Entering Canada from the US. Any updates?

[jooa]

HI Davefromoregon, I moor my boat in Vancouver and a sailing buddy moors his boat in Pt Roberts, Washington. He has enquired through Canada Boarder Services how to get his boat back into Canada. The procedure is you must quarantine for 2 weeks at anchor "on your boat". You must not touch land or dock before than. You must also contact Canada Customs on entry. He's bummed out about this but has resigned himself to not having access to his boat for most of this summer or until boarders are open again.


Canadian Coast Guard, Salish Sea Pilot, and many islands and coastal communities have asked that visitors, American or Canadian, not to visit their communities. Few if any of these isolated communities have hospitals, an occasional one might be lucky to have a nursing station with 1 or 2 beds. They cannot have the virus spread to their community because it could mean devastation of their people.

[Montanan]

The US & Canadian border remains closed to non-essential travel.

HOW BRITISH COLUMBIA IS RESPONDING TO COVID-19
On May 6, the Province of BC announced BC’s Restart Plan, which outlines the next steps in BC’s strategy to move through the COVID-19 pandemic.
British Columbians have been asked to continue to avoid all non-essential, inter-community travel.

British Columbians can start to explore their own communities. This does not mean visiting neighbouring towns, but we can start to #exploreBClocal.
Non-essential travel across the Provincial border is to be avoided. For information about Provincial borders and current travel restrictions, please visit the Province of BC’s Travel Affected by COVID-19 website.

On May 14, BC Parks will start to reopen the majority of provincial parks and protected areas and marine parks, though some will still remain closed. People across the province will have more access to safe outdoor recreation opportunities, while meeting the guidelines of the Provincial Health Officer (PHO). For more information, including a list of open parks, please visit the BC Parks website.

On May 14, Recreation Sites and Trails BC (RSTBC) will start to reopen the majority of recreation sites and trails to day-use activities only. People across the province will once again have access to safe outdoor recreation opportunities, while meeting the guidelines of the Provincial Health Officer (PHO). For more information, please visit Recreation Sites and Trails BC.

BC Ferries is screening people for Covid-19 symptoms or recent international travel before allowing people to board. They are advising customers to avoid all non-essential travel.

https://www.hellobc.com/what-you-need-to-know/

Additional reference as to who can enter Canada:

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration...html#can_enter

[desodave]

I think that TP has explained the issue well. Parks have just been reopened today in BC and there is a slow general reopening underway. There is a hostility to travelers in many small coastal and aboriginal communities because travelers are the source of infection, and they have little or no local healthcare resources. I abandoned our own plans to sail to the Broughtons soon after the crisis was evident, and made alternate plans to cruise within our own "home" area this year - no landings except in our home marina.
I think that Canadians generally view the US covid situation as chaotic and the responses NOT based on science. You can rant about the effect of the media all you want but there won't be many Canadians who buy it. BC residents have seen their actions reflected in very low rates of infection, hospitalization and death compared to any worldwide jurisdiction of similar population. They're not about to welcome openly people from other jurisdictions while we're still trying to find our "new reality" and expand our own limited contacts. I'm still looking forward to being able to get together with our own kids and grandkids in a safe manner.

I'll echo the other posters who suggest that this is not the year to make your Broughtons trip, even if you are allowed across the border under quarantine conditions.

[coastalexplorer]

As the British Empire expanded over a 200 year period until on it the sun never set. The need to deal with the health of those who returned with diseases to what W. Churchill called "our little island" became paramount.



Wikipedia lists that history as. The Hospital for Tropical Diseases (HTD) is a specialist tropical disease hospital located in London, United Kingdom. It is part of the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and is closely associated with University College London and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. It is the only NHS hospital dedicated to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of tropical diseases and travel-related infections. In addition it employs specialists in major tropical diseases such as malaria, leprosy and tuberculosis. It also provides an infectious disease treatment service for University College Hospital.



Associated with it is
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a public research university on Keppel Street, Bloomsbury, Camden, and a constituent college of the University of London that specialises in public health and tropical medicine. On successful completion of their studies, its students gain a University of London degree.
The institution was founded in 1899 by Sir Patrick Manson, after a donation from the Indian Parsi philanthropist B.D. Petit. Since its foundation it has become one of the most highly placed institutions in global rankings in the fields of public health and infectious diseases.


