Hubbry Logo
search
logo
2642505

Atlantic Bubble

logo
Community Hub0 Subscribers
Write something...
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
See all
Atlantic Bubble

The Atlantic Bubble (French: Bulle de déplacement des provinces de l'Atlantique) was a special travel-restricted area created on July 3, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. The area was an agreement between the four Atlantic Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador which allowed unrestricted travel among provincial residents and restricted travel from Canadians who were residents of outside provinces. Residents wishing to travel to the Atlantic Bubble were subjected to screening and were required to quarantine for 14 days before moving freely throughout the bubble. Individual provinces had specific rules toward travellers from outside of Atlantic Canada. The provinces in the bubble saw the lowest numbers of COVID-19 compared to other Canadian provinces throughout the pandemic.

The area was suspended on November 26, 2020, due to a second wave of COVID-19 cases across Canada. The Council of Atlantic Premiers confirmed the bubble would resume April 19, 2021, but later postponed the date to May 3, 2021, due to an increase in cases due to the third wave of the virus. Following a travel ban on outside travellers in PEI and Nova Scotia, the reopening date was postponed indefinitely. In late May 2021, plans for the reopening of the bubble were announced by some of the provinces, with various possible reopening dates. However, each province had their own reopening plans which included allowing travel from outside the Atlantic region and no consensus was reached between the four provinces.

Following mass-vaccinations across the country, the Atlantic Bubble had a reiteration in June 2021. Free travel was reopened between the provinces generally speaking, with the exception of Prince Edward Island, who required at least partial vaccination (one-dose) to enter the province. Each province had their own rules on outside travellers from other provinces in Canada - fully vaccinated travellers (both-doses) were allowed to enter each province freely without quarantine. This system continued until COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in Canada on October 1st 2022.

The Atlantic Bubble was first conceived to encourage economic strength and fluidity amongst the Atlantic provinces due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. Initially, the Atlantic Provinces had interprovincial travel restrictions, to prevent the spread of COVID-19. On June 24, 2020, it was announced that the four premiers of the Atlantic Canadian provinces had come to an agreement of creating a free-travel bubble, effective July 3, 2020 amongst the provinces.

On November 23, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island announced plans to suspend involvement in the bubble effective November 24. Travellers from other Atlantic provinces would be required to self-isolate upon entry, thus restricting the bubble to just New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. On November 26, New Brunswick joined PEI and Newfoundland and Labrador in imposing a 14-day self-isolation requirement on out-of-province travellers, thus ending any free-travel amongst the member provinces. On December 3, Prince Edward Island extended its suspension of involvement in the bubble.

In response, Nova Scotian Premier Stephen McNeil commented that despite the temporary withdrawal of other provinces from the agreement, he called the bubble concept a success for Atlantic Canadians' mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nova Scotians would not have to self-isolate if they return from another Atlantic province, but would face regional self-isolation orders if entering one of the other three provinces.

Premier Furey of Newfoundland and Labrador announced December 7 2020 that the province would suspend involvement in the bubble until at least the beginning of 2021. PEI extended its suspension of its involvement in the bubble until January 11, 2021.

On January 4, 2021, Dr. Jennifer Russell of New Brunswick suggested talks of restarting the bubble would likely resume that month.

See all
User Avatar
No comments yet.