February 23, 2022
Is this the beginning of the last chapter I wonder? Who really knows. We did go ahead with our trip to Bonaire and Aruba last month despite the government suggestion to not travel if not essential. We figured it was probably safer to be in a place where we are on our own, and interactions with others almost always is outside. The trip went well. We needed a PCR test within 24 hours of travel because we were going through the U.S. It was my first test and it brought me to tears, literally. I'm not sure whether it was possible to push that swab higher up my nose, and I think it stayed there for the length of a coffee break. We received our negative results in time. It was a good thing that all these things are accessible online because the day before we left, my printer thought it would be fun to break down.
It was interesting flying. YVR airport in Vancouver seemed deserted when we arrived and we were one of the first to check in. We were also the only ones going through security and spoke with U.S. customs here, so that we did not need to retrieve our luggage and go through customs when we arrived in Seattle. We arrived in Seattle about 7:30PM and it was busier than YVR. Everyone was masked and it felt safe. We then flew to Charlotte, North Carolina and arrived at 6:30AM, which was 3:30AM PST. It was different. I saw a number of people wearing masks with noses uncovered, or with masks off because they were on their cell phones, or walking around with coffee. Even one of the attendants at the gate who was helping wheelchair customers get on the plane wore his mask in such a way, that it was useless. On the plane the flight attendants had to remind some people a number of times to pull up their masks over their noses. It was even worse in Miami, where a number of young people walked around unmasked and looked like they dared anyone to challenge them. I was glad to get on the plane. Fortunately, on almost all our flights, the planes were just over half full and we had the last 5 or six rows where we could sit anywhere we wanted. Jo and I both sat at windows with two seats beside us empty. We arrived in Bonaire to a downpour. Minutes later it was sunny and hot. Showing vaccine cards and PCR test results and Health Status reports went very smoothly.
Bonaire, Curacao and Aruba are all still part of the Netherlands Kingdom, and it was obvious in Bonaire. Almost everyone we met or overheard spoke Dutch, although they all spoke English as well. With the pandemic, Dutch residents had travel restrictions but could freely travel to locations within the Kingdom. As a Dutch person, I feel I can say this without being accused of being racist, but the Dutch can be very stubborn and often feel rules do not apply to them. That was evident in Bonaire. Restaurants and all indoor places required masks, but most didn't bother. Restaurants were all open air so that made it a bit less threatening. The place with the most restrictions was the large supermarket. The first time we came, we got one buggy for the four of us and tried to enter. A security guard insisted that each person entering the store had to have their own buggy. We all walked around with empty buggies. The second time we thought we were onto this, so we all got buggies. This time we were stopped again. Since we came as one party, only one person was allowed in to shop. We sat in the waiting area sheepishly with our empty buggies. After that, we sent one person in while the rest waited in the truck. We thought we had to get a PCR test when we flew to Aruba, via Curacao, but rules changed a few days prior. We were not sure how it applied to us so we got a PCR test anyway. This time the swab only went up one nostril and was much better. We also got a PCR test in Aruba prior to coming home and that too went much easier. When we arrived home to YVR, it still seemed deserted and because I think there were groups of custom officers with nothing to do and 5 health workers for each passenger going through the exit, we were randomly all selected for another PCR test. By now I was getting used to having swabs hanging from my nose and may buy one just because it looks good.
After the surge of cases and hospitalizations from the omicron virus, things were slowing down when we got back from our trip. Soon restrictions were being eased, although the use of masks in B.C. continues. Things were really looking up and we though things would get better when a trucker protest took over downtown Ottawa with similar protests in other cities. The protest, which shut down Ottawa and caused havoc for its citizens was supposed to be about mandatory vaccinations being required of the 10 to 15% of truckers who were unvaccinated and therefore were denied access to the U.S. border. Soon, all sorts of others joined in just for the fun of a protest I suppose, and demands escalated to requiring the removal of all Covid related health measures, and even that the government had to step down. I have seen this in third world countries where there is no true democracy but never thought I would see it here. It was the talk all over the world. A customs officer in Aruba asked us about it. He said he thought it was great because Canada allows this kind of protest. I think his main focus was on the fact that little was being done to stop it, and therefore it was relatively peaceful, unlike violent protests in Paris, Amsterdam and other places. The protest lasted 3 weeks before police moved in the shut it down.
We have learned that with pandemic viruses, you never know what will happen next, but for now, it appears with the help of vaccinations, the virus has become manageable and things may return to some new sense of normal soon.
