(Vancouver) Airline passengers traveling from China and the Hong Kong and Macau regions will be required to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test upon arrival in Canada beginning Thursday.
Last week, the Canadian government announced that these travelers would require a negative drug test taken within 48 hours of departing for a Canadian destination. The announcement came on the heels of rising COVID-19 cases in that country.
Other countries, including the United States and several European nations, have imposed similar rules despite protests from China.
A spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry criticized the change in requirements this week, saying some countries were trying to manipulate COVID-19 measures for political purposes and China will retaliate with countermeasures.
Penny Tao, who arrived in Vancouver on a flight from Hong Kong on Wednesday, says she moved ahead of her flight to avoid the rush to places testing for COVID-19 ahead of Chinese New Year more later this month.
Jiayuan Jin, a student at the University of British Columbia, will be among the first arrivals under the new health measures when her flight lands on Saturday. She says she supports the new Canadian requirement, especially since there are many COVID-19 screening kiosks in China and the results are available within 10 hours.