Sask. snowbirds excited to head south when U.S. border reopens
Nov. 8 is the tentative date for the United States government to reopen its land and sea borders to non-essential fully vaccinated Canadian travellers. The border closed in March 2020.
It’s an announcement Canadian snowbird travellers Duane and Christa Hayunga have been waiting for in Prince Albert, Sask.
“We were expecting the border to open in the summer once Canada announced that they were opening their border to leisure travel for Americans,” said Hayunga.
Hayunga has booked a spot at an RV Park in Mesa, Arizona and says he’s excited to drive there with his truck and camper trailer.
On Friday, the U.S. Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it will accept proof of vaccination from international travellers who received mixed doses of COVID-19 vaccines. It’ Air travel between the U.S. and Canada remained open during the pandemic.
Hayunga says they decided in the summer to update their COVID-19 vaccines to the brands approved in the U.S.
“We were watching that closely, my wife was a mixed dose vaccine person. I had AstraZeneca so we already each had our third shot. I don’t need to get the fourth it looks like, so I won’t be doing that,” said Hayunga.
He’s also checked with his insurance agent and says he’s got coverage for COVID-19 illness.
Canada opened its land border to U.S. citizens Aug. 9. Air travel between the U.S. and Canada remained open during the pandemic.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Canada can't afford to take any chances when it comes to COVID-19, so measures at the border requiring travellers to show a negative test result before re-entering the country will remain in place.
Conservative Member of Parliament for Prince Albert Randy Hoback is among a group of MPs working to reopen the border. He’s pleased the U.S. has move to open the vehicle traffic, saying Canada and the U.S. will continue to refine their policies.
“The testing requirement, we need to take a look at our processes and see if they’re actually redundant or needed, so there’s some things that need to be addressed as the date to opening comes closer,” said Hoback.
TRAVEL INSURANCE
Vice-president of products and founder of Goose Insurance, Pamela Kwiatkowski, recommends people carry travel insurance and read their policies to ensure it covers pre-existing conditions, emergency medical coverage and costs associated with COVID-19 illness.
“Our recommendation is to read the fine print,” Kwiatkowski said. “Covid is a risk, particularly for seniors so ensuring that your travel insurance plan has Covid coverage is really important.”
She says provincial health care plans don’t apply outside your province of residence, even in neighbouring provinces.
She say one day in the hospital in the U.S. can cost as much as $5,000 and travelers might want to consider insurance policies that include unexpected required quarantines.
“It’s not just the emergency medical coverage for Covid as well, what if you get Covid and you have to quarantine? Those additional meals and accommodations if you haven’t planned for that can become quite costly,” Kwiatkowski said.
Canadian air travellers still need to show a pre-departure negative COVID-19 test taken within three days of boarding their flight and proof of vaccination on arrival in the U.S.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
NEW Iconic Canadian song turns 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Prince Harry, Meghan arrive in Nigeria to champion the Invictus Games and meet with wounded soldiers
Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, arrived in Nigeria on Friday to champion the Invictus Games, which he founded to aid the rehabilitation of wounded and sick servicemembers and veterans, among them Nigerian soldiers fighting a 14-year war against Islamic extremists.
Countries struggle to draft 'pandemic treaty' to avoid mistakes made during COVID
After the coronavirus pandemic triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies and killed millions, leaders at the World Health Organization and worldwide vowed to do better in the future. Years later, countries are still struggling to come up with an agreed-upon plan for how the world might respond to the next global outbreak.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Storm-battered U.S. South is again under threat. A boy swept into a drain fights for his life
Dangerous storms crashed over parts of the U.S. South on Thursday even as the region cleaned up from earlier severe weather that spawned tornadoes, killed at least three people, and gravely injured a boy who was swept into a storm drain as he played in a flooded street.