The COVID-19 outbreak has caused much concern and anxiety among Canadian snowbirds, and justifiably so.

We have heard many of these concerns from Snowbird Advisor members in recent days, and one common theme we are finding is that there is a lot of inaccurate information being circulated about the virus itself, what is being done to contain it and the precautions you can take to reduce the likelihood of infection.

We are concerned every time we receive an email that starts with “A friend told me…” or “I have heard rumours that…”, as information from these sources is often unreliable and only serves to add more stress and anxiety to an already a stressful situation.

Accordingly, we suggest you turn to the following resources for reliable, up to date information about COVID-19, the spread of the virus, containment efforts and what you can do to help protect yourself and others:

• Global Affairs Canada Travel Advisories for Canadians who are currently outside Canada or considering travelling outside Canada
• Public Health Agency of Canada for information and updates about the virus and precautions you should take
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for U.S., International and general information about the virus
• The World Health Organization (WHO) for international information about COVID-19
• Federal, Provincial and Municipal Governments for national, local and regional news about COVID-19
• Reputable Local and National News Outlets in Canada and the U.S. for the latest news about COVID-19

To receive updates about COVID-19, we also suggest subscribing to the Facebook pages and Twitter feeds for these organizations.