Canada Updated Border Rules & Is Bringing Back Quarantine For Some Fully-Vaxxed Travellers
Fully-vaxxed travellers coming from anywhere but the U.S. will have to test on arrival and wait for their results in quarantine.
The government announced Tuesday that it's updating Canada's border rules in response to the emergence of the Omicron variant, which the World Health Organization (WHO) has labelled a "variant of concern."
The update includes the introduction of arrival testing for all fully-vaccinated travellers coming by air from places other than the United States and a mandatory quarantine for these travellers until they get their results.
The health and safety of Canadians remains our priority. We are strengthening the measures announced last week to include: 1/3pic.twitter.com/upQmwrXb8V— Omar Alghabra (@Omar Alghabra) 1638307382
Unvaccinated travellers who have a right to enter Canada and arrive by air will have to "stay in a designated quarantine facility or other suitable location" while they wait for the results of an on-arrival test, in addition to the already-in-force requirement to quarantine for 14 days, according to a news release.
In addition, Canada added Egypt, Nigeria and Malawi to the list of countries subject to additional restrictions. Foreign nationals who have visited the countries on this list in the previous 14 days will not be allowed to enter Canada.
The complete list now includes Botswana, Egypt, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
"We are taking quick action at our borders to mitigate travel related importations of the Omicron variant," federal Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra said in the release.
"While our monitoring systems are working well, we now know that the Omicron variant is present in Canada. We need to remain vigilant in our own actions."
Though the Omicron variant continues to spread and countries impose additional travel restrictions, the WHO has said that it's so far unclear if the variant is more transmissible or produces worse symptoms than other variants.