Canada Updates Entry Requirements & Travel Ban

The rising coronavirus infection rate across Canada has caused health officials to amend their travel protocols for incoming travellers and for opposition leaders calling on the federal government for a complete ban on international travel.

Canada announced that from 22 April, tighter travel restrictions will be in place for 30 days to halt further spread of the virus.

New Travel Rules for Incoming Travellers

In a notice shared today, Health Canada announced that “all travelers must take their 2nd on-arrival COVID-19 test on day 8 instead of day 10.”

All travellers coming into Canada must take a COVID-19 test within 72 hours before entering the territory, another test upon arrival in the country, and a 3rd test on day 8 (previously 10th) day of their 14 day quarantine period. This is in addition to the mandatory hotel quarantine, which was recently extended.

Calls for Ban on International Travel

The Canadian government announced a 30-day ban on direct flights from India and Pakistan due to spiking daily COVID-19 cases and the new coronavirus variant, which was first detected in India.

However, the federal conservatives are calling for even further travel restrictions.

Health Canada said about one percent of arriving passengers are testing positive, but did not say how many have tested positive after 10 days.

Many politicians and health officials have also voiced concern about continued travel within Canada. Last week, the premier of British Colombia announced they will restrict non-essential travel between 3 provincial health zones, while Atlantic Canada continues to be closed to the rest of the country.

Vaccination

Canada continues to lag far behind the United States on vaccinations but passed a milestone last week with more than 10 million people (about 30% of the adult population) receiving at least one dose.

The federal government says that it expects Canada to receive around 1.9 million vaccine doses this week, including the first delivery of 300,000 Johnson & Johnson vaccines that only require one shot. They are expected to be distributed to the provinces in the first week of May.

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