General What should I do about quarantine law for Canadians crossing the border to study in the U.S.?

[Goro]

Hello,

I sincerely hope you and your family are staying safe in this difficult time.

I was hoping to get some feedback and thoughts for a recent amendment to the Canadian quarantine act. I have provided the link at the bottom of this post.

In essence, Canadians crossing the border to the U.S. daily to attend an in-person class will have to enter a 14-day quarantine upon re-entry back to Canada. This essentially means that such students will be in a perpetual cycle of quarantine for an extensive period of time (at least as long as the school year).

My medical school is in Detroit and I hold residence in Windsor, Ontario, which is very close to the campus. Living in the U.S. is not really a viable option due to the higher incidence of COVID and financial constraints due to the U.S./Canadian dollar. The financial constraints have also become particularly extenuating due to COVID.

According to the quarantine act, I will not be able to leave my place of residence - and given that the 14-day cycle initiates every time I re-enter, I will be in a in an indefinite state of quarantine.

I know of others in my situation and we all have familial obligations that we must attend to in these difficult times and such tasks will not be able to be accomplished if we are handicapped due to quarantine restrictions.

I just wanted to get thoughts on this situation as I feel a third party may see things clearer. Needless to say, this is a very unfortunate and difficult situation.

I should note that the president of my school promised to provide remote options for students who wish not to come to campus for health or other reasons and for international students who will have difficulty getting to campus. I'm not sure why the school hasn't adopted an online option given the circumstances.

Thank you for your time.

Canadians crossing the border daily to attend school in the United States: How to quarantine at home during COVID-19 - Canada.ca
Mandatory quarantine does not prevent a Canadian from daily cross border travel. It does require that you initiate a new 14-day quarantine period each time you return to Canada, effectively putting you in on-going quarantine for the duration of the school year.

www.canada.ca

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[TheBoneDoctah]

I mean, I am not sure there are any GOOD options. These times are weird and tough for everyone and everyone is learning how to adapt, but I am not sure there is an “adapt” option here. I agree with Goro here that taking a LOA may be your option and due to the circumstances they may allow you to even though you have already taken one.

 

[tantacles]

I think you need to talk directly to your dean and figure out what your options are. Your situation is certainly unique, and I think you have to work with your medical school to come up with a creative solution.