Thought of the Day - November 4 - International Travel

As predicted Canada will be using its "Rapid Test" kits for travellers from abroad ( Thought of the Day - October 7 - Rapid Antigen Testing ). Calgary International airport has been "testing" these new kits for a while, and it looks like they will be adopted in Toronto also.

While I am of two minds about re-opening travel restrictions from overseas I must admit any improvement in testing is a good thing. Remember of the five million+ folk that have entered Canada since travel restrictions were introduced only a million or so were subject to quarantine (the majority of the rest were deemed "essential workers"). For those non-essential travellers that came over the border by air, they simply filled in a form, may have had a temperature check, and were supposed to quarantine for two weeks. With the new system they will be subjected to the "Rapid Test" upon entry. While grossly less sensitive that the PCR test, it is far, far better than a thermal gun ( Thought of the Day - May 27 - Use of a Useless Test ). Although many of the infected will make it through the first round of screening, they will be subjected to a second test four days later.

In short, we are improving our border screening, especially by air, however I fear it may just be a ruse to allow many more people to enter the country ( Thought of the Day - August 28 - Air Bridge ). Remember there were 18 flights into YYR over the last month with potential exposure alerts. Overall I am glad BC will be a "laggard" in this initiate.

Cheers

Cliff