Canada will need air travelers 5 years and older to test the pre-existing Covid-19 before arriving, starting January 7, as the country tightens travel restrictions between rising coronavirus cases.
Canada will need passengers 5 years and older to test Covid-19 before arrival, starting January 7, Transport Minister Marc Garneau said Thursday, as the country tightens travel restrictions between rising coronavirus cases.
Passengers will need to have a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) Covid-19 test taken within 72 hours of their departure to Canada, the country said on Wednesday, after photos on social media of Canadian tourists flawed overseas encourage strong action to prevent the virus.
Documents indicating side effects must be shown to the airline before boarding a flight to Canada, Garneau said in a statement giving more details about the requirement, such as the first day.
A pre-departure test will not eliminate the enforcement 14-day detention of immigrants, who hit planes on crashed Canadian flights, which have been demanding that adverse effects be accepted as one of those restrictions.
“This proclamation points to only one way forward: the use of testing to help further protect public health,” said Mike McNaney, president of the National Airlines Council of Canada, representing major carriers such as Air Canada.
“We strongly believe that it should also be used in conjunction with measures to reduce segregation,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.
The new measures add to existing Canadian restrictions, which often prohibit unnecessary foreign entry and where citizens returning from abroad need to be segregated.
Canada would also increase surveillance to ensure travelers entering Canada end their segregation, Garneau said.
Canada reported on Thursday a total of 572 982 cases in Covid-19, as new cases continue in the densely populated provinces, Ontario and Quebec.
On Tuesday, Quebec urged the provincial government to seek a Covid-19 test for residents returning from the end-of-year holidays, as hospitals deal with growing cases in the province.