Travelers with an antigen test can now enter Canada, and unvaccinated children will no longer be quarantined.
Travelers who have been fully vaccinated will be permitted to enter Canada with a pre-arrival antigen test, unvaccinated children will no longer be required to isolate for 14 days, and international flights to all Canadian airports will resume on February 28.
Furthermore, if fully vaccinated travellers are chosen for a random on-arrival test, they will no longer be quarantined while awaiting results.
The pre-arrival antigen test must be allowed by the country from which the travellers are travelling and taken no more than 24 hours before they arrive at the border or on their booked flight. Taking a quick antigen test at home is not enough to satisfy the pre-entry criteria. A laboratory, healthcare organisation, or telehealth provider must administer the test. Travellers can still take a PCR test up to 72 hours before their flight. There were no modifications to the existing molecular test criteria.
Before crossing the border, travellers will still need to upload documentation via the ArriveCAN app.
Unvaccinated travellers will still be screened upon arrival and held in quarantine for 14 days. On day eight of their quarantine, they will also be required to take a test.
The statement was made on February 15 in Ottawa, the nation's capital, by Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos. Ministers of transportation, public safety, tourism, and intergovernmental relations joined him.
International flights to all Canadian airports will resume at the end of the month, according to Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra. According to a press release, the warning to airmen restricting overseas flights will expire at 4 p.m. Eastern Time.
Canada's travel warning will be reduced from a level 3 to a level 2. This implies that the government will no longer advise Canadians to avoid non-essential travel. Despite this, the minister encouraged Canadians to be aware of the dangers of overseas travel during the pandemic.
These measures, according to Duclos, are temporary and may be changed when the COVID-19 situation changes. He predicted that if hospitalisation rates fall in the near future, further limitations will be eased.
Border controls are expected to be reduced.
Last week, the health minister hinted at improvements, and Canada's chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, said the government is looking for more long-term measures to control COVID-19.
With a few exceptions, all visitors to Canada must be properly vaccinated. Travelers who have not been immunised must be quarantined. Vaccinated travellers must undergo a pre-arrival COVID-19 PCR test at least 72 hours prior to crossing the border, and they may be subjected to an on-arrival random test.
Last week, Duclos stated that the worst of the Omicron wave had passed Canada, and that the government would continue to alter measures as needed.
Tam stated that Canada's travel warning against overseas travel is under review.
Meanwhile, provincial governments are repealing COVID-19 regulations and eliminating the demand for vaccination passports. By mid-March, Manitoba expects to abolish COVID-19 limitations. Ontario has accelerated its implementation of lax public health measures. Quebec, Alberta, and Saskatchewan have all stated that they want to loosen regulations.
In recent weeks, health professionals and the tourist sector have pressed Canada to remove the COVID-19 test requirement.
The World Health Organization (WHO) advised last month that governments eliminate international travel prohibitions because they "do not bring value" and cause economic and social burden. Border controls are useless against the extremely infectious Omicron strain, as proven by its spread. Travel precautions such as masking, testing, quarantine, and vaccination, according to WHO, should be based on risk assessment and should not put a financial burden on foreign travellers.
Given the restricted worldwide availability and inequitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccinations, WHO also stated that governments should not require proof of vaccination against COVID-19 as the only requirement for foreign travel.
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