(Ottawa, Montreal) Canadians who would like to spend the Christmas holidays abroad are urged to stay in the country. “I know it sucks,” Justin Trudeau agreed. He considers that the message is strong enough, and that in addition, closing the border to foreigners is “extremely difficult” to control.
The notice to those who dream of sun, beach or family reunion abroad fell on Wednesday afternoon. “To people who are planning to travel, I say very clearly this is not the time to travel,” Federal Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos said at a press conference.
The “lightning spread” of the Omicron variant makes the government fear the worst. That is why it recommends that Canadians avoid all non-essential travel outside the country. The notice will remain in effect for four weeks, after which the situation will be reassessed.
“I know that these measures may seem draconian to many who are listening to us, but we must at all costs avoid further overloading our hospital system and our health workers,” he said.
At the end of the day, Justin Trudeau had these words for the Canadians: “I understand that it sucks”.
But even if “nobody wanted that for the holiday break”, the reality is “that the variant is here in Canada, and that community transmission must be slowed down”, insisted the Prime Minister on the sidelines of an announcement.
Great uncertainty surrounds this new variant which is transmitted much faster than its predecessor, the Delta. A resurgence of COVID-19 cases could increase the number of hospitalizations and thus overwhelm an already stretched health system.
People who choose to cross borders anyway will do so at their own risk.
“Canadians who travel could contract the virus or find themselves stranded abroad in difficult conditions,” Duclos warned. And this time, the government does not intend to charter planes to repatriate them.
The imposition of a quarantine on their return is not excluded. Other measures could be added depending on the evolution of the situation. In the meantime, Ottawa plans to increase tracing capacity at the Canada-US border.
Asked to explain why the Canadian government is not locking the border to foreign travelers, as it did in March 2020, Justin Trudeau argued that “bring travel bans […] is extremely difficult ”, because“ there are always exceptional cases ”.
And since the sinews of war against Omicron is to curb community transmission, it was judged to be better “to leave resources to support the provinces. [dans cette lutte], especially when people certainly intend to get together during the holidays, ”he argued.
Regardless, the news of the day in Ottawa was well received in Quebec. “Any way to ensure that community transmission is reduced as much as possible is a good thing,” reacted Deputy Prime Minister Geneviève Guilbault.
The Omicron variant has been detected in at least 77 countries, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). But in reality, it has probably spread “to most countries”, and “is spreading at an unprecedented rate,” the agency’s managing director, Dr.r Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
To go or not to go?
The Ottawa advisory is revising the plans of travelers, who fear tighter restrictions on their return. Many Quebecers are thinking of canceling their vacation in the sun or their family reunion abroad.
“The variant, yes, scares us, but we are vaccinated with three doses and we respect the rules. What we fear the most are the restrictions on return, ”says Juliane Daoust.
The nursing student and a friend were to fly to Florida on December 28 for a short week. Ottawa’s announcement threw their plan into the water.
“It’s really more of a personal disappointment. We believe that it is necessary for public health, however, we live a lot this pandemic, it is at the heart of our work, and we were really happy to have our little moment of rest ”, laments Juliane, who lends support in Montreal hospitals since the start of the health crisis.
The surge in cases and the notice from Ottawa also restrain Dominique Ceelen and his family, who had planned an all-inclusive vacation in Mexico, in January.
“We are really more [certains] to leave out of respect and to do things right, but also because we don’t want to contract COVID-19 and have to stay there. We are a little afraid of the measures that the government could put in place [d’ici là] », Fears Dominique Ceelen.
According to Professor of Medicine and Director of the Molecular Oncology Research Unit at the Montreal Clinical Research Institute, André Veillette, the federal government’s recommendation was “almost inevitable”.
“With the increase in cases all over the world, including here, [voyages à l’étranger] entail all kinds of complications and risks, ”such as the repatriation of Canadians stranded outside, argues Dr.r Night watch.
He also does not rule out the possibility that border measures will tighten in the coming days, for example, with the obligation of a third dose of vaccine to activate his vaccination passport, which currently allows him to escape a mandatory quarantine. eight days.
“Is this going to happen during the holidays?” It is not impossible. The government is warning people. We know that with Omicron, two doses is not enough, ”he explains.
Hours before Ottawa’s announcement, Dorval Airport was still busy. At the passage of Press, several Quebecers were checking in for a flight to Cayo Coco, Cuba.
If border rules were to change, Cynthia Martin and her little family had already foreseen the blow. “We will use the two weeks of school holidays to do quarantine for [mon garçon] who is not yet vaccinated, ”she explains.
With Fanny Lévesque, Press in Quebec