Global Perspectives August, 2020

Courtesy of Global News
Canadian Truckers Worry about Entering U.S. Due to Coronavirus

Travelling to the United States is likely not on the list of things to do this summer for many Canadians. In fact, a recent Ipsos poll found 93 percent of Canadians believed travelling to the U.S. this summer would be too risky.

The way some U.S. officials have handled the novel coronavirus pandemic, including reopening the economy when the number of cases continues to rise, has health experts and casual observers worried about what might happen if Canada were to reopen its border too soon.

But for truckers, who are exempt from Canada’s 14-day isolation rules and whose livelihoods often depend upon making back-and-forth journeys between the two countries—transporting everything from raw materials to a huge chunk of Canada’s food supply—crossing the border isn’t something they can necessarily refuse.
Yet some drivers are doing just that. Worried they could catch the virus and then transmit it to family members and others once back in Canada, they’re turning down work in the U.S. in favor of staying closer to home.

“I just don’t trust them,” said Dan Carson, a truck driver from southern Ontario who refuses to work in the U.S. “(Americans) just don’t seem to take it serious, even with all the numbers and the hotspots, which is basically half the states right now.”

Since early June, the number of daily confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. has accelerated rapidly, especially in states such as Florida, Texas, Arizona and California, which continue to set records, both for the number of cases and deaths.