Friday, March 29, 2024

Victoria Clipper suspends service until April 30 due to coronavirus pandemic

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The Victoria Clipper V is suspending sailings between Victoria and Seattle in light of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Calls for suspending travel between the U.S. and Canada have been increasing after the federal government announced that Americans were exempt from new regulation that allows only Canadian citizens or permanent residents to enter the country during the outbreak.

The Clipper is one of the ferries that offer transport between Victoria and Washington state, and say they have elected to suspend their services despite receiving support to continue operations from the BC Ministry of Health.

“Our number one priority and concern as a business is the health and safety of our employees, staff, crew, passengers and the greater public,” said David Gudgel, CEO of Clipper.

“We want to do our part in helping curb the public spread of coronavirus and feel it is imperative to halt immediate vessel operations. We will assess our return to service based on both U.S. and Canadian government and health official regulations and guidance.” 

In accordance with an agreement between Clipper Navigation, Inc. and Unifor Local 114, all of Clipper’s Canadian union employees will be placed on temporary layoff starting March 24th.

“Employees will be recalled in accordance with the provision of the Collective Agreement once Clipper’s ferry operations between Seattle and Victoria resume,” reads a statement from the company.

“This is an unprecedented event for Clipper, our region of operations and the world at large,” said Gudgel.

“The loyalty and commitment of our Victoria employees is incredible and our hope and full intention is to bring every one of these employees back to work and restart vessel operations as quickly as possible.”


See all the latest updates about the global COVID-19 pandemic on Vancouver Island


According to the latest update, there are now 30 new cases of novel coronavirus in B.C., including seven on Vancouver Island, bringing the total number of cases to 103 in the province.

Six people are now in acute care in hospital, while everyone else is recovering at home in isolation, in stable condition.

Three people have died due to novel coronavirus, all of whom were residents at the Lynn Valley Care Centre in North Vancouver. This brings the COVID-19 death toll to four in B.C. and across Canada.

On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the federal government will be denying entry to Canada to people who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents in Canada.

Designated exceptions to this rule include U.S. citizens, airline crews, diplomats, and people whose immediate families are Canadian.

Moreover international flights will now be restricted to international airports in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Calgary.

The BCCDC has set up a 2019 novel coronavirus telephone information line at 1-833-784-4397 for those who have further questions about this disease.

Anyone concerned that they may have been exposed to, or are experiencing symptoms of the novel coronavirus, should contact their primary care provider, local public health office, or call 8-1-1.

As of the time of publication, the total number of COVID-19 patients worldwide has risen to 197,159.

Nearly 8,000 people have died from the illness and 81,683 have made a full recovery.

 

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Brishti Basu
Former Senior Staff Writer and Content Manager at Victoria Buzz.

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