The obligation for travelers returning from China to present a negative screening test for COVID-19 will not prevent the new variants from spreading, underlines an expert.
Kerry Bowman, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s faculty of medicine, says the move is a political move.
The federal government announced on Saturday that travelers from the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong or Macao should test negative for COVID-19 starting Jan. 5.
All passengers aged 2 and over returning from these three locations are affected by this temporary measure.
According to Professor Bowman, border screening is not effective because travelers can test positive long after they return home.
He adds that examining sewage from planes and airports would be a more effective measure to check whether mutations of the coronavirus are entering the country.