All travelers arriving from internationally – except from the United States – will now be required to be tested for COVID-19 upon arrival in the country, whether or not they are doubly vaccinated, citizens or not, Ottawa announced on Tuesday.
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They will then have to isolate themselves until the return of a positive screening result, detailed the federal ministers of Health and Transport, Jean-Yves Duclos and Omar Alghabra, who added new measures to those announced Friday to combat the spread of the Omicron variant.
The rules do not change for the unvaccinated, who will have to undergo a 14-day quarantine, regardless of the result of the first test on arrival.
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Mr. Duclos did not rule out the possibility of extending this new measure to travelers from the United States, by land or air border. The latter was to meet with the provinces in the early evening to see “how it could be done”.
New target countries
In addition, the minister confirmed the addition of Egypt, Nigeria and Malawi to the list of African countries affected by border restrictions. The list already included, as of Friday, South Africa, Eswatini, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Namibia.
Foreigners who have passed through one of these ten countries in the 14 days preceding their planned arrival in Canada will be refused entry, reiterated Minister Duclos.
Canadians and permanent residents in the same situation will be able to enter Canada, but will have to self-isolate in a designated place, such as recognized hotels, for example, until a test result is received. If the result is negative, these travelers will be able to isolate themselves at home, but will still have to complete their 14 days of quarantine.
The mandatory screening test to be done 72 hours before arrival in Canada must be done from a country other than those on the list.
Given the speed at which things are moving in the context of the new variant, the minister warned Canadians that travel rules could change quickly.
Pressure on the third dose
On another note, Minister Duclos has asked the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) to provide the federal government with up-to-date guidance on the “usefulness” of booster doses on a regular basis.
The purpose of this is to determine what would be the most effective strategy for administering this third dose, as Christmas time approaches and the Omicron variant slowly progresses.
Mr. Duclos recalled that the policy came into force Tuesday requiring the demonstration of proof of vaccination for all travelers on trains and planes in Canada.
“This is an excellent measure and is very timely,” he said.