Many countries that thought they had beaten the pandemic virus are frantically backtracking at the moment. Most of the new outbreaks have resulted from failures in certain specific areas: in China, it's a market in Beijing (yes, markets again! Seeing a trend?); in Japan, karaoke bars; in South Korea, nightclubs; in Spain, large family gatherings and birthday parties; in Germany, religious services; etc, etc.
In the USA ... well, let's not talk about the USA. Suffice to say, the USA is a mess, and should be used as a case study in what not to do in a pandemic. Top doctor, Dr. Anthony Fauci, is now expecting 100,000 new cases a day!
Within Canada, British Columbia, poster province for best pandemic reponse, and long with hardly any new cases, has just seen two new outbreaks, one in a care home and one in a small hospital. And here in Ontario, the city of Kingston, which has been exemplary in its response until now, let its guard down and has seen a sudden spike in cases traceable to a specific nail salon (although its response to this new challenge has also been exemplary).
So, we have oodles of real-life evidence that opwning up after this particular virus outbreak is really difficult, and should be approached very slowly, and with plenty of controls and restrictions (masks, for God's sake!) still in place. Give it any opportunity at all, however small, and this virus will come raging back. This is not even the second wave of the virus - we have that still to look forward to! - this is just an extension of the first.
With all that in mind, then, why the hell are Air Canada and Westjet (and other airlines) relaxing restrictions and ending their physical distancing requirements, contrary to Transport Canada guidelines and recommendations? Well, I know the answer is profit or, as they might term it, solvency. But is the federal government, which has, sensibly, just extended its ban on most foreign travellers until July 31, not able to stop them?
There is an avoidable spike just waiting to happen, right there.
Air Canada CEO Calin Rovinescu has been all over the media recently, fulminating at the restrictions imposed by governments which are not allowing him to reach his full God-given capacity for profit-making. But what is a responsible government to do? Go down the American road? If we have to return to full lockdown, how is that going to affect his bottom line?
I understand that airlines, like so many other businesses, are just leaking red ink at the moment. But that doesn't mean that we should just throw caution to the wind and risk having wasted the last three or four months of privation. The government has thrown billions of (present and future) tax-payers money at various measures to help businesses survive in these times. They should be grateful for that, and not just whine about unfair government restrictions on the free market. That just makes them sound like Donald Trump, and non-one wants that.
It is also increasingly clear that Canadian airports need to ramp up their health checks on arriving (and departing) passengers, and there are more and more calls for this, while government continues to drag its feet. This is particularly clear from reports that, since lockdown in mid-March, some 158 flights have entered Canada with COVID cases on board, and, in July alone, 17 international flights and 14 domestic flights have been flagged for possible exposure to the virus.
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