Virus taking economic toll on province.

The economic impact of COVID-19, more commonly known as the coronavirus, is now being felt across the globe and P.E.I. is far from immune.

Even though there have not been any cases detected in Canada's smallest province yet, the virus looms in the shadows impacting everyday life in a myriad of ways. Many people who were thinking about taking a breather from the Island winter during March break are rethinking those plans, school trips that students have, have been cancelled and many churches are even wondering about ways to revamp the practice of communion.

The biggest impact could be felt in the tourism industry. Virtually every health official in the country is advising against the idea of taking a cruise. Already two cruise ships (one in Japan and the other in the United States) had to be quarantined due to an outbreak of the virus. P.E.I. has been steadily building its cruise ship business over the last several years, but that seems almost certain to take a sharp decline this year unless the spread of the virus slows significantly in the next several weeks.

While there have been few cancellations so far, one has to wonder just how many people will be on some of those vessels if they do arrive. The province has said little to date how it would deal, should a virus outbreak be detected while the ship is in port.

The Island tourism industry had another record year in 2019 but it is hard to see how that pace can be maintained this year. Air Canada has already announced a scheduled reduction in its service between Charlottetown and Montreal for May and new flights introduced to Hamilton and Calgary may have more empty seats than expected.

Several major sporting and entertainment events have been cancelled in the United States and Europe. So far, the Island's biggest event of the year namely the Cavendish Beach Music Festival, is proceeding on schedule in July and festival organizers are monitoring the world situation.

Dr. Heather Morrison, the Island's chief medical officer, is advising Islanders who travel anywhere outside the country to monitor their health for two weeks after they return.

People are also advised to avoid large crowds and minimize contact with seniors and people with ongoing health issues who are particularly vulnerable to the virus.

The other primary industries of agriculture and fishing also depend heavily on export and they are also starting to feel the impact in terms of lost markets.

While the virus is showing signs of reaching its peak in China (the number of new cases is dropping rapidly) it is continuing to rise in other countries around the world including Canada.

The virus has been detected in five provinces and, realistically, its arrival in P.E.I. is likely a matter of when rather than if.

While the world is a long way from the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-1919 that killed more people than World Wars One and Two combined, we are also a long way from what life was like before the first case was detected in China. The sooner the world gets back to that point, the better it will be for both our physical and economic health.

P.E.I. has been steadily building its cruise ship business over the last several years, but that seems almost certain to take a sharp decline this year unless the spread of the virus slows significantly in the next several weeks.