Border restrictions began to loosen for some Canadians from Monday this week, with people who have been fully vaccinated, whether incoming citizens or permanent residents, not need to quarantine them when they return to Canada. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters that plans to fully reopen the border would be announced in the coming weeks.
At a press conference on June 22, after 16 months of harsh travel restrictions imposed due to the raging COVID-19 epidemic, Trudeau had unequivocally stated that Canada was ready to loosen travel restrictions. The Government of Canada has announced its approach to travelers entering Canada, marking the first phase of Canada.
Border rules went into effect on July 5, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. EDT, allowing travelers to skip a 14-day quarantine period upon arrival within Canada. But no timeline has yet been set for non-essential international travelers in Canada.
With effect from the relaxation of the rules, under the new system for non-essential purposes as well as for approved or essential purposes, fully vaccinated passengers arriving by air will not be required to stay in government-authorized hotels. Health measures still require some public health rules to be met, including the certificate of full vaccination to passengers and a negative COVID-19 test result certificate before travel - these are essential for people's health.
 |
| Toronto is in 2nd phase of Ontario's 3-phase COVID-19 reopening schedule © Ferdinand Stöhr / Unsplash |
For people to be considered fully vaccinated, a traveler must have received all doses of vaccines — sanctioned by the Government of Canada at least 14 days prior to arrives in Canada. Vaccines currently sanctioned by the government include those manufactured by Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson. Travelers to these vaccines are free to receive their vaccine in any country, although they must provide certified documentation supporting their vaccination to verify this.
Passengers must upload information related to COVID-19 vaccination and testing electronically to the ArriveCAN app prior to arrival in Canada.
If it is determined at the border that they do not meet all the necessary conditions to get exemption from quarantine, then upon arrival they must still "present a suitable quarantine plan, and be prepared for quarantine." But any travellers entering Canada before July 5 will need to spend the entire two weeks, that is, 14 days, in quarantine on arrival.
Further, there is no change in border restrictions for travelers flying to Canada without vaccination, they are required to book a three-night stay at a fully government-authorized hotel at their own expense on arrival in Canada.
Some suggestions were submitted in June that Canada would move to loosen restrictions on all non-essential travel, including tourism, between Canada and the United States for fully vaccinated travelers, but that the land borders between the two countries were extended further until July 21.
Trudeau had said he well understood people's feelings of how eager people are to see the border reopen, but says the pandemic is still on and 'things haven't returned to normal yet.' According to Canada's official vaccine tracker, about 68% of Canada's population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. And about 36% of the population is fully vaccinated now.
Read Also:
Post a Comment