Canada Border Still closed

[rucos]

There will alway be people looking for loopholes. It's just human nature. The scary thing that a lot of people are missing (in my opinion) is the S--T is really going to hit the fan over the next 6 weeks with American thanksgiving and then Xmas people getting together. Several airlines here are offering $200,000 covid coverage...... that amount of money in a USA hospital intensive care will disappear in a moment. Maybe in Mexico it will work.
Also what do you do when you are in another country and sick and want to come home?? Lets say the hospitals are full (extremely likely in many places)...the airlines won't take you home as you've tested positive..... the Government isnt going to repatriate you again!
It will be a very scary situation....... you either live or die!
Im very concerned for some of my friends who have made the decision to head south this year..... I would say its only about 1 person in 20 that I know who have headed south against government and medical advise. Most of the rest of us are just grumling and hunkering down for the winter and looking forward to returning south next fall.
Stay Safe everyone.

[AldeanFan]

It’s not just crossing the border and getting sick in a foreign country that we should be concerned with.
We should also stay put to avoid spreading more than necessary.

Toronto is in lockdown and as a result some people from Toronto are travelling to other areas of the province to shop and eat. This raises the risk of infection in those other areas.

We were hoping to travel more in 2021 but our prime minister says Canadians can expect to be vaccinated by September. As an accountant who can work from home I’m sure I’m way down the list of priorities and I don’t mind that. But I don’t expect we’ll be travelling very far from home even next summer.

[AKmtnpilot]

I live in northeast Pennsylvania on the NY/PA border. My house is on the side of a hill overlooking I-81. Every year we watch the hundreds of RV's traveling south. The next exit south of us is a FlyingJ which is normally jammed with RV's overnighting. This year we have seen very very few Rv's on the Interstate and almost no overnighters in the FlyingJ. While the people from Quebec could be using I-95, they normally use I-81 rather that have to go thru New York City, New Jersey, Baltimore and Washington DC. We have seen a few car carriers southbound with a load of cars with Quebec plates but only a few. I have a cabin on the Rideau canal in Ontario that I haven't seen in a year. It just may be up for sale come spring.

[Hi OH Silver]

Maybe it will open soon

[kscherzi]

California recently closed the entire Anza Borrego complex, a popular desert destination for snow birds this time of year. No developed or primitive camping allowed. Heard that Death Valley is also closed, and probably all the other State and National Parks in the desert.

The Covid seven day moving average in California is rising like a rocket. Highest its ever been, and getting higher. Glad I have a nice home where I can stay safe with my wife and dog until this passes. Trailer parked in storage.

[Lily&Me]

There was so much abuse of federal lands out west earlier this year, that may well be the reason for the closures.

Litter, garbage and vandalism were pretty widespread, as I recall, and there also may not be adequate staffing to manage them.

When I was in Wyoming and South Dakota last summer, there were sections of federal campgrounds closed because there weren’t enough staff.

It’s a mess, but this time next year we will hopefully be in a completely different situation.

Maggie

[aftermath]

Originally Posted by drbrick

... Most of us look at the restrictions as a civic duty to protect others - stay home, wear mask in public, wash your hands. ... Keep praying for the world.

And this is why our good neighbors to the north are doing a much better job managing this terrible virus. The US has about 4% of the worlds population and, as many like to say, the best medical system in the world. And yet, with only 4% of the population we have over 19% of the deaths world wide. Candad, on the other hand has about .8% of the population with only .05% of the deaths. Hmmmm, why such a discrepency?

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by aftermath

.... And yet, with only 4% of the population we have over 19% of the deaths world wide. ....

Many countries report neither infection rates nor deaths with any degree of accuracy, but the truth starts to peek out in the seroprevalence measurements that are a natural prerequisite for vaccine prioritization, because it makes less sense to vaccinate people who have already been infected - that horse has left the barn.

For example, parts of both Brazil and India appear to have reached pre-vaccination herd immunity, with Brazil showing an estimated 66% and India showing 75%.

Of course there are massively more deaths in many countries than are being reported - there had to have been, for seroprevalence to have reached those levels.

Why does the distinction matter for the topic of the U.S. - Canada border? Why is it predictive?

