The CBC says four First Nations, along with the municipalities of Vancouver and Whistler, have signed an agreement with the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic committees to start exploring the feasibility of hosting the 2030 Winter Games in British Columbia. The agreement, announced in a written statement on Tuesday, means officials from the Lil̓wat7úl (Líl̓wat), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) nations, along with the mayors of Vancouver and Whistler will work with the Olympic and Paralympic committees to assess the possibility of making a bid. There are few countries willing or able to make winter Olympic bids these days, which means Vancouver/Whistler Read more
CDC
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is urging governments to accelerate relaxation of travel restrictions as COVID-19 continues to evolve from the pandemic to endemic stage. IATA this week called for removing all travel barriers (including quarantine and testing) for those fully vaccinated with a WHO-approved vaccine, enabling quarantine-free travel for non-vaccinated travelers with a negative pre-departure antigen test result, removing travel bans, and accelerating the easing of travel restrictions in recognition that travelers pose no greater risk for COVID-19 spread than already exists in the general population. “With the experience of the Omicron variant, there is mounting scientific evidence Read more
Cruise lines will no longer have to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention health rules to guard against COVID-19. The CDC’s Framework for Conditional Sailing Order, which was extended and modified in October, will expire Saturday, at which point the health agency’s COVID guidance for cruise ships will become voluntary, the CDC confirmed to USA TODAY on Wednesday. “This means cruise lines can choose whether to follow the health agency’s guidance or not,” USA Today said. CDC spokesperson David Daigle said the Atlanta-based health agency “is transitioning to a voluntary COVID-19 risk mitigation program.” The CDC in 2020 brought Read more
Canada is back in the bad books for U.S. travellers, and it’s going to hurt Canadian businesses. The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has placed Canada back at level four in their travel warning system, which is the highest level and indicates “very high” COVID-19 numbers. Canada was in level four for parts of the pandemic, but then dropped to level three when Canadian COVID cases dropped last year. “We are obviously disappointed with this,” Beth Potter, president and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, said in an email to jimbyerstravel.com. “Canada is a big destination Read more
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the U.S. recently bumped cruise ship travel to its highest travel advisory level, recommending that Americans avoid cruise travel due to “very high” COVID-19 levels. But Avalon Waterways says they operated more than 100 cruises this past summer and fall without incident. “In fact, after operating more than 100 cruises this summer and fall across Europe, Egypt and the Galapagos Islands – and testing every single cruise passenger in preparation for their journeys home – Avalon Waterways ended its 2021 cruise season with ZERO (0) COVID-19 cases onboard. Not one of our Read more
