Faced with the increase in cases in the region and the “lack of epidemiological data on the subvariants linked to Omicron”, the federal government will finally impose a negative COVID-19 test for travelers from China – as this was the case for all countries in the first months of the pandemic.
Let us remember that just the day before yesterday, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) assured the Homework that such a measure would not be necessary, although experts were calling for it. “National surveillance still offers good sensitivity for detecting emerging variants,” said Marc Johnson, a spokesperson for PHAC.
The imposition of a negative test will come into effect from January 5, 2023 and will apply to travelers from China, Macau and Hong Kong.
“This pandemic is not over and we are not immune to new variants and new waves,” Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said in a statement on Saturday.
The Canadian government is adopting, he said, health measures “informed by available data, operational considerations, scientific evidence and monitoring of the epidemiological situation in Canada and abroad”.
Canada is therefore following in the footsteps of a growing number of countries, including the United States, France and the United Kingdom. The abrupt end of the “zero COVID” policy in China on December 7 continues to cause concern abroad.
Since the lifting of restrictions, Chinese hospitals have been overwhelmed. However, the number of daily cases is still subject to uncertainty, as confirmed by the Canadian Ministry of Health. On Friday, only 5,515 new cases and one death were announced by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).