“The last time I wore proper shoes was… two weeks ago. I don’t want to leave Floripa. We’re happy here.”
But we had to. Mark and Feng are going back to Canada—I’m not, not yet anyway. And as you may have heard, COVID-19 testing is now required for people flying into Canada, so we had to get this done in São Paulo.
We packed and said goodbye to Florianópolis.
In case you were wondering, this is Mark drying my swimsuit the night before the flight.
We landed in São Paulo just after the daily 4 p.m. downpour. Streets were still wet and occasionally flooded but it had stopped raining. I love São Paulo, yet it was a bit of a culture shock after Rio de Janeiro and Santa Catarina Island. The weather was colder, streets felt dirtier and everybody seemed overdressed to me because we had just spent three weeks beach bumming.
Our first task was to find where to do the damn COVID test. Canada implemented mandatory testing before flying almost overnight and guidelines weren’t clear—plenty of travellers are stranded because they just can’t get result within 72 hours of boarding their flight.
The situation in Canada went downhill pretty fast. When we left mid-December, messaging was focused on limiting gatherings during the holidays. The Ontario-wide lockdown announced for Boxing Day took me by surprise and so was the travel-shaming that ensued. Travelling during the pandemic has never been recommended obviously, but closed borders and Canada’s mandatory two-week quarantine discourages most people. Besides, “It’s like a tiny, tiny fraction of all the cases that we’re seeing in Ontario,” said Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease physician and member of the Ford government’s vaccine distribution task force. “So, no, it’s not zero, but it certainly is not driving the epidemic in Ontario…. Was in the past, but it isn’t right now.”
Anyway, Feng and Mark had to get tested. Fair enough. I just wish mandatory pre-departure testing had been implemented worldwide in airports months ago, it’d make things easier for everyone. It’s been a year—people are going places because they have to or because they want to, define “non-essential”…
Luckily, Brazil leverages its awesome network of pharmacies for testing, also done in private labs. I had asked around in Floripa, I was confident we could get it done.
This is the only info we had regarding requirements: “The test must be performed using one of two types of COVID-19 tests—either a molecular polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP)—and must be conducted within 72 hours of the traveller’s scheduled departure to Canada.”
Drogasil was friendly and helpful but the only test we could do was the rapid antigen-based test. For the PCR test, “CPF”—aka “Cadastro de Pessoa Física” or “that number all Brazilians have and spit out every time they buy anything”—was required.
I ended up asking at Droga Raia, another pharmacy chain. Three tests were offered—PCR-LAMP with saliva, nose swab and antibody test (to know whether you had COVID). We were kind of confused because in Canada, the PCR test is the standard nose swab.
“How many nose swab tests can there be? It has to be this one!”
I explained our dilemma. “Well, you’ll get the results in 15 minutes and no CPF required. We can do it now if you want.”
“But it’s… past midnight.”
The pharmacist shrugged. “I’m available. And we open 24/7.”
So Feng went to get Mark at the hotel—yes, we leave him alone for short periods of time, questionable parenting is our trademark—and both guys took turns to get the uncomfortable test half of mankind must have done by now.
Feng’s teared up, Mark found it was like a tickle in his nose.
I took Mark back to the hotel and twenty minutes later, Feng showed up with two negative tests—Mark was disappointed until I explained that “negative” is good in this context.
I didn’t take the test. I will, in time. However, I can guarantee you I’ve been in close contact with Feng and I don’t want to brag or anything, but it was definitely for longer than 15 minutes, so I’m pretty confident I’m also negative.
The next morning, we asked a few private labs but it would have taken four days to get results, so not accepted by the Government of Canada.
“I hope our test is the right one…”
“It’s the only one we can do here. And come on, it’s from a large pharmacy chain, we have legit paperwork! Plus Canada still has the mandatory two-week quarantine and there’s a stay-at-home order in effect. There’s never gonna be zero risk, but we did due diligence.”
Instead of flying somewhere else in Brazil the same day as Mark and Feng as we usually do, I was going to stay one more day in São Paulo, just to make sure the guys had boarded their flight. Harder emotionally speaking, but we needed a plan B because hey, who doesn’t these days.
“You’ll be fine.”
“You’ll be too, you’ll see.”
I’ve heard both: that people coming from abroad doesn’t represent a real risk and that the risk is in fact underevaluated.
I can understand why travelling is discouraged, but:
1- then, government members and elected officials should not travel abroad to be an example. Too many have (6 in Alberta only)
2- Air Canada, a national company, has been caught financing “influencers” to encourage taking vacations abroad. It doesn’t look like the government really discourage travelling abroad.
3- Not travelling includes not leaving one’s area, so abroad or within Canada poses the same “problem”.
4- International truck drivers don’t even need to have a test when coming back. Why not?
5- We have witnessed a lot of reckless behaviour within Canada that have nothing to do with abroad travels.
So, yes, the whole “you should be ashamed to travel” is absolutely ridiculous.
I think I’m justa tired of the shaming, period. There’s also the innuendo that people who do get sick somehow did something wrong. My siblings got COVID (and recovered) and they didn’t do anything foolish… just, you know, working and living in Paris.