The health minister says the order banning travel to the province for non-essential reasons comes into effect on Monday to give them time to figure out some technicalities.

John Haggie says they will be writing to the VPs of Operations for Marine Atlantic, the airlines that land in the province and also the Canadian Boarder Services Agency, who has offered services to the province.

He says the challenge is that the province’s jurisdictions begin in Port Aux Basques and the airports.

He says what they are trying to avoid is a situation where people are booking a ticket and boarding in, for example, Ontario under their requirements, then find themselves in St. John’s or Port Aux Basques, subject to our requirements. They could be left in limbo.

Haggie says they need a bit of time to get that sorted out, and once it becomes effective, it will be glaringly apparent to anyone who is in the position of booking people on ferries or planes, that there is an issue before they leave their point of origin.

He says this way they can do preparatory work to avoid having staff at Marine Atlantic deal with people who will be “forever adrift on the Blue Puttees” if they don’t figure it out first.

Tourism Industry Looking at Ways to Recover from Virus Outbreak

Meanwhile, the province’s tourism industry wants clarity and input when it comes to any plan to help get the economy back on track.

Hospitality NL Chair Steve Denty says the industry has been hard hit, and they want a place at the table to ensure “we only go through this once.”

He says the key is to build the industry while adapting to the new reality ahead. That’s where working with government will be of utmost importance.