This is where research into viruses has been going on for decades. one of their key people for the past 40 years is Dr Peter Piot. and I read his story just this morning. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/05/finally-virus-got-me-scientist-who-fought-ebola-and-hiv-reflects-facing-death-covid-19


For those who do not like reading. I found this point most interesting.

an underestimated ability of the virus: It can probably affect all the organs in our body. Many people think COVID-19 kills 1% of patients, and the rest get away with some flulike symptoms. But the story gets more complicated. Many people will be left with chronic kidney and heart problems. Even their neural system is disrupted. There will be hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, possibly more, who will need treatments such as renal dialysis for the rest of their lives. The more we learn about the corona virus, the more questions arise. We are learning while we are sailing. That’s why I get so annoyed by the many commentators on the sidelines who, without much insight, criticize the scientists and policymakers trying hard to get the epidemic under control. That’s very unfair.

So comparing the death rate to 'just another flu'...or statistics of traffic fatalities on freeways; becomes ridiculous when taken into consideration the inestimable number of subsequent early deaths in the years ahead from renal failure. heart attacks etc from organ damage happening to those who supposedly 'survived and recovered from the virus because they had "mild symptoms'?"



He also states.....Let’s be clear: Without a coronavirus vaccine, we will never be able to live normally again. The only real exit strategy from this crisis is a vaccine that can be rolled out worldwide. That means producing billions of doses of it, which, in itself, is a huge challenge in terms of manufacturing logistics. And despite the efforts, it is still not even certain that developing a COVID-19 vaccine is possible.
Today there’s also the paradox that some people who owe their lives to vaccines.... no longer want their children to be vaccinated. That could become a problem if we want to roll out a vaccine against the coronavirus, because if too many people refuse to join, We will never get the pandemic under control.


This world, planet, earth... or what ever you choose to call it, Has its own checks and balance's. A mystery some call "mother nature" that most of us like to live rather separated from. It is effecting a correction..and Has presented the human race with a real challenge this time. it is reducing world population and causing a cleaning of the atmosphere that WE have made a mess of with air pollution. so it currently seems to be winning?
So while the best human brains try to defeat it. We best stop complaining and hope for a future we can live with? The future is unclear?


While in lock down perhaps watch the lecture by the late professor Albert Allen Bartlett. Pay particular attention to the balance sheet on chapter two.

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=arithmatic%2C+population+and+energy

[AiniA]

Originally Posted by DoubleD

Although the boarder is "closed", on Saturday I tracked a Canadian boat, via the Marine Traffic app, going from Victoria BC across the boarder and then to Bellingham WA, where it still is moored. Is the boarder closed or not? And yes, I've been spending way too much time watching boats via Marine Traffic during these stay at home times.

The crew may be American citizens returning the US from Canada. That is OK.

[Marathon1150]

As noted in the previous post, the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (LSHTP) is a highly ranked university, particularly in those disciplines in which it specializes. We returned to Canada from New Zealand on 22 March and went into 14 days of isolation so in some of my spare time I enrolled in the following course from LSHTP: https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/study/course...es/coronavirus

It was very good - a nice mix of reading, videos and discussion. It is targeted at a fairly general audience, including health care workers. I'm a biologist and did study some epidemiology but it was a while ago and I don't think that my background was an advantage. There were thousands of people enrolled from around the world and their perspectives back in March were informative. Prof. Piot, noted in the previous post, is a key presenter in several of the video presentations. There is a particularly good presentation on vaccines and vaccine use strategies.

The course is going to be revised in May because new knowledge re the Corona virus and Covid-19 is being produced at an astonishing rate. Some or much of what was presented in the March version of the course will be out of date or inaccurate. The perspectives of people enrolling in V2 of the course will make for an interesting comparison with the comments from V1.

And to stay on topic with the OP, I also think that it is unlikely that the BC border will open up anytime soon - I would hazard a guess that it will not be in mid-June and will definitely not be next week when the current border closure agreement expires. I am anticipating a season of sailing from our home marina to places where we can anchor and will not be going to shore.

[mitiempo]

To add to what TP stated earlier in the thread:

Dr Bonnie Henry has stated that the NHL could possibly start in Vancouver as has been mentioned by the league. They will however have to quarantine for 14 days first.

Cruise ships are taking bookings for August on Alaska runs. While they may stop in BC nobody will be able to get off.
If they run they will have to stop in BC as the US Jones act states that they cannot go from one US port to another US port without an intermediate stop.

Dr Bonnie Henry has done a fantastic job and the population of BC is behind her almost universally.

So I would write off any US boats cruising in BC waters until 2021

[Scorpius]

With so many US states "re-opening" their economies apparently prematurely, a great many Canadians (including me) are VERY nervous about opening the border to anything but "essential" traffic anytime soon - and are encouraging our federal government not to do so. It appears we are having some effect.



