TORONTO If you feel you must fly outside of Canada during the pandemic, you can buy COVID-19 insurance coverage to help protect you in case you get the virus. However, even the insurance industry says your best bet is just to stay home. “The direction from the Canadian government is now clear. This is not the time to be traveling, said Will McAleer with the Travel Health Insurance Association of Canada. Anyone flying into Canada must now have proof of a recent negative test result for COVID-19. Passengers require documentation on entry showing their results and proving that the test was conducted within the past 72 hours.
What s True
After health care workers and nursing home residents, senior citizens older than 65 will get the vaccine regardless of residency status, according to official statements. This would include elderly Canadians visiting Florida. However, there is confusion in some regions of Florida where hospitals are asking for proof of residency. Canada is slower than the U.S. in immunizations but has ordered enough of the vaccine for all of its population. What s False
The COVID-19 vaccine will be rolled out to senior citizens after other priority groups have received their doses. Canadian visitors who are not seniors will have to wait like everyone else for a rollout that could be months into 2021.
TORONTO After the relentless hardships of 2020, it’s likely more Canadians than ever before are dreaming of the white sand and hot sun of a winter getaway. But if you think you can leave it all behind in a tropical destination and travel like it’s 2019, unpack your bags, say travel experts. With the country under a travel advisory, most Canadians are staying put this year, but those who have jetted off say vacationing during a pandemic is safe and enjoyable, but not at all the time to forget or escape the global health crisis. “A lot has changed about travel, but a lot hasn’t changed, too. The resort experience feels very much the same,” said travel editor Michael Pihach who spent 24 days in the Dominican Republic in November.
EDMONTON A recent survey by the Travel Health Insurance Association of Canada (THIA) suggests that U.S. travel is falling out of favour with Canadians, with European and Caribbean destinations being the most sought-after places to travel to post-pandemic. While the U.S. is typically the most popular destination for Canadian travellers, the ongoing border closure has stalled tourism and snow birds eager to return to their winter homes. But, according to the THIA, 79 per cent of Canadians, and 90 per cent of seniors, said they would not travel to the U.S. this winter even if their travel health insurance policy provided coverage for COVID-19.