COVID-19

On May 8 I went to Albania to visit my family especially my dad because he had a heart attack. The Canadian government is so strict, so I took a COVID test before my flight and everything was fine. On the airplane they maintained the social distance, so nobody was sitting next to me. All the passengers needed to cover their mouths and noses especially with surgical masks.

On May 17 it was my return flight, so I went to an Albanian clinic to take another COVID test before my flight. Also, I had to reserve a hotel room in Canada because they wouldn’t let me enter Canada otherwise. Also, I had to download an app called ArriveCan to let them know every single day if I had any symptoms or not, during my 14-day quarantine.

When I came here, I had to take another COVID test, and while I was waiting for the response of the test, I needed to stay in the hotel for 3 nights. The cheapest hotel rom started from $400 per night. The hotel was so nice and clean and the service was so good. They would bring food and leave it behind the door at the right time.

After my three-day stay in the hotel was over, someone from the government came into my house to check how the quarantine was going. After 8 days I had to take another test which had to be negative so I could leave the house. All in all, this was a very tough and expensive experience for me, but at the same time I had time to think and relax in the hotel. I hope COVID-19 will go away as soon as [possible, and people can travel wherever they want without having to take so many tests before and after their vacation. In Albania, many people did not wear masks or observe social distancing, which was frightening to me.