Please stay home - avoid non-essential travel to Canada

I agree with Mardan. Now is not the time to travel. We all can postpone travel until we have a better understanding on where this virus is going. I hope we can adopt the slogan “do no harm.”

Agreed. This is the time to hunker, not to travel.

Stay home, hunker down, talk to your family and friends on FaceTime . . . And watch cute puppy videos.

https://www.facebook.com/KentfieldKennelsLabradorRetrievers/videos/2547630998843272/

Thank you, Mardan.
I was thinking the same, but hadn't figured out how to word it yet.
Please: everyone, in every country...just stay in your own country for now.
We absolutely have to " Flatten the Curve" of this pandemic as soon as possible.

No one "needs" a vacation, no matter what anyone thinks.
Stay home.
Garden, read, learn a new language, knit, do some crafts or woodworking, clean out cupboards.
Anything except strain the resources of countries not your own!

Agree with yosemite1, et al. We just cancelled our Europe trip. Disappointing but the right thing to do all around.

I agree 100% and find it difficult to believe others don’t get “ it”! Stay home to protect the the vulnerable and the elderly.

Rick Steves canceled his personal trip to Turkey.

I have to agree with the OP because if we are to truly practice Social Distancing doesn't postponing non essential travel have to part of it?

Mardan,
Thank you for sharing this. I agree. We live in the epicenter (Seattle) and are hunkering down. We too are doing our part to avoid non-essential travel. We have canceled our yearly trip to Maui. It is what it is.

Good health to you and others as well!

Mardan,

Thank you for your articulate post. Thank you also to Janis, yosemite1 and others who have helped on this forum to clearly and courageously communicate some of the issues people should consider when deciding whether travel during the Coronavirus outbreak is a good idea. I agree that staying home at this point is the best option, and I look forward to when we can all travel again. We are all in this together!

Sharon,

Thank so much. Those of us that have been vocal about not traveling have taken some heat from those who wanted to continue traveling.

Here is an excerpt from an article that should serve as a warning to all of us:

"We now know that asymptomatic transmission likely [plays] an important role in spreading this virus," said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
Osterholm added that it's "absolutely clear" that asymptomatic infection "surely can fuel a pandemic like this in a way that's going to make it very difficult to control."

In other words, this virus is being spread, not only by people who have symptoms, but by those who have no symptoms at all. Very scary.

Get the Arts and Culture app and open up the virtual tours to a host of famous museums like d'Orsay in Paris, Uffizi in Florence, the British Museum in London, the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace at Versailles, the Guggenheim in NY, and many others, even a virtual tour of the Opera Garnier in Paris and the Chagall ceiling. We've been to many across Europe but the virtual tours and close ups of the famous art works are almost like being there. And it's a lot cheaper and there's no fears about a virus.

I agree - stay put. Binge watch your favourite series, read a great book - or 10, go for lots of walks/hikes/snowshoe treks. Learn a new skill - lots of youtube videos on "how to..." do almost anything. You might feel you are ok to get sick, but your neighbour, friend, or family member might be a different matter.

I absolutely agree with Marden! Stay home. Personally, I've finally found some time to get back into my sewing room. Social distancing should allow me to get a lot of quilting done. Do the right thing and always look on the bright side!

I wish the official announcements would spell out what "non-essential" travel means. They shouldn't have to, of course, but a lot of people seem to think that weddings, birthdays, the "trip of a lifetime," etc. are "essential." Even funerals are, sadly, not "essential."

I was just mulling this over and remembered that I missed my best friend's wedding, back in California, b/c I was living (by my own choice) overseas. This was the 1980s, and airfare wasn't so cheap as it is now. So – I missed the wedding! An American friend couldn't attend her dad's funeral in Boston, b/c she also couldn't afford it. Huge disappointments, but that's life. We survived.

Thank you for your post, Mardan. Sometimes it's easy to forget that real people live in these appealing destinations, including some who are immunocompromised, pregnant, elderly, etc. and do not WANT our "tourist dollars" at the cost of infection or adding to the burden on their health-care systems.

Thanks Sharon for your support. I PM'd you. Thanks Yosemite1 for being vocal as we work collectively to provide accurate information. Thanks also for sharing the info about asymptomatic cases. It's happening. I shared a Seattle case on another thread. The young woman contracted the virus from someone who was asymptomatic. In fact about 40% that were exposed at a gathering were infected. It's highly contagious. Stay safe.

We are just closing Canadian Borders now to everyone except returning Canadian citizens and , for now, US citizens.

Thanks SJ and everyone for your support. I've added an Edit at the bottom of my original post with a link to the Government of Canada news release (below) regarding changes which come into effect on Wednesday, 18 March 2020.

https://www.canada.ca/en/transport-canada/news/2020/03/new-measures-for-covid-19-response.html

Be well at home everyone!

and , for now, US citizens.

I wonder how long that will last. My guess is a week, tops.

The US-Canada border closes to all non-essential travel i.e. recreation, tourism, and cross-border shopping for at least 30 days.

“Travellers will no longer be permitted to cross the border for recreation and tourism,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who finalized the agreement in a phone call earlier in the day with President Donald Trump. (Wednesday 18 March 2020)

I wonder how long that will last. My guess is a week, tops.

It seems a week is now just two days in Pandemic Time.

Waiting for the airlines to cancel flights to Canada. Delta hasn’t canceled our flights or even earlier flights between LGA and YUL.

"Waiting for the airlines to cancel flights to Canada. Delta hasn’t canceled our flights or even earlier flights between LGA and YUL."

Delta is still flying to Canada, AFAIK. The problem, if you aren't a Canadian citizen, or legal resident, or if you aren't travelling for essential business, is that you aren't permitted to enter the country at this time. And if you are permitted entry, you MUST self isolate for 14 days starting the moment you leave the airport.

So the airlines may not cancel the flights, but you may need to cancel your booking.