The fever struck Gary Lyon days after he and his wife, Sue, reached their Toronto home early last April, ending what was to have been their 40th wedding anniversary dream vacation.
They were passengers on Coral Princess, one of dozens of cruise ships cast adrift as the COVID-19 pandemic caught fire one year ago. After being rejected at several ports across South America, their ship found its final refuge in Miami, setting off a frenzied set of flights home B次元官网网址� through Columbus, Ohio and Newark, N.J.
The Lyons witnessed a chaotic B次元官网网址済ong showB次元官网网址� of departures in the U.S., especially in Columbus where masked passengers mixed with unmasked drivers waiting on the tarmac at the bottom of the planeB次元官网网址檚 staircase.
When they arrived in Toronto, the Lyons were impressed by the steps taken to guard against the virus. The plane landed in a remote terminal and its passengers met masked border officials who were efficient.
But they wonder to this day about their taxi driver who declined their offer of a mask.
B次元官网网址淲e took all the precautions that people had asked us to do, like masks and gloves and luggage that was sprayed and all that stuff. But when I got home B次元官网网址� when we got home B次元官网网址� what kicked in was fever, body ache, loss of taste and smell,B次元官网网址� Gary recalled.
So began a new, challenging health journey for the Lyons, two of the 62,580 Canadian travellers who were brought home from 109 countries as the federal government staged the largest, most elaborate repatriation of stranded Canadians outside of a full-scale war.
They came home on 692 flights and from 36 cruise ships, in an effort that continued until early July last year, Global Affairs Canada said.
Global Affairs headquarters transformed into a travel agency. The departmentB次元官网网址檚 emergency response centre, normally staffed by two dozen people, swelled to 600, swallowing up offices, the library and entire floors of the Lester B. Pearson Building in Ottawa.
When countries began locking down, imposing road closures and checkpoints, there were calls to foreign governments to negotiate landing rights and safe ground passage for desperate passengers.
B次元官网网址淓veryone became a consular official, everyone became a travel agent,B次元官网网址� recalled then-foreign affairs minister Fran莽ois-Philippe Champagne. B次元官网网址淚 remember texting my counterpart in Peru to open the airspace.B次元官网网址�
After doing that, Champagne got another call. Peru had declared martial law just as an Air Canada flight had been booked to head there. So, Champagne and his officials scrambled again, and the jet was granted permission to land at a military base just outside Lima.
B次元官网网址淭he airlines responded beautifully. IB次元官网网址檓 talking mainly Air Canada, because they have the international reach,B次元官网网址� said Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau. Garneau was the transport minister last year.
B次元官网网址淲e worked with them as a government to organize a lot of these flights, which they did at cost. And so, I have nothing but admiration for how they did that.B次元官网网址�
For some travellers, the trip home was quick and uneventful. But for many, the exercise was fraught with delays, costs, and concern they would get sick from COVID-19. A year later, there is anger when they see Canadians still travelling to sun destinations.
Spencer Mason made it home from London last March, but it was a tough decision to leave behind a good IT job in a vibrant world capital. When he heard Prime Minister Justin TrudeauB次元官网网址檚 televised call for Canadians to come home as the pandemic was declared, Mason bought a plane ticket before the big rush hit.
B次元官网网址淚 wasnB次元官网网址檛 just temporarily visiting the U.K., but rather a full-time employee, which made the decision a bit harder,B次元官网网址� said Mason, 23, who is now attending the London School of Economics and Political Science remotely from St. Catharines, Ont.
For other travellers, not everything went as smoothly. Some think the government could have done better, especially on the communications front.
Sanford Osler was among the final 94 to disembark the Coral Princess cruise ship in Miami after its South American voyage was disrupted by the pandemic.
The Canadians on board had formed close friendships, creating a Facebook page and an email list. They began sharing information because Osler said the official line coming out of Global Affairs just didnB次元官网网址檛 add up.
B次元官网网址淭hat was my biggest concern about the Canadian government. They were following it, they had plans, but they werenB次元官网网址檛 communicating it generally through their normal channels to us.B次元官网网址�
Passengers contacted their members of Parliament. Osler credits his Liberal MP, Terry Beech, with being B次元官网网址渧ery useful because he got in touch with Global Affairs and sent me specific information that we werenB次元官网网址檛 getting.B次元官网网址�
Catherine McLeod, a retired high school teacher from Ottawa who made a harrowing trip home last April from a stranded cruise ship, said the government should have done more, sooner, to slam CanadaB次元官网网址檚 border shut to foreign travellers.
B次元官网网址淎nd here we are with the variants now. DoesnB次元官网网址檛 make much sense to me. I think itB次元官网网址檚 ridiculous that they kept allowing people to fly in and fly out.B次元官网网址�
But McLeod gives the government high marks for negotiating the passage of the cruise ship she and her husband, Paul, were on B次元官网网址� the Zaandam B次元官网网址� through the Panama Canal in late March.
Dozens of passengers had developed flu-like symptoms and the ship had been essentially stranded at sea after setting off from Chile in mid-March. It was granted passage through the channel on condition that all passengers stay on board.
B次元官网网址淭hat was the government that pushed that. We snuck through in the dead of night with no lights on or anything,B次元官网网址� said McLeod. The ship made port in Florida by the end of March, enabling McLeod and others to fly home.
McLeod and her husband are staying put these days. They managed to stay healthy, but others they knew from the ship got sick.
The experience has marked her forever, she said. She has no patience for people who chose to travel now.
B次元官网网址淚 think youB次元官网网址檇 have to be out of your mind,B次元官网网址� said McLeod.
Gary Lyon agrees. HeB次元官网网址檚 since beat COVID-19. His wife, Sue, was never tested but had all the symptoms and likely had it too. Today, they both feel a little more sluggish, less vibrant, and they have a hard time wondering whether itB次元官网网址檚 just a bad day, or something else. TheyB次元官网网址檙e reading a lot about so-called B次元官网网址渓ong-haulersB次元官网网址� in search of clues.
B次元官网网址淵ou might dodge the bullet, but then you might not. I donB次元官网网址檛 know how people would justify most leisure travel in that scenario,B次元官网网址� he said.
During the height of the airlift last spring, Champagne said he wondered whether B次元官网网址渢hereB次元官网网址檒l be light at the end of the tunnelB次元官网网址� as hundreds of pleas for help piled up on his phone.
The government has now cracked down on travellers, imposing steep fees for quarantine hotels, and Canadian airlines suspending flights to some spots. Champagne wonders why anyone would want to travel for leisure.
B次元官网网址淲hy would anyone want to take the risk?B次元官网网址� he said.
Global Affairs said the financial cost of the effort to get Canadians home is still being calculated.
Garneau said the great repatriation of 2020 was a remarkable achievement that fulfilled a duty to help Canadians who needed rescuing in extreme circumstances.
B次元官网网址淭here were a lot of people who were saying, B次元官网网址楬elp. Help me to get back to Canada, I need to get back to Canada.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚 think that it was one of one of our finer moments.B次元官网网址�
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Mike Blanchfield, The Canadian Press
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