New restrictions for incoming travellers will come into impact on Feb. 22, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau introduced on Friday — together with a contemporary resort quarantine requirement.
“These measures will take impact beginning Feb. 22,” Trudeau stated, talking from the entrance steps of Rideau Cottage.
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Trudeau added that there can be exceptions to those new restrictions, notably for truckers and health-care employees travelling into Canada.
“We’re not making an attempt to punish individuals, we’re making an attempt to maintain individuals protected,” he stated.
“These border measures will assist cease the unfold of COVID-19 and new variants.”
In late January, Trudeau introduced that travellers arriving within the nation by air should take a compulsory PCR coronavirus take a look at. Whereas they await the outcomes of that take a look at, they are going to be compelled to quarantine at a resort for as much as three days — on their very own dime.
Trudeau had beforehand stated that the price for this resort keep is “anticipated to be greater than $2,000.”
“These with adverse take a look at outcomes will then be capable of quarantine at house below considerably elevated surveillance and enforcement,” Trudeau stated on the time.
“These with constructive checks can be instantly required to quarantine in designated authorities services to verify they’re not carrying variants of potential concern.”
Throughout a number of press conferences on Friday, authorities ministers and officers defined that travellers arriving in Canada should take three separate COVID-19 checks. The primary is taken not more than 72 hours earlier than arrival, after which one other can be taken upon arrival on the Canadian border or airport.
Travellers will then be supplied with an extra testing equipment upon arrival, which is for use 10 days later for a 3rd and last take a look at.t.
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Talking in a separate press convention on Friday, Well being Minister Patty Hajdu supplied extra particulars on the obligatory resort quarantine all air travellers should undertake upon their arrival in Canada.
“It’s as much as the traveller to decide on the place they want to keep, and e-book upfront of departure,” Hajdu stated.
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She defined the government-approved lodges can be listed on a reserving web site as of Feb. 18. They’re all situated close to airports within the 4 cities presently allowed to just accept worldwide flights: Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal.
“Prices of those resort stays could fluctuate barely at every location,” stated Hajdu.
“The value will embody prices related to the room, meals, cleansing, an infection prevention and management measures, and safety in addition to transportation.”
If a traveller’s take a look at outcome comes again adverse, they’re allowed to depart the quarantine resort for house, or to catch their connecting flight to their last vacation spot.
Nonetheless, this outcome may take as much as three days to come back by means of — a actuality that Public Security Minister Invoice Blair stated travellers are accountable for understanding.
“In case you are travelling, it’s your duty to know and to observe the entire guidelines,” Blair stated.
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The Public Well being Company of Canada (PHAC) has stated that the federal authorities is popping to personal safety companies to assist implement the 14-day obligatory quarantine and conduct in-person compliance visits.
Contracts totalling $2 million have been awarded to G4S Safe Options (Canada) Ltd., GardaWorld and Paladin Danger Options, in line with PHAC. The Canadian Corps of Commissionaires, a non-profit that hires Canadian Armed Forces veterans and retired RCMP officers, has additionally been tapped to assist with in-person visits.
The brand new restrictions come along with the obligatory 14-day quarantine individuals arriving in Canada have been required to undertake for nearly a yr now, in addition to contemporary restrictions for travellers arriving at Canada’s land borders.
As of Monday, travellers arriving at Canada’s land border can be required to current a adverse COVID-19 take a look at taken inside 72 hours of their arrival.
Whereas Canada can’t technically flip away its residents who don’t arrive outfitted with a adverse take a look at, Trudeau stated on Tuesday that the federal government has different instruments at its disposal to make sure compliance. He stated failure to current such a take a look at may lead to “extreme penalties,” together with fines of as much as $3,000 per particular person.
Trudeau additionally stated the federal government can be implementing new measures to make sure “intensive observe up by Well being Canada” to make sure they’re getting examined and correctly quarantining.
Talking throughout a technical briefing on the brand new measures, a Canada Border Providers Company official warned travellers to anticipate longer wait instances on the border because of the precautions.
He added that the CBSA “won’t compromise” the well being and security of Canadians for the sake of border wait instances.
In response to issues from reporters that the measures may restrict those that should journey for medical or emergency causes, Trudeau stated the federal government is “conscious” of the have to be “considerate and compassionate about people who find themselves in extraordinarily troublesome conditions and completely must journey.”
“We’ll proceed to work with individuals and the ministers concerned will proceed to look at carefully for additions or changes that have to be made to those measures,” Trudeau stated.”However each step of the best way, what we’re doing is to maintain all Canadians protected.”
The brand new measures apply to all travellers — even those that have already obtained the vaccine, officers confirmed.
Nonetheless, there are teams that can be exempt from the land border measures, together with the truck drivers who account for many of the cross-border journey.
In an electronic mail to World Information, a spokesperson for the CBSA confirmed that 93 per cent of these crossing on the border are exempt from the restrictions.
“The overwhelming majority of these travelling by land (93%) are exempt from quarantine necessities,” learn the e-mail.
In the meantime, the airline trade welcomed elements of the air journey measures — however not your entire factor.
“We’ve got been main proponents of a testing regime for aviation and have been pursuing that initiative with the federal authorities for a lot of months,” stated Mike McNaney, president and CEO of the Nationwide Airways Council of Canada.
Nonetheless, he added, “we didn’t really feel that quarantine resort measures have been crucial.”
Together with airways, the federal government has additionally taken steps to make it more durable for Canadians to entry sunny trip locations. In late January, Trudeau stated Air Canada, WestJet, Sunwing and Air Transat have all agreed to cancel air providers to “all Caribbean locations and Mexico.”
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The cancellations will proceed till April 30.
McNaney stated he hopes the resumption of service after April 30 may embody a transparent plan for scaling airline trade again to its regular ranges.
“We now must work to have in place for April 30 a real testing and quarantine technique in place to allow the protected restart and restoration of the sector,” he stated.
“We have to get engaged in that course of now, with the objective that as of April thirtieth, you’d have a transparent preliminary technique and strategy to how we’re going to tie testing to quarantine measures which can be adjusted downward, and you’d combine in speedy antigen testing into the testing course of.”
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