases

The state's outbreak has now reached 26 cases, with 11 new cases recorded overnight.

One of the cases is now in intensive care in hospital and on a ventilator.

Health Minister Martin Foley said the person in ICU was "an elderly person" who was among the earlier cases in the outbreak.

"We send our best wishes to that family and we send our prayers for a quick recovery," he said.

"My understanding is that just in recent days we've passed over 50 per cent of over-70-year-olds being vaccinated. Sadly this was not one of those 50 per cent."

Acting Premier James Merlino said contact tracers had identified 10,000 primary and secondary contacts linked to the outbreak.

The circuit-breaker lockdown will be in place until 11:59pm on June 3.

Mr Merlino said there would be only five reasons people would be allowed to leave their homes:

  • Food and supplies
  • Authorised work
  • Care and caregiving
  • Exercise for up to two hours with one other person
  • Getting vaccinated

Schools will close for the duration of the lockdown, but childcare and kindergartens will be open.

Cafes and restaurants can offer take-away only, and public and private gatherings will not be allowed.

People will have to restrict their exercise and shopping to within 5 kilometres of their homes, and masks must be worn everywhere outside of the home unless a person has an exemption.

No visitors will be allowed other than intimate partners.

A full list of the restrictions can be found on the government's website.

Concern that virus strain could become 'uncontrollable'

Mr Merlino said the virus was spreading at an alarming rate, prompting the lockdown.

"In the last day, we've seen more evidence that we're dealing with a highly infectious strain of the virus, a variant of concern which is running faster than we have ever recorded," he said.

"The time between catching the virus and passing it on is tighter than ever so for some of those cases I've mentioned … the serial interval, that is, how long it takes between the onset of symptoms in the first and secondary case, is averaging just over a day.

"So unless something drastic happens, this will becoming increasingly uncontrollable."

Victoria's Chief Health Officer, Brett Sutton, said it was "very reassuring" that all of the newly-diagnosed cases are linked.

"We know where transmission occurred," he said.

"There's the workplace that's been identified and all of the others are the related households and casual links for the City of Whittlesea outbreak.

"So that's very reassuring, that's great work again of contact tracing, but it's also about people giving very detailed information about where they've been so that we can make those links appropriately."

 

 

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I use a password vault app called Secure Safe. They’ve already added a feature which allows the user to access a scan of their vaccination record from the home screen. I think we’ll see more such things in the near future. I’d bet Apple is already trying to add it to their Health app.

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Covid: France bans non-essential travel from UK

Published
40 minutes ago
 
 
IMAGE COPYRIGHTREUTERS
image captionFrance has lifted more coronavirus restrictions in recent weeks

France has become the latest European country to introduce restrictions on UK tourists due to the spread of the Indian coronavirus variant.

The French government has announced that from 31 May only essential travel from the UK will be allowed. A week's self-isolation is also required.

Germany imposed a two-week quarantine on UK arrivals last week. Austria has banned direct UK flights from 1 June.

By last week, the UK had recorded 3,424 cases of the B.1.617.2 variant.

That number had risen by 2,111 cases from the previous week.

England's chief medical officer, Prof Chris Whitty, has said the Indian variant is "more transmittable" than the UK variant first identified in Kent, which was responsible for the UK's deadly wave of coronavirus infections this winter.

 

"We expect, over time, this variant to overtake and come to dominate in the UK," he said.

However, a study earlier this week found that two injections of the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccines offered a similar level of protection against symptomatic disease from the Indian variant as from the Kent one. But protection after a first dose was lower in the Indian variant compared with the Kent variant, with 33% and 50% effectiveness respectively.

France, Germany and Austria are all on England's "amber" list, meaning that the government advises against travel there and passengers must quarantine upon return.

However, France had planned to allow fully vaccinated travellers from the UK - or those who had tested negative - to visit from 9 June, when travel restrictions around the EU are set to be eased. The decision to allow only essential travel, for example for bereavement or childcare, from 31 May is a setback to anyone in the UK who had planned to go on holiday in France.

