Arrival Testing - It's in the News!

[K_e_short]

We had been discussing why this issue wasn't in the news before.

 

Well now it is:

 

 

[DirtyDawg]

Arrival Testing - It's on Twitter!

🥳 or 🥱

 

Sorry I was expecting Knowlton Nash reporting about it.😉

Edited January 13, 2022 by DirtyDawg

[K_e_short]

7 minutes ago, DirtyDawg said:

Arrival Testing - It's on Twitter!

🥳 or 🥱

 

The twitter post refers to a CBC news story.

 

[DirtyDawg]

5 minutes ago, K_e_short said:

 

The twitter post refers to a CBC news story.

 

I don't do Twitter and it does not show for us non-Twitterers. It refuses to connect. I guess it feels the same way about me that I feel about it. 😉

 

 

Edited January 13, 2022 by DirtyDawg

[gnome12]

Here is a link to the CBC news story.

 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/travel-pcr-test-government-1.6311868

[ALD18]

Excellent, common sense article.  Thanks for sharing.

[tert333]

When we got back from the US last week, we did not get picked for arrival testing.   However, someone on the parknfly bus said they were selected and it took 2 hours to get their test.  That was on Saturday night around 9:30

[GStuart]

100% agree with the article. This needs to change, it makes absolutely no sense anymore.

 

Add to that the fact that more and more people run the strong likelihood of testing positive months after exposure to Omicron as Omicron runs rampant and access to PCR testing in most provinces is largely unavailable for confirmation and you have a control that is ineffective.

 

I'm planning on travelling in late Feb. I plan on paying for a PCR test sometime early-mid Feb just on the off chance that I've been exposed even though every rapid test I've done has shown negative. If I get the positive result I fully expect at this point then that's my return card back into Canada on the 10-180 day policy (provided I continue to be asymptomatic of course).

[OVgirl]

Their decision to double test all travellers makes no sense. Just an expensive PR stunt.

[Fouremco]

If you are flying into the US, you pre-clear in Canada and aren't subjected to the same process when you arrive. This is the model that Canada should follow for testing, show proof of your negative test at the airport in the US and that's it. The double testing is a terrible waste of resources and does little to control Omicron.

[ALD18]

2 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

If you are flying into the US, you pre-clear in Canada and aren't subjected to the same process when you arrive. This is the model that Canada should follow for testing, show proof of your negative test at the airport in the US and that's it. The double testing is a terrible waste of resources and does little to control Omicron.

Exactly, preferably with with an antigen test. 

[Liverpoolfan181]

25 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

If you are flying into the US, you pre-clear in Canada and aren't subjected to the same process when you arrive. This is the model that Canada should follow for testing, show proof of your negative test at the airport in the US and that's it. The double testing is a terrible waste of resources and does little to control Omicron.

We just got back from Orlando and my husband was randomly selected at Canadian Customs. Because we came from the US he doesn’t have to quarantine while waiting results. It’s day 4 now and still waiting…🙄

[edrussell]

We have traveled a few times internationally during the pandemic and sadly my feeling is that many of the 'restrictions' do little to further public health concerns.  The design of said restrictions come from a good place.  However the execution of them often goes astray. The end result being that they do more harm than good.

 

Add to this the publics willingness to go along with those aspects of the restrictions that just simply fail logic.  Sooner or later the majority will start to disregard them whenever possible.  So right now if you believe you are exposed or have a presumptive case in Ontario you self isolate for 5 days but if I return from an International trip I might be isolating at home for longer than that while waiting for a test result because of the implementation and lab delays?  Ya, OK sure.  How long will that pan out before people start to make up their own rules.  Maybe not a 'good' thing but it will happen.

Edited January 13, 2022 by edrussell

[K_e_short]

3 hours ago, Liverpoolfan181 said:

We just got back from Orlando and my husband was randomly selected at Canadian Customs. Because we came from the US he doesn’t have to quarantine while waiting results. It’s day 4 now and still waiting…🙄

 

My test in Ottawa took 5 days. Others posted that it took 6-7 days?

 

You are lucky he doesn't have to quarantine.

[DirtyDawg]

On 1/13/2022 at 6:44 PM, K_e_short said:

 

My test in Ottawa took 5 days. Others posted that it took 6-7 days?

 

You are lucky he doesn't have to quarantine.

I am 8 days and counting. Mrs. Dawg got her negative result in in 6 days.  Other people we know were in the 5-6 day range, with a couple at 2 days. So I must be special!🙂

 

I hope they didn't lose my test because I am 99.9% it will come back positive. I got sick last Friday just after we got back to Canada and I tested positive on an at home Antigen test last weekend. It just felt like a flu. Not the worst flu I've ever had but definitely in the to 10. Did not miss any online classes during the week but the students knew from my coughing that I had it. 

 

Are the PCR test for arriving air passengers a waist of recourses in the long run? Maybe. But they were definitely a waist over the holiday crunch period when they couldn't get the results back until after the quarantine period. Just make all people arriving into Canada, whether by air, sea, land or whatever, quarantine for 5 days if the experts still think that can slow down the infection rate and reduce the pressures on our healthcare system.  

 

Quarantining after arrival was no big deal for us. We had groceries delivered. A wine club order came. The only wrinkle was our furnace was out when we got back home and we could not get anybody in to fix it for a week. We turned up the gas fireplaces and used electric heaters to keep the place warmish. I'm looking forward to seeing what the Hydro bill is this month. 🤯

 

One thing you can say about the Pandemic; It's sure never boring!

 

Edited January 15, 2022 by DirtyDawg

[karebare22]

Fully agree that this is a waste of money and resources. We paid $600 US for rapid PCR testing 2 days before our flight from Fort Lauderdale because the demand in Florida for testing meant we couldn’t take the free tests (those results weren’t guaranteed to arrive within the 3 days of our flight). Arrived at the Montreal airport at 11:30pm on Mon. Jan 10. 3 of 4 of us (I was the lucky one 😁) selected for random testing, which was done right at the airport. Airport was empty and quiet, there were more Switch health workers standing around at registration stations, and at the testing cubicles than there were travellers! 5 days later, none of us have any symptoms yet still isolating and waiting for those results, ridiculous. Rapid testing upon arrival would make more sense. 

[lots-of-km2]

6 hours ago, DirtyDawg said:

I am 8 days and counting.

 

That's awful! 

 

(I'm no fan of Switch Health given my own experiences with them).