Serene travelers despite everything

Montreal airport was animated by the presence of many travelers who were preparing to fly to sun destinations on Sunday, despite the resurgence of COVID-19 in Quebec.

Coralie Laplante
Press

Travelers like Sylvie Beaumont, who checked in her luggage in the afternoon, before taking the plane to Las Vegas, in the company of her husband and her son. “We’re going to visit American parks, that’s why we’re less fearful, we’re going to do a lot of outdoors,” she explains.

Several travelers met by Press flew to different American states. This was the case with Barbara Lalonde, who was leaving for the condo she recently acquired in Hallandale, Florida. He is not worried about the progression of the pandemic in the United States. “We are even triple vaccinated,” said the mother.

Instead, Francis Vézina began a three-week journey in the company of his three children. The family were heading to Fort Lauderdale before boarding a cruise ship that will transport them to various countries in the Caribbean. Mr. Vézina is not anxious about the risks of transmission of COVID-19. He would be annoyed, however, if the federal government introduced a 14-day quarantine to travelers before his return. “It would be a bit problematic, but we decided that for now, we don’t care about that. We will see when we get there, ”he says.

Two friends, Yasmina Djabri and Ikram Timimi, have instead made the decision to spend the holidays in Varadero, Cuba. Yasmina was a little worried about the process of leaving the country, but she was able to take her test without a problem. The young woman is not concerned about the likelihood of catching COVID-19 on vacation. “We are vaccinated, suddenly, we are a little serene,” she says. The friends also selected the date of their return to ensure that it would be possible for them to carry out a quarantine before returning to class, if this measure is required.

Christmas with his family

Several people present at Montreal-Trudeau airport on Sunday were preparing to join their families in their country of origin. Clément Boucly and Aristide Denis, who are studying in Quebec, flew to Paris.

Both men are concerned about the spread of the coronavirus in Canada. “It worries us in the sense that there is a risk that the borders will close, but we know that there are so many international students to return [au pays] », Says Clément. “We know that in the worst case, institutions have a remote solution,” he continues, stressing that his student permit is still valid.

Vincent Melet and his two children, Lucas and Éloïse, were also leaving to join their family in France. Regarding the health situation in France: “It’s getting a little worse, but we are vaccinated, the children too. We are not too worried about us, ”said Mr. Melet, visibly serene.

Five days for a return test result

At the end of last November, the federal government announced that all travelers arriving from Canada by air, except those from the United States, will be required to be tested upon arrival in the country. , and be isolated until their result is received.

For Adib * and Leila *, a young couple who wished to testify on condition of anonymity, the process of returning to the country did not go as planned. They landed in Montreal last Monday, and were randomly selected to be tested upon arrival. The Canadian government has not yet revealed when this measure will be systematically deployed.

While the testing company Dynacare had promised them to provide them with their test result within 24 to 48 hours, they had to wait five days to receive it instead.

“What frustrated me was that I was never told that I had to stay home for a week. I made my [test] PCR negative in Mexico, everything was correct, ”says Adib. The couple repeatedly called the company, which justified the delay with the high number of travelers who returned to the country on December 13.

“When we received our result [samedi soir, 18 décembre], it was written [que] the result was ready on December 14, ”adds Leila, who has trouble explaining the delay before receiving her result.

* Fictitious names to protect their identity