I have never posted on mumsnet before but reading some of these posts I feel compelled to. Please don't diminish what it has been like to have family across an ocean during all of this and the difficulties that face international families when they want to visit each other. It's not just the isolation, it's the ever changing rules about flying and not knowing whether your trip will go ahead or not, the money laid out for tests, and the crushed hopes of seeing family again when rules change or flights get cancelled or god forbid you get a positive test before you go.
Having a family across an ocean during all of this has been torture for me. I have had to Skype with family members in hospital and not been able to visit while a younger family member faces a terminal illness and offer only support over the phone or facetime. I have not seen family since autumn 2019 and Canada's travel ban has meant that the plans I laid for my trip this summer have been cancelled. I didn't have the heart to book yet another set of flights that could get changed or cancelled (on a practical level, the flights haven't been refunded yet so I don't even have the money).
I fully understand everyone's situation is different and people have absolutely suffered domesticallythis is an awful time for everybody, and I count myself lucky that there is time with my family member with terminal illness and everyone else is in good healthI don't have an awful situation of not knowing whether I'll ever see someone again. But I have seen my in laws who live in England (not in the same city), we have been able to make that work a few times over this crisis, and I have watched neighbours and friends create support bubbles with grandparents and friends. When your family lives across an ocean this is impossible. There is no waving from windows, no weekend visits, no promise that one day you'll be able to just drive over and have a cup of tea with your mum in the garden. Even if I wanted to break or bend the rules I couldn't. Again, I know this isn't limited to international families, but most of us are in this situation, while I don't know many domestic families who are (though I know families who have had horrible experiences during this--again, I'm not trying to win some sort of 'its harder for us competition').
Having to isolate in a cabin for 5 days is just a small part of all of the uncertainty of travelling internationally at the moment. I don't find the concerns crass and fully understand op's dilemma. I have plans to see my family in the next few months, but am trying not to get hopes up. I'm not even telling my children about the plans yet in case they get cancelled yet again. I was able to get on with these feelings at the beginning of the covid crisis as it seemed like everyone was in the same boat no matter where your family lived. People are now jumping ship right and left, so to speak, and there are some of us waiting and waiting until we too can have hand-wrenching decisions about whether to hug our mums or get annoyed that a family member won't wear a mask around us as I've read on other posts here (I will be hugging my mum!!!).
In any case, the news about Canada being on the green list is promising. I hope everyone can reunite with their families soon.