A co-worker and I were discussing the United States this afternoon and we were both surprised to see that one could theoretically fly to the state of Arizona and attend an NFL football game. To be clear, we would be able to enter Arizona without the requirement of a quarantine period. This means we could go straight from the airport to the football stadium if we wanted to. It’s even highlighted in red on the Arizona tourism web site with “As of October 2020, there are no travel restrictions for individuals visiting Arizona”. Perfect! For completeness, I will just say that on Tuesday, Arizona reported more than 1,000 new cases.
The interesting thing is, I believe there are people who look at this risk and are willing to take the chance. I personally don’t know of any Canadians who have willingly traveled to the United States for tourism/pleasure since mid-March but you just know there are some people who can’t resist going south for some fun. I don’t want to say these people live in Alberta or are from Kelowna because that would be stereotyping, so I won’t say that. That would be bad.
In comparison, if I wanted to visit Atlantic Canada, I could but I would require a 14-day quarantine. It’s smart, decisive, and the type strong, public health leadership that these trying times require. I am proud of the residents of Atlantic Canada for doing their part. As a reward, life is nearly normal there. No NFL football games but I think it’s a fair trade.