Canada plans to relax entry regulations for fully vaccinated international travellers starting on Feb. 28 as COVID-19 cases decline. However, officials said on Tuesday that a rapid antigen test, instead of molecular Covid testing, must be taken by those who wish to travel to Canada.
Rapid antigen tests may be taken the day before arriving in the country, and PCR tests can be taken 72 hours prior to the scheduled flight or arrival at the border.
However, unvaccinated travellers will still be subjected to Covid testing requirements and a 14-day quarantine. Un-jabbed foreign nationals will not be permitted to travel to Canada unless they meet one of the few exemptions.
The new measures, including random testing for vaccinated travellers entering Canada, were announced by federal government ministers at a briefing.
Also, the Canadian government has announced that they will no longer recommend that Canadians avoid non-essential travel.
Federal Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos said that he was happy to announce these changes today, as many are looking forward to living with fewer restrictions. However, the fight against the virus is not over, and one must continue to exercise prudence at all times.
Duclos also said that these changes were possible not only because we have passed the peak of Omicron but also because Canadians across the nation have adhered to science and experts.
Canada is returning to a randomised testing surveillance program that was in place before the Omicron variant’s surge.
According to the health ministry, about 80% of Canadians are fully vaccinated, and over 40% have also taken a booster dose.
The global travel advisory for Canadians is also being changed. Previously the government recommended against all non-essential travel, and now it is only urging citizens to take precautions.
Moving ahead, fully vaccinated travellers who are selected under the randomised testing system will no longer be needed to quarantine while awaiting test results.
Restrictions for children 11 and younger who are not fully vaccinated and travelling with fully vaccinated parents will be lifted.
Even though the announcement is promising, Duclos stated that all measures are subject to re-evaluation. The Canadian nationals need to be ready to tackle future waves, future variants — which may or may not be smaller than the Omicron surge, depending on how the virus evolves.
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