Travellers returning home spotting few changes due to COVID-19

As worries over COVID-19 swept across Canada, many people were on vacation or away from home when it first took hold.

Travellers were landing at the Regina International Airport on Saturday, with some arriving home after a lengthy vacation.

Cheryl Hoshowski was returning from a vacation in Costa Rica, where she spent three weeks. She said many of the people they talked with there didn’t view it as much more than a cold.

“I don’t think they realize that the world is shutting down,” Hoshowksi said.

She said they made sure to take disinfectant wipes with them.

“(We) wiped everything down and kept cleaning our hands but people aren’t (being overly cautious). It’s surprising – in the airports I thought maybe they would have people scanning their own passport. I’ve had maybe 20 people touch my passport since I left Costa Rica,” said Howshowki, who also noted airport employees aren’t wearing gloves in other areas.

Darrell Olbrich and his wife Darlene were just arriving back from a month in Hawaii.

“We didn’t really pay attention overly too much. We were just getting caught up over the last couple days coming home,” Darrell said.

“You just heard a lot of people talking. You could tell that people were worried and scared. They didn’t know what was going on. You heard a lot of that from different people from all over the place,” Darlene said.

They said a woman they know in Vancouver was considering cutting her vacation short due to medical needs.

Paula Acoose was recently in Edmonton and said an employee at the airport told her business had taken a hit.

“When I arrived (at the airport in Edmonton) I went to grab a coffee and started to talk to the lady at the counter and she said, ‘I can’t believe how quiet it is, I’ve never seen it that quiet,’” Acoose said.

The Government of Saskatchewan implemented new ways to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. This includes the recommendation people who have travelled outside Saskatchewan in the previous two weeks or who have acute repository or flu-like symptoms shouldn’t visit long-term care homes and hospitals.

Despite public gatherings of over 250 people in one room being banned. Schools remain open.

Ottawa is also asking all Canadians to book flights to come home as soon as they can while commercial options are still available with more and more countries deciding to limit travel.