July 5, 2022
After 4.5 months since my last blog on the subject, the pandemic is still with us. We were able to travel to Costa Rica in March with no problems and had no travel issues, having had two vaccine shots and a booster shot. Since March, most of the COVID restrictions have been lifted. Masks are still recommended but not required in most places, except our doctor's and dentist's office and airports and airplanes in Canada. Masks are no longer required on U.S. flights. Infection and hospital admittance numbers have steadily declined and mask wearing at the local grocery store has dropped from almost 100% to 25% or so. Despite this, we know of several people who have tested positive for COVID recently the latest variant, Omnicron, is creating a new wave which is expected to result in increases in infections and hospitalizations, even though it is supposedly summer despite the poor weather, and most group activity is outdoors. Travel within Canada is now open to both vaccinated and unvaccinated people, but many countries still restrict access to vaccinated people only. Requirements to be vaccinated in certain jobs are slowly being lifted. For vaccinated people, it means things are close to normal, but for unvaccinated, the effects of job losses, lasting effects of COVID illnesses, remaining travel restrictions and quarantine requirements on return from overseas, etc. continue to have their effects. The good news is that with the vast majority of Canadians vaccinated, most people who test positive for COVID do not have serious effects.
However, due to what I would classify as gross mismanagement at the government level, airlines level and airport operations level, the travel industry in Canada is in shambles. Canadian airlines were at the top of the list worldwide for canceled flights and flight delays. Canada's top airports also made the top list for travel delays, lost luggage problems, etc. Don't worry though, I am sure the top executives will continue to pat themselves on their backs with performance bonuses. The problem is no one takes responsibility. The airlines blame the government for continuing its requirement to have travelers complete the ArrivCan app to show vaccination status, which they claims takes four times more time to process, and the government continues to hesitate with fully lifting restrictions and says the airlines are to blame for scheduling too many flights arriving at airports. All of the players let up to 50% of their staff go when the travel industry was virtually shut down, but none had effective plans for retaining the staff for when things ramped up again. Now they are all facing staff shortages and can not find staff to fill positions. Somewhere there is a huge group of unemployed people getting money from someone (taxpayers?) so they no longer have to work because almost every industry is facing the same problem. Where did all these former employees go? Are they like the pair of socks that go into the wash and only one comes out? We no longer see images of people getting needles on the nightly news. Instead we get images of Toronto airport with suitcases standing everywhere and horror stories of lost luggage not showing up for days, if not weeks.
I guess we had no idea how lucky we were. When we returned from Costa Rica, we flew through Pearson Airport in Toronto. Our flight landed and we were informed that due to the customs area being overcrowded because a Mexican flight arrived just before us, we would have to stay on board for an undisclosed amount of time. After about a half hour, we were told that they would be disembarking 50 people at a time. There was no control of how this would occur, so people lined up in the aisles to make sure they go off as soon as possible. I think we made the third batch. We got off and found ourselves at the end of an area with locked doors that opened up to where there were escalators to get to the endless hallways navigating the airport. Finally someone came and asked what we were doing there, then arranged to unlock the doors, towards the back of the area. That of course meant that the last people in our batch got out first and the ones in the front were the farthest from the door. We walked for what seemed like several kilometres to get to the Customs area. A line snaked back and forth for who knows how far. Happily, it did move quite regularly and it took less time than I thought to reach the end, where we had to find a machine to enter in our passports and get customs documents. Then we joined another line to go see a Customs Officer. This too went relatively smoothly considering. The whole thing took about two hours, and when we got to our nearby hotel, (our connecting flight was not until the next morning), we had another line up to check in. We had to get special permission from the restaurant staff to get in for a very, very late dinner, because we were right at closing time. They were very good about it. The next morning we returned to the airport and joined several more lines before getting through the security scanning. There, our particular security staff decided to select probably 90% of the bags for further screening. This meant a back up and a lot of people standing around waiting for a security officer to rummage through their bags. This was a slow process and it appears some staff were rookies being trained. They often needed to consult with others and were anal in their approach. My wife bought a sauce at the airport in Costa Rica, and they bagged it for her. This was selected for scrutiny and eventually rejected for being slightly over the 100 ml. restriction, even though it was sealed by airport staff.
It seems our experience at Pearson was very good compared to what is happening now. Recently all Canadian airlines announced they were canceling thousands of flights scheduled over the summer to address the issues. That means people with travel plans having to scramble for other arrangements or cancel their trip entirely. And for this lack of service, the industry continues to charge more and more fees for services always considered simple customer service. Both government and airlines get a big fat F for this. I would love to see the executives who run this gong show fired but of course that will never happen.
So, I no longer look for the end of the pandemic. I believe it will continue to linger and evolve and with new vaccines being developed, we will simply carry on.
