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MEdia

The New York Times

Hong Kong Halts Use of Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine Over Packaging Defects

Hong Kong suspended use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Wednesday after packaging defects ranging from cracked containers to loose caps were discovered in one batch of doses, a major blow to a city already struggling in its campaign to inoculate its seven million residents against Covid-19.

The Canadian Press

COVID-19 might have been in Canada earlier than when it was first identified: expert

Experts say Canada missed an opportunity to better control the spread of COVID-19 by limiting the flow of people across the border sooner and analyzing outbreaks to alert the public.

The Conversation

Closing some of the U.S.-Canada land border crossings could help control the COVID-19 pandemic

There are insufficient resources to provide screening, testing and quarantine measures at all land crossings comparable to air arrivals. Based on our study of travel-related measures during COVID-19, one option is to substantially reduce the number of crossings kept open. This is similar to the funnelling of air arrivals through four airports, and has been a successful strategy in other countries.

The Conversation

February 28, 2021

COVID-19 hotel quarantine: Exemption for ‘essential’ medical travel confuses doctors, patients

Perhaps the most talked about recent policy changes are the new testing and quarantine measures put in place at Canada’s international borders as of Feb. 22. Along with providing proof of a negative polymerase reaction chain (PCR) test within 72 hours before departure, arrivals by air must quarantine in a designated hotel for three nights at their own expense until they receive the results of a PCR test taken upon arrival.

BBC World Service

February 27, 2021

Keeping out COVID-19

From flight bans, entry bans, compulsory quarantine and virus testing, most countries have introduced travel restrictions in an effort to control the spread of the virus. But for a virus that knows no borders, do cross border health measures actually work?

Video Interview

February 26, 2021

Pandemics, Border Controls and International Travel

Professor David Heymann and Emma Ross are joined by Professor Kelley Lee and Alexandre de Juniac to assess the effectiveness and impacts of border control measures and travel restrictions. How are various countries approaching the issue of border control and international travel? Why is there so much variation in the way countries are approaching points of entry controls? What is the evidence on how border controls affect the spread of COVID-19? Is it possible to travel internationally in a COVID-secure way, and if so, how? And when might international travel return to some kind of 'normal'?