A shade of things to come, where all flights require COVID tests, not just international arrivals? Also, isn’t Canada about 8 months too late? (misspelling of travelers not mine)
What You Need To Know About Canada’s New COVID-19 Test Requirements For International Travellers
The Canadian government has just announced that pre-departure COVID-19 testing and proof of negative results are now required for all air travellers coming into Canada as of January 7, 2021.
The news release states that “The COVID-19 pandemic has created a global crisis that is having a significant impact on the air industry and all travellers. The Government of Canada has multiple measures in place to protect the health and safety of Canadians, and to help prevent air travel from being a source of further introduction and spread of COVID-19 and new variants of the virus into Canada. Since March 13, 2020, the Government of Canada has strongly advised against non-essential travel, and that travel restrictions and measures can be amended at any time as necessary for public health reasons.â€
However, these measures have proven not as effective as the government would like so that is why the Minister of Transport, the Honourable Marc Garneau, is requiring that, effective January 7, 2021, at 12:01 a.m. EST, all air passengers five years of age or older will be required to test negative for COVID-19 before travelling from another country to Canada. It’s believed that waiting until January 7 will provide all airlines, both foreign and domestic, adequate time to comply with the new requirements.
According to the press release: “Documentation of a negative laboratory test result must be presented to the airline prior to boarding a flight to Canada. The test must be performed using a COVID-19 molecular polymerase chain reaction (or PCR) test and must be taken within 72 hours prior to the traveller’s scheduled departure to Canada.â€
The PCR test is the more invasive “stick it way up your nose or in your throat” test, vs the rapid test which just goes about half an inch up your nose. On one hand, you can completely understand the caution, on the other hand, it’s January 2021, why is this suddenly important now? One would have thought it would have been important months and months ago. Is this a precursor to more movement crackdowns? Or just a one off?
