MONTRÉAL, Québec (CU)_Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday (Jan 29), announced stricter restrictions on travelers, in response to new and more transmissible variants of COVID-19 that are being discovered in various parts of the world.
These restrictions include a mandatory hotel quarantine requirement for travelers at their own expense following arrival to Canada, as well as the suspension of airline services to Mexico and all Caribbean destinations until April 30.
The Prime Minister said, in addition to the pre-boarding Coronavirus test that is already a requirement in Canada, PCR tests will also be conducted at the airports. Thereafter, these travelers will have to wait for their test results at an approved hotel, at their own expense.
According to PM Trudeau, these hotel costs are expected to be more than $2,000, since it will also include cost for a private PCR test, security, food and other costs incurred by the hotel to keep their workers safe.
“This isn’t like any other facility. This is one where there has to be infection prevention control measures, security and other costs as well. It’s not just a regular stay at a hotel,” Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, said.
On the other hand, those who test positive upon their arrival will be immediately required to quarantine in designated government facilities in order to contain the spread of the virus, especially those variants which are said to be more transmissible and more deadly.
The Prime Minister said the above measures will come into effect “in the coming weeks”.
In the case of those returning to Canada, they too will be required to quarantine at a hotel at their own expense, until they receive the results of the PCR test conducted at the airport. Those with negative test results will then be able to quarantine at home under “significantly increased surveillance and enforcement”.
Tam said that security contractors will be going door-to-door to check on returnees who are isolating at home.
Although the move to require travelers a hotel stay at their expense would discourage vacations, however, the country’s health experts say the recently announced restrictions are a step in the right direction.
On Friday, PM Trudeau also announced there will be a delay in part of the next shipment of the Moderna vaccine, and therefore Canada will receive 180,000 doses of the vaccine next week, which is less than 80 per cent of the expected amount.
