COVID-19 hasn't hit Nova Scotia, impact has been felt in Cape Breton
Article content
SYDNEY, N.S.. — COVID-19 may not have surfaced in Nova Scotia, but the impact is being felt.
“Absolutely,” said Tina Baldwin, travel consultant with Maritime Travel on Charlotte Street in Sydney. “We are getting a lot of calls from people with cancelations every day.”
Recommended Videos
tap here to see other videos from our team.
COVID-19 hasn't hit Nova Scotia, impact has been felt in Cape Breton Back to video
tap here to see other videos from our team.
Baldwin said they are swamped with calls daily and have had cancellations, mainly cruises or trips overseas. She said people are wondering if the airlines are still going ahead and if they can rebook.
“Some people have canceled and lost all their money because there’s no travel advisories for the countries down south,” she said. “No insurance covers fear. If people proceed with canceling they lose all their money. Some are planning to rebook, are just waiting for all of this to blow over.”
There are many factors to the insurance including if there is a travel advisory for that country. There is some flexibility for new bookings but not old bookings, she added. People who booked ahead are simply waiting to see what happens.
Monique MacMullin, also a travel advisor with Maritime Travel, said people aren’t booking right now like they normally do but there are still some planning vacations including to the Caribbean, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Jamaica and Mexico. Some of the cruise lines are providing credits and people are rebooking for later on the year. People are too nervous to travel anywhere in Europe right now. Some are booking for the fall.
News reports surfaced this week implying that Transport Canada is considering delaying the cruise ship season. Annie Joannette, senior media advisor for Transport Canada, said they are looking at all available options for the upcoming cruise ship season.
“The safety and security of the travelling public and the transportation system are Transport Canada’s top priorities,” she said in an email response to questions.
Joannette said the department is working in close collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Canada and other federal partners. They are also working with the marine industry to ensure that foreign and domestic vessels visiting and/or coming back to Canada provide information in advance of arrival to assess any relevant health risks.
Cruise ships represent a high-risk environment for viral transmission of COVID-19, and Transport Canada is working with key partners to be ready to respond to cases of COVID-19 in Canada, she stated.
In the meantime, Joannette said all points of entry into Canada are routinely monitored. Any travellers showing symptoms would be referred to quarantine officers who have the authority to implement public health measures under the Quarantine Act. As well, measures have been implemented at 10 Canadian airports.
Marlene Usher, CEO of the Port of Sydney, said as of Thursday there was still no changes to the cruise season implemented by Transport Canada and they’ve had no cancellations or changes to any of the cruise ship schedule.
“It’s not to say we’re not expecting something but at this point, we don’t have any confirmation from anyone,” she said.
Usher said delays for a couple months in the cruise ship season would directly impact the port in respect to revenues as well as to all of their port partners, including the craft market, the excursions, tour operators, bus companies and the downtown.
“All of those people would be affected negatively,” she said.
The first cruise ship is scheduled April 28. There are six calls scheduled in May, 16 in June, seven in July, and four in August, compared to 84 calls September and October, the rest of the season.
“If the season is delayed it would be less impactful April through July than in the fall,” Usher said. “It would affect the area for sure but we’d still be able to have some kind of a strong season with our fall if we are able to keep September and October.”
In the meantime, Usher said they’ve been receiving calls from their tenants, the crafters, folks with excursions, to see if the Port has any information so they can do their planning.
Usher said they’ve been continuing discussions with Transport Canada and Public Health but don’t have anything definitive yet. There is nothing in place as far as protective measures other than what they do now which is sanitation of equipment and ensuring hand sanitizer was readily available.
“In-between calls we would obviously ramp those procedures up as well,” she added.
As far as the health of the passengers, that would be the cruise lines or Health Canada that would make those determinations.
Usher said in the meantime, they are concerned about their staff and the safety of people. They want to ensure the port is a safe place to visit and a safe place for the public and the passengers and they’re concerned about their port partners.
Mike MacKinnon, chief executive officer of the J.A. Douglas McCurdy Airport, said they already have an airport emergency plan that has procedures for dealing with all emergencies including medical issues. MacKinnon said they have verified the plan and the contacts with their stakeholders and are closely monitoring events.
