Florida closed to travel?

[hitchikerman]

Was wondering what the possibility of Florida closing this winter to out-of-state residents this winter

[silversand]

MDKMDK wrote:
My thought was, again hypothetical, that you could ship your motorhome to a US destination that is receiving Air Canada flights, and then fly there and pick it up.

excellent....this sounds perfectly doable. You will have to contact an Canadian transport co, and get the details from their customs broker. Also, the nearest airport State may require incoming flyers from foreign countries to quarantine for some period. Example, Vermont requires incoming foreign flyers to quarantine in a "tourist facility" (hotel, for example). The hotels in Vermont have special documents you have to fill out and sign, and that facility will host you for the quarantine period (you'll have to pay to stay, of course)

[silversand]

Would those rules apply to a Canadian, if they could get across the border, I wonder?

....we are booked for 4.5 months in Florida this winter 20/21. We were in Florida up to near the end of March, and came back to Canada a week before we were scheduled to return home. In hindsight, we should have stayed till end of March, because the Island we were on had close to zero tested cases....at that time.

Just this morning, I lopped off November and December from our reservation, and kept January to beginning of April. I have till October to decide if we kill January. IMO, I believe that the Canada/USA land crossing could open to the non-essential visitor sometime before December, albeit with a long list of provisos. However, if my gut feeling by, say, mid October tells me that it doesn't seem possible for this to happen, I'll lop off January, and keep Feb & March. I'll use the same logic for a decision on February, and then, March.

IMO....the last thing Florida will do will be to keep out out-of-state long-term vacationers. IMO, Florida will require entering vacationers from "certain States" to do a mandatory 14 day quarantine in their RV or vacation rental; and will, IMO, require all foreign Nation visitors to also do a mandatory 14 day quarantine. Now, short-term vacationers to Florida may be something different. No short-term visitor would want to go to Florida IF a 14 day quarantine is needed. Snowbirders by definition, are long-term visitors.

We just received an e-mail from our travel insurance provider, indicating that whey would cover us for and Covid-related healthcare during our snowbird period in 2021. I am now aware of 2 Canadian travel insurance cos. presently extending coverage for Covid related illness to Canadians visiting the US.

I can envision the same straight-through driving permission for long-haul snowbirders needing to traverse a half-dozen or more States on their way south to avoid multi-state quarantines, as that had been afforded to us driving from Florida to Quebec during the lock-down this past end of March. We made it all the way home in 2.3 days, needing to stay in only 2 hotels (both hotels had extraordinary sanitation protocols in place).

With a little luck, we will have an open land border in November/December, and we will be able to get to our snowbirding locale quickly. IF the Canada/USA border closes when we are in Florida, we will not return to Canada this time, learning our lesson back in March. Our then travel health insurance provider would have let us stay out our snowbird period without any problem, after contacting them. We should not have come back early.

When/if we are able to get to Florida this end of December, we will simply use phone-in/Internet order delivery from our local Publix, and if we need a vet visit for our traveling cat, our Florida vet is very convenient; they will pick up our cat, and deliver him back to us door-to-door. We don't plan on eating in ANY restaurants, or visiting any bars, clubs or potentially crowded events for the coming snowbird season....essentially, we'll be living like Monks. But better to be living like a Monk in Florida over winter, than living like a Monk in the frozen wasteland of Eastern Canada over winter :C

[MDKMDK]

8ntw8tn wrote:

MDKMDK wrote:
Would those rules apply to a Canadian, if they could get across the border, I wonder? If a state had a 14 day "entering to stay" quarantine rule, would it be applied to anyone entering, from out of state or country?
Or, are we (Canadians) more or less banned from entry?

Good question(s). Short answer is: I don't know. Once you bring an international factor into the equation it becomes a different animal. (Sorry for the mixed metaphor.)

No problem. I was speculating about travel options for those diehard snowbirds that might be looking for alternative ways to enter the US with their RVs. My thought was, again hypothetical, that you could ship your motorhome to a US destination that is receiving Air Canada flights, and then fly there and pick it up. Follow whatever rules are in place for the various US states along your route south, and then again at your preferred destination.
On your return to Canada, drive across the border, get the "returning to Canada" tracking lecture/paperwork or whatever it might be, and do the 14 days isolation either at home, or in your motorhome, if that's allowed. I've watched returnees in the early days, do the 14 day self-isolate in their RV in the casino parking lot near me, since it's closed now anyways. Others must have gone home to do their penance.

[8ntw8tn]

MDKMDK wrote:
Would those rules apply to a Canadian, if they could get across the border, I wonder? If a state had a 14 day "entering to stay" quarantine rule, would it be applied to anyone entering, from out of state or country?
Or, are we (Canadians) more or less banned from entry?

Good question(s). Short answer is: I don't know. Once you bring an international factor into the equation it becomes a different animal. (Sorry for the mixed metaphor.)

[mgirardo]

I can't imagine Florida would close down its borders. When the Pandemic first hit, there were COVID-19 checkpoints on I-95 and I-4. The checkpoint on I-95 is gone now, not sure about I-4. Even then, people weren't denied entry, just told to quarantine. That was before Florida was hit hard.

Florida's economy can't handle losing all the money that Snowbirds bring into the state. It's very unlikely the state would block snowbirds entering, even if they could.

-Michael

[tomman58]

Florida is all about the money they won't stop the cash flow............ but we will as until we feel safe we are not going to team up and play cards, games, potlucks or dances it seems to be a virus breeding thing. If you go have a shot of Clorox for us.

[JaxDad]

8ntw8tn wrote:
It gets kinda murky but, generally, the Supreme Court has held,under the "Protections and Immunities" clause that states cannot prevent one from entering, or leaving, a state. They seem to be allowed to institute the quarantine period if you remain in the state, but only if they have the same requirement of their residents who are returning from outside the state. As stated above, it's a murky part of the 14th Amendment and the Articles of Confederation. Hope this helps.

I think you’ll find that once a State of Emergency is declared all those rules go out the window for the duration.

[ndrorder]

US / Canadian border rules are described here. Borders are remain closed to nonessential motorized travel. Canadians can fly to US. Americans not allowed to fly to Canada.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-u-s-border-rules-and-restrictions-covid-19-travel-1.5619268#:~:text=S.%20land%20%5B%26border%26%5D%20remains%20%5B%26open%26%5D%20to%20people%20making,immediate%20family%20in%20%5B%26Canada%26%5D%20to%20enter%20the%20country.

[pianotuna]

We, as cdn's, have no expectation of privacy any more in USA. The 14 day rule would be enforced--and they might just tell you that you are not welcome to stay at all.

[MDKMDK]

Would those rules apply to a Canadian, if they could get across the border, I wonder? If a state had a 14 day "entering to stay" quarantine rule, would it be applied to anyone entering, from out of state or country?
Or, are we (Canadians) more or less banned from entry?

[8ntw8tn]

It gets kinda murky but, generally, the Supreme Court has held,under the "Protections and Immunities" clause that states cannot prevent one from entering, or leaving, a state. They seem to be allowed to institute the quarantine period if you remain in the state, but only if they have the same requirement of their residents who are returning from outside the state. As stated above, it's a murky part of the 14th Amendment and the Articles of Confederation. Hope this helps.

[Mickeyfan0805]

hitchikerman wrote:
Was wondering what the possibility of Florida closing this winter to out-of-state residents this winter

No one knows what will happen. That said, most state mandates I've seen, so far, have been mandatory quarantines, not outright bans. Thus, as a snowbird, you could travel down, quarantine for 14 days, and then go about your business.

[Lwiddis]

Always a possibility. “This Winter” to you means what months?