Isolation hub departure protocols are lax, say Nunavut-bound travellers
“With all the rant and craziness from security to make sure we didn’t mix inside the airport, we were in a tin can together”
A little crowded? A traveller returning home from one of Nunavut’s isolation hubs took this photo from inside the aircraft. (Submitted photo)
Some Nunavut residents who have spent two weeks in southern isolation hubs say the regulations enforced so strictly during their hotel stays fell apart on departure.
When one Nunavut resident—who, like others in this story, asked to remain anonymous—recently headed back home, he said no one asked to check his identification before he boarded the aircraft.
That was after he was warned to always keep his ID and other documents in a zip-lock plastic bag with him: “Keep the bag with you at all times … you will need those documents to leave the hotel and then to check into your flight.”
Then, when he boarded the aircraft, their flight appeared to be overcrowded with a mix of those leaving isolation and essential workers, who had not come out of isolation, this returning resident said.
“With all the rant and craziness from security to make sure we didn’t mix inside the airport, we were in a tin can together,” he told Nunatsiaq News.
“If they found out I was close to someone, I would have to restart my quarantine. But this flight was ok? To me, it sounds like the stupidest thing ever. Inside the plane we were packed in, with absolutely no separation whatsoever.”
Others have noted on social media that there are passengers who are just coming out of quarantine and some who have not been in isolation for two weeks getting on the aircraft.
Asked to respond to these comments, Danarae Sommerville, a spokesperson for the Government of Nunavut’s Health Department, said checking identification is the responsibility of the airlines and airport security.
“We have not heard of any lapses in this,” she said in an email to Nunatsiaq News.
As for the allegations of overcrowding and mixing between groups on-board, she said the Government of Canada requires all passengers wear a non-medical mask or face covering large enough to cover their mouth and nose during their travel through Canadian airports and in flight.
“Where physical distancing cannot be maintained, such as within an aircraft, wearing a non-medical mask or face covering is an important additional measure that all passengers can take to protect those around them,” she said.
“It is also important to note that travelling on aircraft is low risk for transmission. There have been more than 1,000 flights in Canada with one or more infected individuals aboard, but zero cases of transmission on board.”
Release from isolation
Some travellers coming out of isolation hubs said they were unexpectedly released from the hotels, way before their scheduled flights, opening up the chances for inadvertent exposure to COVID-19.
One Nunavut resident said he and others were recently released early from their isolation at the Chateau Nova in Yellowknife.
“I was released seven hours early. Some other individuals told me they were released more than seven hours early,” he told Nunatsiaq News.
“The Department of Health worker informed me they are trying to save money and need self-isolationists out early as possible and there was no room for discussion.
“If this 14 day-isolation period is so subjective, why not let us leave when we feel it’s appropriate? It’s obvious no strict guidelines are actually being followed. This 14-day self-isolation is apparently not that big a deal.”
When asked about such early releases, the Health Department said last week that, “There are times where letting someone travel a little early saves them from having to stay another two to three days.”
“It all depends on flight schedules. The incremental increase in risk by discharging up to 12 hours early is quite small,” Sommerville said.
This is the sheet that Nunavut residents receive when they are ready to leave the isolation hubs. (Screenshot)
In these situations, returning travellers follow the same isolation and travel guidelines as all residents approved for travel, she said.
Approval for travel includes a review by nurses on site of each traveller’s daily check-in logs to make sure they complied with the isolation rules.
This takes place on the day before a traveller’s scheduled departure.
The nurses conduct a final in-person assessment to ensure travellers are healthy and show no symptoms of COVID-19, the Health Department said.
A sheet, called a “Pre-clearance Communication Letter,” is also distributed to all departing hotel guests.
Travellers shared this document with Nunatsiaq News.
They said its tone reminded them of a handout from residential school, although Sommerville said the GN has not received complaints about it.
Among many things, the letter says in caps, “PLEASE REFRAIN FROM THE USE OF ALCOHOL 48 HOURS PRIOR TO DEPARTURE. THE USE OF ALCOHOL CAN PRESENT SOME OF THE COVID19 SYMPTOMS.”
The assessments and results from the pre-clearance check are sent to the chief public health officer—and a decision to clear a traveller for a scheduled return home is made and a letter approving travel is issued, Sommerville said.
As of Oct. 5, thousands have shared the two-week quarantine experience, the Health Department said.
The Health Department said 7,180 travellers had gone through the southern isolation hubs on their way to Nunavut: 2,598 were there for medical reasons, 3,174 were other residents, 60 were students and 1,674 were construction workers.
The hubs are likely to stay in place into early 2021, sources have told Nunatsiaq News.