Because America's seroprevalence rate is comparably low - only about 10% on average, which means that they cannot apportion the vaccines based on existing natural immunity because our historical infection numbers are too low to make a segregation effort worthwhile.

Which means that it's going to take a longer period of time to vaccinate the American population.

Which means that the border is likely to stay closed for a correspondingly longer period.

[waninae39]

With Canada-U.S. border closed, snowbirds pack B.C. campsites to wait out winter instaed on heading S of the border

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...s-bc-1.5854433
The Canadian Camping and RV Council said at least 50,000 full-time users of recreational vehicles who usually spend their winters in the United States had to find a site north of the border.

[OTRA15]

Please see recent posts on this new thread about the possibility of bypassing the border by taking a ferry from the state of Washington directly to Alaska:

https://www.airforums.com/forums/f42...-a-212797.html

[AldeanFan]

Sadly Ontario is in lockdown starting yesterday.
We’ve been told to expect vaccinations for all Canadians by September. So I don’t expect I’ll be crossing the border anytime soon

[Bill M.]

We miss our many Canadian friends this winter. Wish things were different. We have not made our "snowbird" migration yet but for other reasons than covid. Hopefully in a couple of weeks.

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by OTRA15

Please see recent posts on this new thread about the possibility of bypassing the border by taking a ferry from the state of Washington directly to Alaska:

https://www.airforums.com/forums/f42...-a-212797.html

FYI current info has been posted on that thread. The cost might be worthwhile, depending on "Bucket List" priorities IMO.

[Flathead1984]

It has been a bummer, that is for sure. We very much miss our Canadian friends. I am optimistic of a spring opening, so I have made appointments in Ontario for May. We are having work at CanAmRV in London. Fortunately for us, we traveled in our AS for about 2 months this fall arriving in Florida November 1. Today it is close to 20c and perfect sunshine. Wish I could send it north.
A few Canadians showed up in the past 2 weeks. They shipped their cars to Florida and flew on Air Canada to Orlando. It can be done if you have the $$$.

[Julie-Bob]

This is the latest

The U.S.-Canada border closure to non-essential travel has been extended into 2021 and and is now scheduled to expire Jan. 21, according to tweets from both sides of the border Friday morning, Dec. 11.

[AldeanFan]

I believe they can only close it 30 days at a time, so they renew it each month.
I’ve talked to a lot of people who think the border will automatically open when the current 30 days expire, but I believe it’s more likely they will just renew the closure again.

We’re still setting new case and death records here in Ontario, even though we’ve been in lockdown for a week. I don’t expect the border to open soon.

[OTRA15]

The possibility -- of most international borders remaining closed until at least summer -- should not be taken lightly IMO.



PS -- Folks interested in going to Alaska might want to consider going the long way around?

[click on orange arrow to go to this other thread]

Originally Posted by OTRA15

Please see recent posts on this new thread about the possibility of bypassing the border by taking a ferry from the state of Washington directly to Alaska:

https://www.airforums.com/forums/f42...-a-212797.html

[jcl]

Originally Posted by OTRA15

The possibility -- of most international borders remaining closed until at least summer -- should not be taken lightly IMO.

PS -- Folks interested in going to Alaska might want to consider going the long way around?

[click on orange arrow to go to this other thread]

I would be surprised to see it opened by summer. There is no appetite here for a reopening to non essential travel.

There are certainly other ways to get to (and back from) Alaska from the lower 48, and it is possible to take a ferry from Bellingham, but I always understood that the reason to go was to experience the length of the highway. That is why we went. Arriving in Anchorage without having driven the highway would be anticlimactic IMO.

[mefly2]

It would seem odd with most of Europe closed down due to the latest iteration of the virus and skyrocketing cases of covid ... that the border would be fully open any time soon ...

[Gearheart]

Here in Ontario we’re in full lockdown. No unnecessary travel allowed. Unfortunately we’re only getting about 20% compliance. In the absence of a vaccine, masks and distancing are the only tools we have and people are too stupid or entitled to comply with the safety restrictions. We can’t even travel inside Canada without doing a quarantine at every provincial border. (That was before lockdown). We might get the vaccine distributed to everyone by Labour Day. I am anticipating a lot of non compliance in the vaccine department as well so it does not look well for the future yet.