UK travellers to France are already required to self-isolate in a designated hotel for seven days, but tighter quarantine restrictions, such as proof of quarantine location and possible police checks, will not be imposed.

Spain, another amber country, has already reopened to UK tourists.

 

Last week, the EU agreed on a pass to allow travel across the bloc's 27 countries for all those who have been fully vaccinated with an approved vaccine, recently tested negative or recovered from an infection. It is expected to launch by July.

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Expert panel recommends Liberal government end COVID-19 quarantine hotel stay
OTTAWA — Canada's requirement for air travellers to quarantine for up to three days at a hotel is an expensive, inconsistent policy that contains loopholes and should be ditched, says a new report from a government advisory panel. 
The experts, mainly doctors, are tasked with providing guidance to Health Minister Patty Hajdu on testing and screening measures for COVID-19. 
Its latest report focuses on Canada's land and border measures, as well as what rules should be in place for vaccinated travellers, including that those who are fully immunized shouldn't have to quarantine at all. 
While it says Canada should continue screening positive cases from international travellers for more transmissible variants, it should discontinue its policy of making air travellers stay in "government-authorized accommodations."
It recommends any changes to border measures happen in phases and factor in how the country is fighting a third and, in some ways, the most serious wave of the pandemic. 
When it comes to the policy itself, it notes making those arriving by air stay at a hotel for up to the first three days of their 14-day quarantine has likely improved compliance. But it details several issues with the policy.
First, it says, some travellers are choosing to pay the fine of up to $3,000 for skipping out on their mandatory hotel stay and possibly not quarantining at all. 
Besides the burden of forcing travellers to book and pay for a three-night stay at a government-approved hotel, the report says "there are significant administrative costs and resources devoted to managing hotel quarantine," which could be used elsewhere to respond to the pandemic. 
The experts say because only people flying into Canada have to quarantine at a hotel, some people are detouring to a United States airport and entering into the country through a land border where no such rule exists. 
And finally, the panel said the three-day requirement doesn't match up with the science around the incubation period of COVID-19. 
"Recent research also indicates that specific supports related to financial support, temporary accommodation if necessary, clear communication, effective contact tracing and routine monitoring would help to increase compliance (as opposed to enforcing a specific quarantine location)," the report said.
The panel experts say the government should still see that travellers needing to quarantine who don't have a plan be required to stay in designated quarantine facilities.
The panel's criticisms have been the same questions Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his ministers have faced for months since the rule was brought into effect earlier this year. 
They have repeatedly defended the country's border measures as effective and necessary to fight the spread of the virus. 
Asked earlier in the day about the hotel quarantine policy, Trudeau didn't say when it may end, given that more Canadians and other travellers are getting vaccinated against COVID-19.
"The Government of Canada will continue to monitor and review all available data and scientific evidence to inform future border and travel measures, and will be prudent in its approach, keeping the health and safety of Canadians top of mind," reads a joint statement by Hajdu and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair, following the report's release.
"The Government of Canada will also consider the panel's recommendations to determine how testing and quarantine strategies should evolve to address vaccination status."
The report says travellers who have received one of their two shots should have to provide proof, get tested for COVID-19 72 hours before their arrival and then upon entering Canada. They should then quarantine at home until they receive their negative test. 
The experts say fully vaccinated travellers should also show proof, but not be tested before their departure and should only undergo one upon arrival "for surveillance purposes."
"Self-monitoring for symptoms and no quarantine required unless the on-arrival PCR test confirms a positive result," they say.
Their report says unvaccinated travellers who are not deemed to be essential workers should take a test before their departure and on arrival. They should then take another test seven days into their quarantine and "then leave upon receipt of a negative test." 
If people who haven't been vaccinated don't take the test midway through their quarantine, they should be forced to stay in it for the full 14-days.
"The panel also acknowledges that there will be a number of considerations regarding vaccine 'certification,'" the report says. 
"A system to validate proof of vaccination for arriving travellers should be made available as soon as possible."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2021.
Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press

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Quote

 

Quote

Is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau going to break his own advice to avoid travelling internationally in order to attend the June 11-13 G7 Leaders' Summit in-person? Yes, according to U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's office, while stay tuned is the message from the Prime Minister's Office.