Besides,

1. Most northern Vancouver Island communities have asked visitors to "please stay away". Alert Bay has declared a state of emergency (and a 9:30 - 6am curfew) after a resident died of Covid-19 and the mayor (among others) tested positive.
2. Most native bands have declared their territories "off limits" to visitors. The Haida on Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) have been blockading the ferry terminals turning non-residents around to return to the mainland on the return sailing. The fabulous U'mista Cultural Centre in Alert Bay, an absolutely not-to-miss experience, is closed - as are the villages of New Vancouver, etc. And I bet Billy Proctor isn't hosting any visitors at his place either.


Medical services are EXTREMELY limited in these communities and an outbreak would quickly overwhelm them. Local residents have even taken to building their own ventlators - just in case:


https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/m...tors-1.4910885

[davefromoregon]

Originally Posted by BugzyCan

21,000 new infections in USA Yesterday, incredible.

Today was worse with 25k new cases.

[Brewgyver]

Originally Posted by Dooglas

Before you wax too much more eloquently about Southern California, you may want to read this.

https://www.ocregister.com/2020/05/1...ornia-and-why/

OK, did YOU read it? Did you look at the source? Was it a compendium of infectious disease Doctors? Was it actual Health Department officials? No, it was an SF Bay area news media group. A group who either can't follow simple logic, or is deliberately twisting facts. There are more confirmed cases in So Cal because there is more testing here, as I mentioned in the previous post. The more testing done, the more "cases" are confirmed. The Health Departments in So Cal are now testing just about anybody that wants it, at any of the over 30 testing sites in L.A. County alone, and many of them not even requiring an appointment.

Canada's Covid19 death rate (146/million) is much lower than the U.S. (256/million) as a whole, but

The bottom line is, California's Covid19 death rate is HALF that of Canada...

On the world scale, the U.S. death Covid19 death rate is LESS THAN HALF that of Spain, Italy, the UK, and France, and just about ONE THIRD of that of Belgium. In fact, even using the MOST inflated numbers, the U.S. death rate is lower than the top 8 countries in the world, all in EU or UK, in 9th place overall, followed by Switzerland and Canada.

[Brewgyver]

Originally Posted by desodave

I think that Canadians generally view the US covid situation as chaotic and the responses NOT based on science. You can rant about the effect of the media all you want but there won't be many Canadians who buy it. BC residents have seen their actions reflected in very low rates of infection, hospitalization and death compared to any worldwide jurisdiction of similar population.

Yes, and there are several parts of the U.S., with very low population density, as is the case with BC, who also have even lower rates. BC's Covid death rate stands at 27/million (much lower than Canada as a whole). Alaska is half of that at roughly 13, Hawaii is at 12, etc. These low rates mostly reflect ultra low population density as much as they do lock-downs. Ireland has had a very strict lock-down, and still has a death rate 20% higher than the U.S. as a whole, and over twice that of Canada.

I don't fault people in small BC communities that for this year don't want a bunch of visitors at the start of the usual tourist season, but I'd be willing to bet they wouldn't want visitors from ANY place, especially from big cities.

[cortezsailor]

I’m in the marina business and I suspect the pressure to open the border will be immense and it will re open in July . In BC though the catch maybe the continuation of a 14 day quarantined to people coming from another country . The border is Fed the quarantine law is Provincial . If this occurs , and I feel a good likelihood , boaters ability to Access land may never materialize

[Montanan]

The border is open to essential travel purposes, just not to non-essential travel. There being no essential reason to allow for non-essential travels, be that across a border [national, provincial, state, municipal]. Just because the lockdown has been eased does not mean the danger of the virus has been eliminated or diminished.

Social distancing protocols will need to be maintained and that requires the avoidance of non-essential contacts, such as, attending theaters, restaurants, bars, events [sports, music], working out gyms, social gatherings of non-cohabitants [e.g., friends and family], recreationals pursuits that break social distancing.

[TrentePieds]

A number of contributors are drifting off into discussions of "culture wars" and of "Guns in Canada".

A word to the wise: Don't! Doing so is against our rules in general, and against the specific restrictions on discussions of Covid19. Such discussions are to be restricted to matters pertaining to the OPERATION OF VESSELS as affected by Covid19.

TrentePieds

[ras1544]

Originally Posted by BugzyCan

Sorry, but I suspect the border will remain closed for many months the way things are going right now down South. Money over Life.

That is a BS statement that should be removed. Just because we that live in the South choose not to live in fear does not mean money over life. The models were way over stated. A person cannot stay locked down forever. Also look at the Swine Flu that occurred under the previous Administration. It killed tens of thousands of Americans and most don't even remember it. It was not hyped up like this current situation.