Following complaints about the occasional bad food, mayhem and bedbugs at the hotels, a team of government staff in Nunavut is working towards quality improvement at the isolation hubs.
The Health Department told Nunatsiaq News last month: “Our goal is to provide the most safe and pleasant guest experience possible while maintaining strict isolation.”
Hub hotel guests who would like to submit a formal complaint should contact the Office of Patient Relations, the Health Department said.
The Office of Patient Relations can be reached at 867-975-5703 (toll-free 1-855-438-3003) or by email at patientrelations@gov.nu.ca.
its all for show. Isolate for 14 days, then get released to the wild before you get on the plane. Mix/match for police and nurses coming up as emergency workers, shake hands with airport security, and sit in the bathroom stall next to people connecting fromToronto while you wait for boarding. Safer to isolate at home than be put through this.
There are probably some situations here and there where it appears that the departure rules are lax. My personal experience was that I was escorted the whole time right up to boarding the plane to Nunavut. Everyone had masks the while time while on the plane. I was impressed at the diligence of everyone involved to keep safety a top priority. The measures can’t be criticized too much, the proof is in the numbers of covid cases in Nunavut: 0. You can’t argue with that number.
I am in favor of the quarantine, though i think there must also be a better way. what has me wondering if it is actually important is that there has not been a single case of COVID from anyone while in Quarantine… so really all the quarantine is doing is decreasing the volume of travelers north and south, and costing a ton. to add to it has there even been a single person that is from Nunavut that has gotten COVID anywhere?
But i am glad we have no cases, I can often forget that it is even a problem in ALL other parts of the world.
“It is also important to note that travelling on aircraft is low risk for transmission. There have been more than 1,000 flights in Canada with one or more infected individuals aboard, but zero cases of transmission on board.”
Overlooking the fact that the coronavirus infected almost the entire world in a matter of a few weeks as a result of air travel.
the hubs don’t make any sense anyways. someone who books travel in iqaluit got his wife to come back not having to isolate. it just matters who you know. this is not an essential worker. she’s not even working right now
we should all care that someone didn’t isolate for 14 days in a hub if they aren’t an ‘essential worker’. Does anyone know what types of reason a person can come in without having to isolate if they aren’t an essential worker??
If you know who this person is, then you (for your safety and that of others) should advise the CPHO office.
Commenting on NN or FB does nothing but fuel the fire and possibly making YOU complicit in bringing the virus in.
My wife and I returned to Iqaluit from two weeks in isolation in Ottawa on October 8.
My observations are:
1. We were treated with courtesy throughout our isolation period
2. The food was plentyful and if good quality.
3. We were carefully checked in and out of the isolation hotel with daily health checks.
4. We were carefully checked in at the airport. We were kept isolated in our group and all protocols were followed from getting off the bus to deplanning at home in Iqaluit.
5. The 14 days are not a holiday. They are not supposed to be.
We were happy with the entire process and felt very safe and protected health purposes.
I disagree with some of this. We were not allowed to leave without proper paperwork and photo I’d. We at least I, received a call everyday to check up on my health. Security was present at all times at the hotel I stayed at ( 2 to 3 on my floor ), and 3 to 4 on ground floor, with at least 3 on the p1 level where we could smoke. Security always enforced the 2 meter rule. And, unless we were on p1, we had to have masks at all times. The only thing I was not happy about, was the amount of weed smell at p1.
At the airport, security was with us at all times, and did not let anyone wander. Right up until we got on the plane. On the plane the stewardesses made sure everyone kept their mask on.
The only thing could have been better, was way food served.
I think all in all, the hotels, security did a good job in enforcement of the COVID rules.
Personally I think people whine for the sake if whining to get attention.
I did not like being in isolation, hated it, but I realize it being neccessary to ensure the health of people here.
Given the fact that there are zero cases, zero recovered and zero deaths in Nunavut I would argue that they are doing everything right.
If cases started rising this complaint may be warranted. Right now, be thankful this procedure is in place. Not everyone is able to isolate like this before returning home to their families.
Testing has improved so much from when COVID just started, I don’t understand why there is not more testing being done, while other countries such as Iceland and Greenland have been doing testing and curbing the infection rate, improved testing methods and fast results why are we not doing the same!
It’s a matter of time when Covid-19 hits the communities in Nunavut with this lax protocols.
This is ridiculous, especially Calm air flight out of Winnipeg, after spending 2 weeks in isolation, they leave the first 8 rows empty, and bunch us together in the back, with non isolation people. I think the only purpose is to load more freight $$$, transport canada needs to look into this idioissy on calm airs procedures putting us at risk.