Canadians who plan to make a short trip to the United States over the holiday season will also need to provide a negative drug test in order to be able to return home on Tuesday.
“From December 21, the obligation to carry out a screening test before return will be in effect again for all trips, regardless of their duration”, summarized the Minister of Health of Canada, Jean -Yves Duclos, Friday.
This required PCR test must be dated within three days, and must have been performed in a country other than Canada. As of November 30, travelers returning from short 72-hour stays were not required to take any COVID-19 testing.
Travelers arriving from the United States still do not have to undergo an on-arrival screening test, unlike those arriving from all other countries since the beginning of December.
Minister Duclos announced Wednesday that he is recommending that Canadians abandon their holiday travel plans, while noting that other border measures could be imposed. “I’ll say it again: now is not the time to travel,” he repeated, saying of those who cancel their plane tickets that they “set an example”.
No more prohibited countries
Ottawa ends on Saturday its list of 10 African countries in which no foreign national can have stayed in the 14 days before entering the country, since the Omicron variant is currently found “in most countries”, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.
The government’s medical adviser, Dr. Theresa Tam, criticized the measure, calling it a policy “to be reconsidered” on Wednesday. Minister Duclos admitted on Friday that he was “aware that this measure has given rise to some controversy”. He argues that this was an essential measure to slow the arrival of the Omicron variant in the country, but which is no longer necessary.