Port Saint John asking government to take 'measured' approach to protect public, cruise industry

Saint John's port authority says it will support any direction given by the government or public health agencies to protect people from contracting COVID-19.

Jim Quinn, the CEO of Port Saint John and the chair of the Association of Canadian Port Authorities, expects there will be fewer passengers this season.

"I think that people will be more cautious in the decisions that they take relevant to travel in general," Quinn said. 

"It's not just the cruise industry, as you know, that's being challenged now. It's also the airline industry and other mass transportation methods."

Port Saint John said earlier this year that it was preparing for its "best ever" year, hoping to topple a 200,000-passenger record set in 2010. The city was expecting to greet 90 ships this year.

The cruise season is beginning to get underway in some parts of Canada. Saint John's cruise season is busiest during the fall. 

"We'll see how things unfold," Quinn said.

Quinn asked the government to take a measured approach to placing restrictions on the cruise industry, which is worth hundred of millions of dollars in revenue, he said. 

"It's not just the ports that will feel the effects, it's the broader economy."

Areas that benefit from the cruise business in Saint John include Saint Andrews, St. Martins, Fundy National Park and even Kings Landing, west of Fredericton, Quinn said.  

Local restaurants, shops and street entertainers will feel the effects of fewer tourists pumping money into the economy, if the COVID-19 outbreak does deter people from travelling.

"Some of those incomes are so important [and] supplemental to other incomes that [residents] may have."

Quinn said the port is in discussions with the federal government about what steps it would take if the industry takes a financial hit. 

"We're taking the precautionary approach that says what are the plans of things that we can defer and carry through to next year that we wouldn't have to incur the expense this year," Quinn said.

He said ports across the country have placed travel restrictions on their employees and cancelled business trips to Washington state, California and South America. 

"We're taking very precautionary approaches to ensure that, in my case and I think in an all ports' cases, the safety of our employees is the primary importance."

The first cruise ship of the season is expected to arrive in Saint John on April 24 with 200 passengers aboard.

There have been no ship cancellation so far. 

Cases rise, Canada sees first death 

An 80-year-old man who lived at a nursing home in North Vancouver was the first COVID-19-related death in Canada on Monday. 

Seventy-nine presumptive and confirmed COVID-19 cases have been reported in Ontario, B.C., Alberta and Quebec. 

This week, Dr. Cristin Muecke, New Brunswick's acting chief medical officer of health, said anyone who's travelled internationally should self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days. 

More than 3,800 people have died from the virus around the world.