Cautious for good reason? Why P.E.I. is opening to tourists more slowly than its neighbours

The unveiling of the other Atlantic provinces're-opening plans hastriggered some jealousy in Prince Edward Island's tourism industry.

As of now, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador are planning to welcomefully vaccinated tourists from across the country on July 1st.

If all goes well in Nova Scotia, that province could open up to vaccinated Canadians by mid-July.

P.E.I., on the other hand, won't let regular tourists from outside the region visit until September, after the peak tourism season.That's unless the Island'svaccine rollout speeds up considerably.

"I think it would be very hard for us an industryto stand by and watch those provincesif they manage to pull this off safely have a better tourism year than us," said Dan James, the owner of Kindred Spirits Inn and Cottages in Cavendish.

"It would be very hard for us to watch that."

So why is P.E.I. opening its bordersmore slowly than its Atlantic counterparts?

Capacity issues

When Premier Dennis King was asked that question, he said this:"Our capacity here to deal with an outbreak isseverelylimited."

It's not clear whether the premiermeant that medical capacity on P.E.I.isMORE limited than in other Atlantic provinces choosing to open faster.

What is clear is that the Island's healthcare system is strained.

As a spokesperson with Health PEI pointed out, there are nurse and doctor shortages "across the board." On top of that, many of the staff members we do have are working atCOVID-19testing and vaccination clinics, "further stretching resources."

The P.E.I.chief public health officer's fear: Amass influx of summer tourists to the Island and a major COVID-19 outbreakcould overwhelm that already-stretched system.

"We're one of the most densely populated provinces in the country and in the summer, we typically have such large volumes of people coming for a short period of time," Dr. Heather Morrison told CBC News on Thursday.

"We don't have a large number of hospitals within the province that we can divert patients to, if there's an outbreak of COVID-19.

"But also, how do we look after other patients if we have a large outbreak with people in the hospital?"

Typically, people who come are healthy to start with. So it'd be the occasional thing that would happen unexpectedly while they're on vacation.- Corinne Rowswell

Health PEI acknowledges thatthedemands tourists typically place on the healthcare system areminimal.

While Prince Edward Island's population doubles during the summer in a normal year, that leads to just a 5- to 10-per-centincrease in emergency room visits. Once there, very few tourists end up needing hospital beds.

"Typically, people who come are healthy to start with. So it'd be the occasional thing that would happen unexpectedly while they're on vacation," said Corinne Rowswell,Health PEI's chief operating officer.

What's the risk?

So, what then would be the risk of welcoming in fully vaccinated tourists from across Canada, particularly if they are to be tested on arrival?How likely are they to cause or get caught upin an outbreak of COVID-19?

CBC News: Compass host Louise Martin asked Morrison that question in their regular interview segment Thursday.

Morrison didn't get into a risk assessment, insteadfocusing on the need to keep immunizing Islanders.

Once 80 per cent of themhave had two doses of vaccine, whenever that is,Morrison said she wouldfeel more comfortable welcoming in tourists from beyond the region.

"It's actually more about making sure we're protecting Islanders with two doses of vaccine.If we open up all at once, and go too soon, we won't have had a chance to protect people with two doses of vaccine," she said.

Businesses fearful, healthofficialsconfident

Whatever the logic behindP.E.I.'s slowerre-opening plan, it has left seasonalbusinessesworried about the summer ahead.Some fear their revenueswill plummet even lower than last year's figures, which included Atlantic bubble tourists starting the first week of July.

On the flip side, the Island's cautious approach has healthcare workersapproaching the summer with more optimism.

"I'm pretty confident in our situation. I'm not expecting a huge influx of COVID-19 into the emergency department," said Mike MacDonald, the nurse manager at the QEH Emergency Department.

"They're testing at the border. They've got follow-up and contact tracing, and all those things in place.And based on what we've seen over the last 16 months or so, we've done an excellent job. So I'm not concerned."

More from CBC P.E.I.: