As a result of new federal measures imposed to tackle a new variant, fully vaccinated Canadians returning from some countries are required to stay in quarantine facilities..“This is a tough post for me,” writes Tiffany Lynn on Facebook..Lynn, accompanied by her family, was travelling in Cairo, Egypt..Egypt is among 10 countries Canada has recently imposed additional measures on for returning travellers. Under the new measures, Canadian citizens — such as Lynn — are subject to “enhanced pre-entry and arrival testing, screening, and quarantine measures” regardless of vaccination status..“We came early to complete the new quarantine requirement,” writes Lynn, adding how she is fully vaccinated and completed a PCR test in Cairo and Frankfurt..Upon arrival in YYC, Lynn says her family was escorted by agents with Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to a “health screening.”.“They read me my rights and told me I was entitled to a lawyer. They told me the fine for breaking quarantine is up to $750,000,” writes Lynn..Without permission to stop or get anything to eat and drink, Lynn says her family was escorted to a secondary screening at customs and subsequently transported to the Westin Airport Hotel in Calgary, which is currently used in its entirety by the federal government as a “secure” quarantine facility..In her post, Lynn describes the parking lot as being blocked with “No Trespassing” signs..“We were met by the Red Cross of Canada employees in hazmat suits. We were processed and taken to an isolation floor,” writes Lynn, explaining how her family was not allowed to leave their room, receive deliveries, or consume anything from offsite. The rooms did not have cups for water, and despite a request, none arrived according to Lynn..“Once we get our test results (presumably negative, and can take up to 72 hours) we must contact the Red Cross who will coordinate with quarantine officers for our release,” writes Lynn..“This is happening, right now, in Canada, two years into a pandemic to vaccinated individuals. I don’t have the words to express this well. I waver back and forth between rage, embarrassment and disbelief.”. Screen-Shot-2021-12-06-at-10.02.10-AMTiffany Lynn/Facebook .The Canadian Red Cross is tasked with “helping” support people during their forced detainment.. Screen-Shot-2021-12-06-at-10.07.04-AMTiffany Lynn/Facebook .The federal government’s justification for the facilities is “to reduce the risk of the importation and transmission of COVID-19 and its variants in Canada related to international travel,” specifically the Omicron variant, which was classified as a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization (WHO) on November 26..Viruses — such as COVID-19 — have their own DNA or RNA, therefore allowing them to mutate into new forms..The Omicron variant does share mutations with some of the other variants of concern which may increase binding of the spike protein to the ACE-2 protein, making it more infectious than the Wuhan strain, however, this is following an expected evolutionary path — another step towards COVID-19 evolving into a common coronavirus — one that’s highly infectious and exceedingly mild..Dr. Angelique Coetzee, chair of the South African Medical Association and GP of 33 years says no one in South Africa is known to have been hospitalized with the Omicron variant, nor is anyone believed to have fallen seriously ill with it..All Canadians returning from the 10 countries, regardless of vaccination status or a past infection of COVID-19, are subject to the same measures..Minister of Transport, Omar Alghabra says this is “swift action to protect the health and safety of Canadians,” referring to the policy as “robust, science-based measures to prevent COVID-19 variants of concern from being spread in Canada.”.The 10 countries facing restrictions are:.Botswana;Egypt;Eswatini;Lesotho;Malawi;Mozambique;Namibia;Nigeria;South Africa; andZimbabwe..Reid Small is a BC-based reporter for the Western Standard.,rsmall@westernstandardonline.com,.Twitter.com/reidsmall
As a result of new federal measures imposed to tackle a new variant, fully vaccinated Canadians returning from some countries are required to stay in quarantine facilities..“This is a tough post for me,” writes Tiffany Lynn on Facebook..Lynn, accompanied by her family, was travelling in Cairo, Egypt..Egypt is among 10 countries Canada has recently imposed additional measures on for returning travellers. Under the new measures, Canadian citizens — such as Lynn — are subject to “enhanced pre-entry and arrival testing, screening, and quarantine measures” regardless of vaccination status..“We came early to complete the new quarantine requirement,” writes Lynn, adding how she is fully vaccinated and completed a PCR test in Cairo and Frankfurt..Upon arrival in YYC, Lynn says her family was escorted by agents with Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to a “health screening.”.“They read me my rights and told me I was entitled to a lawyer. They told me the fine for breaking quarantine is up to $750,000,” writes Lynn..Without permission to stop or get anything to eat and drink, Lynn says her family was escorted to a secondary screening at customs and subsequently transported to the Westin Airport Hotel in Calgary, which is currently used in its entirety by the federal government as a “secure” quarantine facility..In her post, Lynn describes the parking lot as being blocked with “No Trespassing” signs..“We were met by the Red Cross of Canada employees in hazmat suits. We were processed and taken to an isolation floor,” writes Lynn, explaining how her family was not allowed to leave their room, receive deliveries, or consume anything from offsite. The rooms did not have cups for water, and despite a request, none arrived according to Lynn..“Once we get our test results (presumably negative, and can take up to 72 hours) we must contact the Red Cross who will coordinate with quarantine officers for our release,” writes Lynn..“This is happening, right now, in Canada, two years into a pandemic to vaccinated individuals. I don’t have the words to express this well. I waver back and forth between rage, embarrassment and disbelief.”. Screen-Shot-2021-12-06-at-10.02.10-AMTiffany Lynn/Facebook .The Canadian Red Cross is tasked with “helping” support people during their forced detainment.. Screen-Shot-2021-12-06-at-10.07.04-AMTiffany Lynn/Facebook .The federal government’s justification for the facilities is “to reduce the risk of the importation and transmission of COVID-19 and its variants in Canada related to international travel,” specifically the Omicron variant, which was classified as a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization (WHO) on November 26..Viruses — such as COVID-19 — have their own DNA or RNA, therefore allowing them to mutate into new forms..The Omicron variant does share mutations with some of the other variants of concern which may increase binding of the spike protein to the ACE-2 protein, making it more infectious than the Wuhan strain, however, this is following an expected evolutionary path — another step towards COVID-19 evolving into a common coronavirus — one that’s highly infectious and exceedingly mild..Dr. Angelique Coetzee, chair of the South African Medical Association and GP of 33 years says no one in South Africa is known to have been hospitalized with the Omicron variant, nor is anyone believed to have fallen seriously ill with it..All Canadians returning from the 10 countries, regardless of vaccination status or a past infection of COVID-19, are subject to the same measures..Minister of Transport, Omar Alghabra says this is “swift action to protect the health and safety of Canadians,” referring to the policy as “robust, science-based measures to prevent COVID-19 variants of concern from being spread in Canada.”.The 10 countries facing restrictions are:.Botswana;Egypt;Eswatini;Lesotho;Malawi;Mozambique;Namibia;Nigeria;South Africa; andZimbabwe..Reid Small is a BC-based reporter for the Western Standard.,rsmall@westernstandardonline.com,.Twitter.com/reidsmall
