Canadian COVID-19 News

[Midnight Son]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

And I thought I was a cynic .

You call it cynical, I call it realistic. It was covered by CTV, CBC et al.
Best wishes.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Midnight Son

You call it cynical, I call it realistic. It was covered by CTV, CBC et al.
Best wishes.

You mean the stories about Florida residents being outraged that Canadians were taking their vaccines? Yeah, saw them. As I say, it would be deeply cynical for our government to indirectly encourage this kind of behaviour.

[Midnight Son]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I bet Florida receives more Canadian visitors via air than Mexico and the Caribbean. No attempt to cut flights there. Wonder why?

Mike: That would put a crimp in the holidays of all the Conservative and Liberal campaign/party contributors. Can't have that now can we.
Best wishes all.

[Macblaze]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I bet Florida receives more Canadian visitors via air than Mexico and the Caribbean. No attempt to cut flights there. Wonder why?

Also a conspicuous absence of any mention of Hawaii, which, considering the Xmas fiasco, is a bit...well...

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Midnight Son

Mike: That would put a crimp in the holidays of all the Conservative and Liberal campaign/party contributors. Can't have that now can we.
Best wishes all.

Love the way you tink .

Originally Posted by Macblaze

Also a conspicuous absence of any mention of Hawaii, which, considering the Xmas fiasco, is a bit...well...

Yup... I'm sorry, but I see this mostly as political pandering, although I like the mandatory arrival testing and hotel quarantine.

[Midnight Son]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Love the way you tink .



Yup... I'm sorry, but I see this mostly as political pandering, although I like the mandatory arrival testing and hotel quarantine.

Wholeheartedly agree, now just have to figure out how to remove the WRHA head who is vacationing in the sunny South, during a pandemic. With no blowback from the Government. Rules for the peons, not the natural born rulers.:frow n:
Conservative political appointee!

[Montanan]

As to international travel restrictions, an interest blog.

Reference: https://www.ejiltalk.org/the-right-t...r-own-country/

Snipets.

"This post examines whether it is lawful for a State to deprive an individual of the right to enter his or her own country. The issue is examined principally through the lens of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) but, where instructive, regional treaties are considered.

Article 12 of the ICCPR provides that:

Everyone lawfully within the territory of a State shall, within that territory, have the right to liberty of movement and freedom to choose his residence.
Everyone shall be free to leave any country, including his own.
The above-mentioned rights shall not be subject to any restrictions except those which are provided by law, are necessary to protect national security, public order (ordre public), public health or morals or the rights and freedoms of others, and are consistent with the other rights recognized in the present Covenant.
No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his own country.
As a matter of construction, it is clear that the right of an individual in Article 12(4) cannot be subject to any restrictions envisaged by Article 12(3) (“[t]he above-mentioned rights …”). However, the language of Article 12(4) raises two principal questions. First, what is the meaning of “his own country”? Second, what is the meaning of “arbitrarily”?

“His own country”

The UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) stated in General Comment No. 27 (at para. 20) that:

[t]he scope of “his own country” is broader than the concept “country of his nationality”. It is not limited to nationality in a formal sense, that is, nationality acquired at birth or by conferral; it embraces, at the very least, an individual who, because of his or her special ties to or claims in relation to a given country, cannot be considered to be a mere alien.



“Arbitrarily”

The HRC considered the meaning of “arbitrarily” in General Comment No. 27. It stated (at para. 21) that:

[t]he reference to the concept of arbitrariness in this context is intended to emphasize that it applies to all State action…; it guarantees that even interference provided for by law should be in accordance with the provisions, aims and objectives of the Covenant and should be, in any event, reasonable in the particular circumstances. The Committee considers that there are few, if any, circumstances in which deprivation of the right to enter one’s own country could be reasonable.


This suggests that a State Party cannot lawfully deprive an individual of the right to enter his or her own country on the basis of Article 12(4) where there are less draconian alternatives than denial of entry. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were and are less draconian alternatives than denial of entry. Not least, an individual can be screened on entry, monitored closely for 14 days after arrival and, if necessary, isolated and quarantined for a period of time. Such reasonable and proportionate measures do not interfere with the right of an individual to enter his or her own country and, simultaneously, allow the relevant State Party to contain the transmission of COVID-19 within its borders.

