When governments in Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand and elsewhere instituted mandatory hotel quarantines for travellers arriving in their countries as a way of monitoring the spread of COVID-19, they received both praise and criticism. Some citizens questioned why their rights of mobility were being curtailed in their own countries. Would-be travellers factored additional costs into their budgets or deferred travel. And others sought to evade the measures. Exploring the history of quarantine hotels reveals ambivalences and inequities that continue to fuel debates over their effectiveness in the era of COVID-19. There is a logic behind choosing hotels for mandatory quarantine and for other COVID-19-era public-health measures such as re-housing people experiencing homelessness. The latter was done at the former Roehampton Hotel in Toronto, where it was met with controversy from affluent community members. Hotels supply space. Their capacity and interior organization means that individuals and households can be separated and monitored. Meals can be supplied with minimal contact and movements can be tracked.

People’s Party of Canada (PPC) Leader Maxime Bernier accused NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi of attempting to silence opposition to lockdowns after the two claimed anti-lockdown protests were tied to far-right extremism. “There is nothing new in attempts by the authoritarian far-left to deplatform and cancel people with whom they disagree. What’s new now is that there seems to be a concerted effort to silence opposition to lockdowns using the same old trick of calling people racist and white supremacists,” Bernier told True North. “Singh, Nenshi and other politicians and commentators are all of a sudden claiming that tens of thousands of ordinary Canadians who demonstrate against ineffective and disastrous lockdown policies are dangerous extremists. This is despicable.” Bernier has been a regular staple at anti-lockdown rallies across Canada. Most recently, the PPC leader travelled to Saskatchewan to attend a freedom rally in Regina where he and others were ticketed $2,800 for violating COVID-19 public health orders, according to the Western Standard.

Ontario will no longer offer first doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine due to an increase in reports of rare blood clots. The announcement was made by Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams on Tuesday afternoon. “This decision was made out of an abundance of caution,” Williams said. The AstraZeneca vaccine was being offered to individuals aged 40 and up at numerous pharmacies across the province. According to Chief Health Protection and Emergency Preparedness Officer Dr. Jessica Hopkins, the risk of thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) associated with the vaccine in Ontario is one in 60,000. Hopkins later clarified that as of May 8, eight Ontarians have developed blood clots related to the vaccine. “At this point in time, and given that we’re seeing the overall case numbers of COVID going down, and an increase in the safety signal at a population level, it makes sense to pause AstraZeneca, because the risk of severe outcomes with VITT shouldn’t be underestimated.” Williams added that the decision to pause is also based on the increased and reliable supply of these other vaccine options.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today defended his foreign affairs minister’s recent and upcoming work-related travel overseas as “essential,” as he assured Canadians that all quarantine and testing requirements will be followed. Asked whether Canadians might think it hypocritical they have been told to avoid international travel for more than a year, but Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau doesn’t have to, Trudeau said his government has always “highlighted the need for essential travel.” “There are thousands of trucks with food and essential goods that cross the U.S. border every day. We continue to see essential travel happening, the question always remains what is essential travel and are the rules going to be followed,” he said Tuesday, speaking to reporters in Ottawa. Garneau travelled to the U.K. early in the month to attend an in-person meeting of G7 foreign and development ministers. He’s also expected to travel next week, to the 12th ministerial meeting of the Arctic Council in Iceland.