Travel restrictions
Posted date : Sep 16, 2021.
I have just returned from Texas after spending 3 1/2 months in the Rio Grande Valley. I thought that the association might be able to provide some data. What is your estimate about how many snowbirds travelled to the U.S. Sunbelt over the past winter? For snowbirds with Medipac, I was wondering how many claims were reported in respect to COVID? I figure that most returning snowbirds were fully vaccinated. Since the government closely tracks each returning snowbird, I would be curious how many vaccinated snowbirds have tested for COVID? The Federal Government should have the data on that. On our return, they specifically asked if we had been vaccinated. It would be greatly appreciated if you could shed some light on issues.
Brian Fitzpatrick
High River, AB
Ed.: Real information on COVID is almost impossible to get. At this point, I believe nothing I read or see on TV with regard to COVID statistics. We estimate that between 150-200,000 Canadian snowbirds visited the U.S. this past season. According to the Conference Board of Canada, 914,000 trips were recorded throughout the first half of 2021, compared to 8.1 million last year and 16.7 million in 2019. Compared to the first half of 2019, overseas activity has declined by 94 per cent and transborder trips have fallen by 95 per cent. Medipac has had only 25 COVID claims, one of which was very serious and well in excess of $1 million.