[Montanan]

I have the privilege of living within the boundaries of the Flathead Reservation of the Confederated Salish and the Kootenai Tribes in Montana; I am not of indigenous ancestry. The Tribal Health officials have exceptional in their efforts as to Covid prevention protocols and are engaged in the distribution of the vaccine. Here in Montana all Native Americans and people of color have been advanced to the second highest priority category regardless of age.

Meanwhile today's news from Canada, a couple of Covidiots.

Canadian couple who traveled more than 1,000 miles to get COVID-19 vaccines meant for vulnerable Indigenous people could face jail time

https://www.yahoo.com/news/canadian-...153712846.html

Rodney and Ekaterina Baker were accused, earlier this week, of leaving Vancouver and flying by private jet to a Beaver Creek, Yukon

They have already been fined $1,150 for breaking Yukon's public health rules by failing to self-isolate upon arrival.

The couple is accused of traveling from Vancouver to get shots meant for vulnerable Indigenous people. Once there, they reportedly posed as local workers in order to receive coronavirus shots.

The couple, who were both charged under Yukon's Civil Emergency Measures Act, could also face up to six months in jail

[Macblaze]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Love the way you tink .



Yup... I'm sorry, but I see this mostly as political pandering, although I like the mandatory arrival testing and hotel quarantine.

Being slightly less cynical than you I would think it has more to do with tokenism on the part of the airlines. They were fine with canceling sun/fun flights but wouldn't give up staples like Florida or Hawaii.

Meanwhile here in Alberta our Premier has announced a plan, The quality of the plan is subject to much debate but at least its' a plan. The downside of it being if BC adopts something similar my hope of early spring cruising just got endangered.

[TrentePieds]

For the sake of perspective, let it be known that Rodney Baker WAS CEO of the outfit that operates the gambling casinos and race tracks in this 'ere colony - Great Canadian Gaming Corp. He has now "stepped down" :-)

I, for one, am not surprised that a man making his living in such a wise would also "game" the system in the manner he did in regard to vaccination.

A fleeting reference on one of the local news programmes cited his remuneration as 10 million a year. Whether that is true or not, I'm sure he will be well looked after :-)!

TP

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Montanan

Rodney and Ekaterina Baker were accused, earlier this week, of leaving Vancouver and flying by private jet to a Beaver Creek, Yukon

They have already been fined $1,150 for breaking Yukon's public health rules by failing to self-isolate upon arrival.

The couple is accused of traveling from Vancouver to get shots meant for vulnerable Indigenous people. Once there, they reportedly posed as local workers in order to receive coronavirus shots.

The couple, who were both charged under Yukon's Civil Emergency Measures Act, could also face up to six months in jail

And here underlines the problem with this approach. If it's aiming at greater fairness, it fails. For these to Covidiots, a fine of a few thousand bucks is pocket-change. The only real deterrent would be real jail time, but despite the possibility, I doubt anyone will ever go behind bars for this. So in the end they'll get away with it, with little impact.

So too with the new crack down on Canadian travellers. The deterrent is all financial, so those with wealth will laugh off the cost of a costly mandatory hotel stay, while those with lesser means will be deterred. Same goes for the extended quarantine time. People with money can afford to sit out the two weeks.

So in the end, the wealthy can still do whatever they want, while the rest of us schmucks have to take one for the team. It's the way it always goes...

[Montanan]

Northern territories, home to many of Canada's indigenous people, lead COVID-19 vaccine rollout.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/northern-...141550166.html

. . . almost 17% of their populations have received at least the first dose of the two-dose vaccines, compared to the national figure of 2%, according to government data. All three territories said they are on track to have at least 75% of their adult populations vaccinated by April, compared to the September target the federal government has set for the rest of the country.

[Midnight Son]

Right now, it's all about supply vs number to be vaccinated. It's not looking that rosy!

[Zayn]

I am wondering that what measures can protect ourselves from coronavirus except wearing a mask, or is there any way to inactive COVID-19？

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Zayn

I am wondering that what measures can protect ourselves from coronavirus except wearing a mask, or is there any way to inactive COVID-19？

Sure, keep 2 metres away from people you don't live with. Wash your hands. Limit your outings as much as possible.

And yes, wear a mask when you can't do the above.

There is ongoing research on various anti-virals. I'm not following that news closely, but I haven't heard of any definitive positive results yet.