SYDNEY, N.S. — This is the time of the year when Helen Doherty joins thousands of other snowbirds on the annual migration home to Canada.
But unlike past years, the Big Pond Centre resident, who has been wintering on Anna Maria Island in the Tampa area of Florida, is leaving early because of concerns over the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
Given the widespread uncertainty, Doherty said she’d much rather be home at her little piece of heaven on the Bras d’Or Lake.
“I would rather ride this out in Big Pond than in the United States – Big Pond is home and it always will be,” she said, adding that she’s well aware of the now mandatory rule that Nova Scotians returning from out of the country must quarantine themselves for a 14-day period.
Doherty said there have been no reported cases of COVID-19 on the island where she resides, but there have been a few confirmed cases in the broader area. And she said that while she and other Canadians are acutely aware of the situation, they aren’t overly worried about catching the virus.
However, she said an increasing concern among many, and the primary reason for her early return, is that some Canadians have been informed by their insurance providers that their travel insurance will be cancelled by a certain date due to the coronavirus.
Doherty said that’s what happened to a friend of hers. And that friend will be making the journey home with Doherty.
“Her travel medical insurance is being canceled as of the 23rd of this month and we’ve heard from others that quite a few medical plans that people bought are being canceled because of the coronavirus,” she said.
“Their big fear is being billed, so they’re saying they have to get home just in case – and, even with insurance, nobody wants to get stuck in a hospital in the U.S., so yeah, Canadians are going home.”
For her part, Doherty has already been an adherent of social distancing.
“I don’t come into contact with a lot of people so I am not overly worried about contracting it,” she said.
But that doesn’t mean she’s taking chances on the four-day drive home starts Thursday.
“We have a big cooler with enough food for four days, we have spray bottles of disinfectant to spray down the surfaces in hotel rooms, we plan to wash our hands often and avoid touching our face, we’ll be taking every precaution,” said Doherty.
“We won’t be going to any restaurants or into any stores, we’re just going to do the drive.”
Doherty knows the Cape Breton she is returning to will not be the same as when she left last November. But with 14 days of self-isolation awaiting her, she won’t immediately miss too many of the services or venues that are closing due to the coronavirus.
