As COVID-19 cases decline, Canada will ease entry for fully vaccinated international travellers beginning Feb. 28, enabling a rapid antigen test for travellers rather than a molecular one, officials said on Tuesday.
Antigen tests are less expensive than molecular tests and can offer results in minutes.
The new steps, which involve random testing for vaccinated visitors entering Canada, were declared at a press conference by federal government ministers.
Canada will oversee situations with the goal of eliminating coronavirus testing criteria for fully vaccinated Canadians who travel abroad for less than 72 hours, typically to the United States, according to Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos.
“These improvements are possible not only because we have passed Omicron’s peak, but also since Canadians across the nation have listened to science and researchers,” Duclos told reporters.
As per the health ministry, approximately 80% of Canadians are fully vaccinated, and more than 40% have received a booster dose.
The global travel guideline for Canadians is being updated as well. Earlier, the government advised citizens to avoid all non-essential travel, but now it only advises them to exercise caution.
“Though today ‘s notification gives us one step closer to where our industry requires to be, by requiring pre-departure rapid antigen tests, the government passed up a chance to align with other foreign jurisdictions that have removed pre-departure test criteria for fully vaccinated travellers,” According to a statement issued by the Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable industry group.
“Today ‘s notification by the federal government is a move forward both for travellers, our sector, and the Canadian economy, which depends on trade and tourism,” said Suzanne Acton-Gervais, interim president of the National Airlines Council of Canada.
As coronavirus infection speed drop, a few regions, including Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec, and, on Monday, Ontario, Canada’s most populous region, have revealed an easing of regulations enforced during the pandemic.
Ontario & Alberta
Ontario said it will accelerate its plan to eliminate proof-of-vaccination requirements and lift pandemic-related capacity limits for many enterprises, while Alberta, the western province, ceased mask criteria for schoolchildren on Monday.
Ottawa
Protesters have been blocking border crossings and paralysing Ottawa’s downtown for weeks, demanding that governments lift pandemic regulations. Provincial premiers have denied easing regulations in order to appease them, instead claiming that the regulations are no longer required to control COVID-19.
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