I'd imagine a lot of key pathways of trade don't really stop at the border. I'm sure that trucking, for example, doesn't hand off goods. They probably drive straight through after a short border check.
Unless they think they have significantly fewer cases than the United States, it doesn't make sense to block travelers.
> I'd imagine a lot of key pathways of trade don't really stop at the border. I'm sure that trucking, for example, doesn't hand off goods. They probably drive straight through after a short border check.
It's fairly trivial (conceptually) to close the border to non-commercial traffic while allowing commercial traffic through, given that both are separated physically at the border and you need paperwork to go through the commercial lane anyway.
> Unless they think they have significantly fewer cases than the United States, it doesn't make sense to block travelers.
Absolutely, given that Washington has mismanaged the crisis, and in the US there is often a monetary cost for even seeing a primary care physician, plus no mandated sick or vacation days, and the numbers so far reflect this.
The biggest concern, in my opinion, would be people who try to come to Canada in the hopes that they can get sick here and recover somewhere that isn't going to bankrupt them as a result. Not that I want our southern neighbours to die in the streets while we lounge in relative medical luxury, but risking overloading both systems would be catastrophic for everyone.
> The biggest concern, in my opinion, would be people who try to come to Canada in the hopes that they can get sick here and recover somewhere that isn't going to bankrupt them as a result.
do canadian hospitals not send foreigners a bill?
it seems like this sort of issue would've come up long before now.
It may have changed, but it used to be standard not to.
I remember a news article from about 15 years ago where doctors at a Vancouver hospital were unhappy about it. Not because they were treating the sick traveler for free, but because some stupid regulation meant that he had to remain in an ER bed rather than moving him to a normal hospital bed and freeing the space for anyone else who might need it.
Most (all that I am aware of) health facilities here in Toronto will charge you before you get service unless you can prove you have coverage in the province. So yes Americans who are visiting will be charged for health services.
Healthcare in Canada is done by province -- there isn't a national system, just 10 different ones that have to comply with a federal mandate. They're all a little different.
That said, as an American in Alberta I can confirm for sure that they'll make you pay up front here too.
Cost out of pocket was much, much lower than it would be in the US, but certainly not trivial.
About ten years ago, a relative came to Ontario and had to pay the cost of an emergency room visit (about $400 to see a doctor and get a cast). The bill was sent about a month afterward (to our address), but I could see a tourist being made to pay immediately.
Yes, Canadian hospitals will bill you if you're foreign, but the amount they bill is about 20× to 50× less than what US hospitals bill for the same services.
> The biggest concern, in my opinion, would be people who try to come to Canada in the hopes that they can get sick here and recover somewhere that isn't going to bankrupt them as a result.
Canada would probably need to build a wall to prevent this.
Crap, and quite a few of those cases in Vancouver Island (lots of retired people, not a lot of hospital infrastructure). Announced only 1 hour ago it seems, and not yet in the Johns Hopkins tracker
Zero social distancing going on either, busses crammed to the hilt and E. Hastings is wall to wall addicts outside right now. Someone I work with his wife is a health worker under potential exposure quarantine and he showed up to work today. I guess we are aiming for the full Italy version of this pandemic.
Be vocal about it and talk out. I spoke out vocally at my workplace and most of us are now remoting - its on every individual to self-quarantine because relying on force (like the mounties or army) simply isn't reasonable - policing people closely defeats quarantining and those transit resources need to keep going to make sure essential employees can get to work.
That all said I'm curious what Translink's plans are to restrict access to the skytrain.
Washington State is also an outlier in that one of the first places that got hit was a nursing home and they didn't react quickly enough; several of their residents died fairly quickly.
The rest of the state is doing alright, comparatively.
Unless they think they have significantly fewer cases than the United States, it doesn't make sense to block travelers.