Canada Revamps COVID-19 Entry Requirements
Canada is extending requirements for international travelers at the northern border. They may provide a negative COVID-19 test to land border crossers as early as Feb. 15.
Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, told media that the test must have been conducted within 72 hours and must be a Polymerase Chain Reaction test.
Travelers who come to the border without showing proof of a negative COVID-19 test could be refused entry or face fines of up to $3,000. These measures are similar to the mandatory testing that was put in place for air travelers in January.
Travelers coming by plane will also need to take a COVID-19 test upon arrival and will need to stay in a hotel for three days while awaiting results. Trudeau previously said that this would cost travelers an estimated $2,000. Hotels will be required to provide transportation to and from the airport and deliver food to the traveler’s room, according to instructions for hotels participating in the new measure on the government website. The starting date for this new measure has not yet been released.
These tests are in addition to the mandatory 14-day quarantine order on all incoming travelers. This two week period is inclusive of the three days air travelers are required to spend in a hotel. Travelers to Canada also need to download the ArriveCAN app.
Only four Canadian airports are accepting international travelers: Vancouver International Airport, Calgary International Airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport, and Montreal- Trudeau International Airport. Canadian airlines have also cut services to Mexico and the Caribbean.
International travel was only responsible for two percent of Covid-19 cases in Canada thanks in part to travel restrictions, Trudeau said previously. Travel has been significantly reduced to Canada, both by land and air. As of January 31, there was a yearover- year decrease of roughly 88 percent in the number of land border crossings and a 92 percent decrease in air travel crossings, according to Canadian Border Services Agency travel statistics.
Foreign nationals are only allowed to enter Canada for essential reasons or to reunite with family. Canada’s travel restrictions are currently in place until February 21, and are expected to be renewed. Canada’s borders have been subject to travel restrictions since March 2020.
