Nissan Varghese, a driver based in Prince Edward Island, has been following the Covid-19 news closely.

“If this thing flies around, that is going to be scary,” Varghese said in the early days of the pandemic, referring to questions about how the virus might spread.

Varghese had just arrived in Toronto with a load of cantaloupes from New York after delivering potatoes from the PEI when he spoke to Today’s Trucking.

He said, for most part, his latest run was pretty easy with not much traffic on the road.

“When I crossed (the border) this time, there was no one in front of me, and no one was behind me,” he said.

Canadian and U.S. governments banned all non-essential travel between the two countries from Friday, sharply reducing the lineups at border checkpoints.

“But New York was different. I don’t think anyone there is following government orders to stay home,” Varghese said.

He also noticed a lot people fleeing the city in Ford F-150s with what looked like racing bikes and boats.

Varghese is most afraid of getting ill while in the U.S. Another worry is who would repair his rig if anything happens to it.

“You don’t want to be on the road. No drivers want to be. They want to stay home safe, but if you stay home now, you could lose your job.”

He responded by hooking up to another load of PEI potatoes for New York.

• Coronavirus Chronicles tell the trucking industry’s personal stories from the front lines of Covid-19. They are drawn from the ongoing coverage at www.trucknews.com.