Home - Town of Shelburne, Nova Scotia

FAQ Atlantic Travel Bubble

: Published: Thursday, 02 July 2020 15:29

Atlantic Travel BubbleAtlantic Travel BubbleWhen does the Atlantic bubble start?

It starts at 12:01 a.m. on July 3.

Is this only for tourist travel or can anyone cross Atlantic borders for any reason?

The bubble allows any resident of an Atlantic Canadian province to travel within the region for any reason. Atlantic Canada includes NS, NB, PEI, and Newfoundland and Labrador.Are visitors from outside Atlantic Canada (ie, other parts of Canada, other countries) allowed to visit Nova Scotia?Visitors from outside Atlantic Canada can come into Nova Scotia but must self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival, unless they have already done so in another Atlantic province.

How will they prove they already did their self isolation in another Atlantic province?

Will you track people who enter Nova Scotia? How?This involves all four Atlantic provinces. We are working together to quickly have a tracking process in place. Travelers should expect delays as we ask questions and advise about requirements at our points of entry. We expect everyone to follow the rules.

What kind of identification or proof of residency will be required for Atlantic Canadians who want to come into Nova Scotia?

Is there a self-declaration form?To enter Nova Scotia without self-isolating, every adult needs to show either a drivers’ license, government identification card, health card, or a utility bill or bank statement with a valid Atlantic Canadian permanent home address to provincial officials at airports, ferries or the land border when they arrive in the province. No self-declaration form is required.

If you arrive in Nova Scotia on July 2 or earlier, do you have to complete the full 14 days of self isolation?

If you are in the middle of a 14-day self-isolation period right now because you were recently in another Atlantic province your isolation period will end on July 3.

If you are self isolating because you were outside Atlantic Canada, you must complete your full 14 days.

Will all points of entry continue to be staffed by enforcement personnel? Are they screening people?

Yes. We will continue to have a presence at all entrances to the province – airports, ferries, and the land border with New Brunswick. Officials will check identification to confirm residency in Atlantic Canada. People from outside Atlantic Canada will be informed that they must self isolate for 14 days upon arrival in Nova Scotia. Travelers should expect delays.

Are you deploying additional resources at the border? Will you get help from police forces? Are you expecting traffic jams?

We are working withing our existing resources to have officials at the busiest entry points. We don’t know about volumes of visitors for certain but travelers should expect delays.

Will truck drivers and other workers get priority or will they have to wait like any other visitor?

Yes, we have a chit system in place so that they will continue to pass through without stopping forquestions.

Are all the Atlantic provinces now following the same rules? Or does each province keep using its ownset of rules?

Each province continues to have its own public health measures in place. Anyone planning to travel inanother province should make sure they understand the requirements there before they go.

Where do we find the rules in each province? How do we know what’s open, what’s closed?

Each province has a dedicated coronavirus website with information about their rules:N

ova Scotia: https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/

Prince Edward Island: https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/en/information/health-andwellness/atlantic-provinces-travel-bubble

Brunswick: http://www.gnb.ca/coronavirus

Newfoundland and Labrador: https://www.gov.nl.ca/covid-19/

What if one province has a spike in cases? Will they withdraw from bubble?

The Atlantic CMOHs are having weekly calls and we are all watching the epidemiology very closely.

Each province may have to make its own decisions based on the situation.

Will there be more testing?

We continue to advise anyone who has one or more of the symptoms of COVID-19 to get tested. If youhave symptoms, you should not travel.