Justin and his entourage  be subject to the mandatory hotel stay, the various tests and of course the quarantine after leaving the hotel?

or was this report prepared so he can avoid doing so?
 
Federal advisory panel recommends end to hotel quarantine in Canada
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21 hours ago, Kargokings said:

The experts, mainly doctors, are tasked with providing guidance to Health Minister Patty Hajdu

is that so that she can colour up a nice poster?

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2 hours ago, Kip Powick said:

Not sure..... but I believe that female has been banned for life on all airlines in USA

And sure she should but worldwide and with any luck at all facing criminal charges along with civil  charges

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Southwest Airlines pauses plans to resume alcohol service after flight attendant assaulted

Leslie Josephs  1 hour agoiSouthwest Airlines says it's delaying a planned return of alcohol sales on board.
  • The decision comes after one of its flight attendants was assaulted on board.
  • The FAA this week said incidents, some of them violent, against flight attendants have surged this year, even though passenger numbers are below normal levels.

Southwest Airlines said it is delaying plans to resume serving alcoholic beverages, after one of its flight attendants was assaulted and the industry grapples with a surge of other passenger incidents on board.

A Southwest flight attendant suffered injuries to her face and lost two teeth after she was assaulted by a passenger, according to a May 24 letter from Southwest flight attendants' union president Lyn Montgomery to CEO Gary Kelly. Between April 8 to May 15, there were 477 passenger misconduct incidents on Southwest flights, Montgomery wrote.

Airlines have been slowly bringing back some meal snack and beverage service that they had paused early in the pandemic.

Dallas-based Southwest had planned to resume alcohol sales in June for Hawaii flights, and in July for longer domestic flights in the continental United States. A Southwest spokesman said there is currently "no timetable" for the alcohol sales to resume.

"As alcohol sales are added back into this already volatile environment, you can surely understand our concern," Montgomery wrote in the letter.

On Monday, a day after the incident on board the Sacramento to San Diego flight, the Federal Aviation Administration said it has received approximately 2,500 reports of unruly passenger behavior this year, approximately 1,900 of those cases involving travelers who refused to follow the federal mask mandate during air travel.

The Biden administration still requires that people wear face masks on planes, at the airport, and on buses and trains through Sept. 13, though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has loosened guidelines for vaccinated individuals in other settings.

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Instead of getting rid of a dumb procedure that has not worked, Justin is doubling down .

Starting tomorrow, international air passengers who decline to take their required COVID-19 tests or who refuse to check into a quarantine hotel could be hit with a $5,000 fine — a $2,000 increase from the current fine. On Feb. 22, the federal government said air passengers entering Canada must take a COVID-19 test upon arrival and spend up to three days of their 14-day quarantine at a government-approved hotel to wait for their test results. Passengers must foot the bill for their stay, which can cost up to $2,000. The fine increase follows a government advisory panel report issued last week that said Ottawa should scrap the hotel quarantine requirement and instead let people arrange their own quarantine. The panel said the hotel quarantine is flawed for a number of reasons, including that some travellers are choosing instead to pay the current fine of up to $3,000. Read more about the rule change here.

 

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On 5/26/2021 at 4:48 PM, Kargokings said:

What ever Trudeau thinks will win him votes.  ?

Not your usual helpful answer. Canada is working with IATA and ICAO on folding Canada into one or more of the international systems under development. Talks are rather intensive. 

Here is some helpful background on how the Brits are handling the situation right now, without passes. Obviously, this is an interim process, but it dispenses with outright flight bans.

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/portugal-moved-to-amber-list-to-guard-public-health-against-variants-of-concern-following-first-traffic-light-review?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_source=101eebf5-6928-45f1-a2d2-7ca9879d0846&utm_content=immediately

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