The crew of the Ruby Princess will finally get home – but they have to wait to be tested first. VIA rail services are disrupted, Greyhound Canada cancels all routes. Essential workers will get a raise (Yeah!) Canadians are getting used to wearing masks and lots more.
The Philippine coast guard said Thursday the Ruby Princess will drop anchor in Manila Bay, where at least 16 other cruise ships have converged since last month while waiting for more than 5,000 Filipino crewmembers to be tested for the coronavirus before disembarking. Coast guard spokesman Armand Balilo said 214 Filipino crewmen on board the Ruby Princess will be tested.
The Ruby Princess has been linked to 19 deaths in Australia and two in the United States. An Australian government inquiry is underway into why 2,700 passengers and crew were allowed to disembark in Sydney on March 19 before the test results of sick passengers were known.
Governments that want to use smartphones to trace the movements of Canadians during the COVID-19 crisis should handle personal information with care, privacy watchdogs from across the country warned Thursday in a united call for caution. Privacy commissioners have been warning of potential risks associated with government COVID-19 apps since provinces started musing about the idea a few weeks ago.
Expanded protections for endangered southern resident killer whales off British Columbia‘s coast focus on contaminants, noise, physical disturbances and accessibility of chinook salmon, the orca’s primary prey. The actions announced by several government departments Thursday include a ban on tourist or whale watching vessels with over 12 passengers until the end of June, a measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The crisis continues to disrupt VIA Rail passenger services from coast to coast. The company announced the extension of the suspension of the Canadian and the Ocean services, its long-distance routes, and the suspension of the Sleeper class on the Winnipeg-Churchill route until November 1. While there is still a great deal of uncertainty as to when both domestic and international travel will resume, VIA Rail will continue to assess how it can support the recommendations of the public health authorities in their response to the pandemic and in preparation for the progressive service recovery.
VIA Rail is adjusting its operations and deploying a strict protocol of sanitary measures on board its trains, in its stations, maintenance centres and call centres in response to the pandemic and in order to minimize the spread of COVID-19. It has limited the number of bookable seats aboard the trains in order to provide passengers social distancing space when travelling.
Greyhound Canada is temporarily slamming the brakes on all of its bus routes and services as ridership plummets amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting May 13, the transportation company will halt all routes until passenger demand recovers.
Quebec Premier Francois Legault has delayed reopening retail stores, schools and daycares in the Montreal area to May 25.
Janitors at long-term care facilities, those restocking food on store shelves, along with other low-wage employees who have made it possible for millions of Canadians to avoid contracting COVID-19 while getting the supplies and services they need, will soon be getting a raise. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the federal government, provinces and territories will spend up to $4 billion to top up the wages of essential workers in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The risk of catching COVID-19 from packages delivered to doorsteps is believed to be low, but a health expert says taking a few extra steps when handling it can lower the risk even more. Canadians are using delivery services more during the pandemic not only because many stores are closed, but also to avoid physical contact with people.
Canadians are growing more accustomed to wearing cloth face masks while walking around their neighbourhoods or running errands during the COVID-19 pandemic. But if those masks aren’t being sanitized regularly, experts say they could be harmful.
Indoor shopping mall operators across the country are preparing to reopen for business with an abundance of COVID-19 precautions in the coming weeks, and consumers should be ready to accommodate a number of changes. From the staff hired to manage the flow of people, to food court seating that will be at least partially roped off, there will be changes as the retail world looks to reopen its doors.
The Royal St. John’s Regatta that has run for over two centuries has been cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizers made the announcement Thursday. The regatta, held every August near the Newfoundland and Labrador capital, marked its 200th anniversary in 2018. It is the oldest continuing sports event in North America.
JetBlue Airways swung to a US $268 million loss in the first quarter. It made a $42 million quarterly profit last year. Revenue slumped 15%. President Joanna Geraghty said bookings remain extremely limited.” The New York carrier said Thursday that after negotiations with Airbus, it cut $1.1 billion in aircraft expenses through 2022. It’s taking $936 million in federal relief and has applied for another $1.1 billion in loans from the US Treasury.
Air France-KLM suffered a first-quarter loss of €1.8 billion, but predicts the second quarter will be far worse, with traffic down 95%.
The airlines, which have already won billions of euros in bailouts from the French and Dutch governments, expect some resumption of summer travel, but numbers will still likely be down 80% in the third quarter.
The US’s biggest union of airline pilots is pushing for federal regulations covering the cleaning of airplanes. Joe DePete, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, told The Associated Press there is a patchwork across the industry, with some airlines doing a good job while others aren’t doing so well.” The union says three of its members have died and more than 300 pilots have tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19.
About 60% of Hilton hotels worldwide – around 950 properties – have suspended operations. However, global occupancy levels, which slumped to 13% in March, have reached 23%. Nearly all of the 150 hotels closed in China during the height of the pandemic have reopened, and Hilton says occupancy reached 50% last weekend during the May Day holiday.