The COVID-19 pandemic

[panamaniac]

For those so inclined, new immigrants can be tested if there is a concern.

Never mind immigration, shouldn’t a mandatory 21 day quarantine have been put in place for all people entering the country starting in approximately mid-February? I suppose it would have seemed draconian but it would have been nothing compared to what we’ve been doing the last month or so.

What about truckers? It occurred to me that trucking might be re-organized so that trailers are handed off from one cab to another at the border — so a trucker would drive to the border, drop off a trailer, and pick up a different trailer to take back. No personal interaction on the other side of the border. Although I suppose it’s not really that different if the trucker drives the trailer to its final destination and unhooks it there without interacting with anybody, then goes right back across the border.

Self isolation for those arriving from abroad has now been in place for a couple of weeks.  Whether something "should have" been done differently, sooner, whatever, is irrelevant at the moment, as the entire focus needs to be on fighting the spread of the virus now.  One can come back for "lessons learned" in future, when the war has been won.
Once reliable speedy testing becomes available, I could see it being used to address the issue of truckers and other still allowed to cross the border.