Returning from the US, as I did last week, is to see the federal government’s efforts to stop Omicron from being exposed as borderline incompetence.
The Canadian customs area was a super-spreading event with thousands of blindfolded passengers in multiple formations running zigzag, less than an elbow apart.
Apparently border agents did not check vaccinations, PCR tests or the ArriveCAN application, none of which was checked at the US port of departure, with some travelers being guide to the named triangle line for further interrogation.
And there is no indication – not even a room can be taken – of any government-ordered checks on people arriving from outside the US. An Ottawa man I spoke to flew 26 hours from Kenya to Paris with only his boarding pass and passport checked.
Now, maybe my arrival was just a freak rush hour and not a much quieter standard of vigilance.
But to see the multi-level development on Wednesday, when the Omicron noose was symbolically tightened by the federal government with Ontario’s drastic use of boosters, a ban on large crowds and rapid testing, was to see hopeful signs of an evolution of the commons in the response to COVID-19 in Canada.
While harsher reactions were on the table during the prime minister’s meeting with prime ministers, the federation opted instead for a travel advisory, injecting a host of discouraging nouns and verbs into it. International travel plans for the next four weeks.
With that action, it became clear to the federal government that Canada couldn’t check every incoming airliner without causing total airport paralysis. They seem to feel that they cannot reverse the Christmas travel frenzy, which is on the rise. And they certainly know that airlines will once again trigger bankruptcies that require a massive bailout to fix.
But, it will be seen for what it is – advice. And for passengers who have booked non-refundable travel or destination weddings to attend, it will be skipped.
However, beyond this common, optical-only federal response to the many unknowns about the Omicron variant, there are skewed suggestions that Canadians may soon be seen as self-sufficient adults rather than adults. The child breaking the rules was forced to behave according to the unblinking of the eldest brother. stare.
First, public health officials concede an outright travel ban would make no sense given the rapid rate of increase in cases occurring within Canada’s borders.
Both public health director Theresa Tam and deputy Howard Njoo repeatedly declined reporters’ questions as to why the drawbridge wasn’t featured on all travel, preferring to focus on why. The spread of Omicron will only be broken with proven prevention methods.
That means going back to the basics, which worked best through the first four waves, they said. Now you know them: masking, hand washing, social distancing, smaller gatherings, rapid testing, good ventilation, and doing your best to get boosters into adults and two doses for children.
Some have suggested that, subject to change without notice if this variant turns into a killer, Canadians could rebel against another round of total shutdowns, restaurant closures, reunion vetoes. family and ridiculous park closures. The era of 2020 when law enforcement officers wielded supremacy over ticketing parents to send their kids to the closed playground is over.
In other words, we’re happy to go back to our original goal of calling for a “flattening the curve” rally to keep beds empty in ICUs rather than chasing rainbow fantasies that the micro- This insidious withdrawal can be destroyed by washing your vegetables.
So, is this hoping the federals embrace the real responsibilities in this quarter – or is it part five? The COVID-19 wave: Ensuring pediatric doses and adult boosters, getting millions of rapid test kits into the hands of provinces, and keeping the economy flowing across borders as immune to invasions as possible. variation comb.
While I’m hearing whispers about more border control coming on Friday, it’s hoped they’re just studying existing experimental rules rather than launching an attempt. radically into sovereign self-isolation, which will do nothing to stop the virus from avalanche sweeping into every corner of Canada.
It’s time for vaccinated Canadians to be allowed to chart their usual path of prevention through this never-ending pandemic, for anti-vaxxers to decide the right time to call an emergency vehicle. save if Omicron fills their lungs.
That’s the key point…
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