TORONTO (AP) – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday announced stricter restrictions on travelers in response to new, probably more contagious variants of the new coronavirus – including the obligation for travelers to quarantine in a hotel at their own expense when they arrive in Canada and suspend the airline to Mexico and all destinations in the Caribbean until April 30.
Trudeau said the government, in addition to the pre-boarding test that Canada already requires, will introduce mandatory PCR testing at the airport for people returning to Canada.
“Travelers will then have to wait up to three days at an approved hotel for their test results, at their own expense, which is expected to exceed $ 2000,” Trudeau said.
“Those with negative test results can then be quarantined at home under significantly increased supervision and application.”
He said the measure would take effect in the coming weeks.
The hefty cost of hotel accommodation includes the cost of a private PCR test, security, food and the cost of measures that the designated hotels will have to take to keep their workers safe.
‘The cost is a ball parking. It is not like any other facility. This is one where there should also be control measures for the prevention of infections, safety and other costs. It’s not just a regular stay in a hotel, ‘says dr. Theresa Tam, head of Canada’s public health officer.
Tam also said that a test is needed on the tenth day after people return.
The prime minister said those with positive tests would need to be quarantined immediately in designated government facilities to make sure they did not have variants of particular interest.
Trudeau also said the government and major airlines in Canada have agreed to suspend the service to solar destinations immediately. He said Air Canada, WestJet, Sunwing and Air Transat were canceling air services to all Caribbean destinations and Mexico from Sunday to April 30.
“They will make arrangements with their customers who are currently traveling in these regions to organize their return flights,” Trudeau said.
He said that next week all international passenger flights should land at the following four airports: Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary and Montreal.
“We will also require non-important travelers to show a negative test in the coming weeks before crossing the border with the US, and we are working to establish additional test requirements for land travel,” Trudeau said.
Canada already requires those entering the country to isolate themselves for 14 days and present a negative COVID-19 test within three days of arrival.
Tam, Canada’s leading health official, said security contractors go from house to house to return what they isolate at home.
The move to require a hotel stay on return will discourage holidays because people do not have to quarantine at a hotel at their own expense.
“It’s excellent. It’s a shame it’s so late. This is something they could have done centuries ago, ‘said Dr Andrew Morris, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Toronto and medical director of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at Sinai University’s Health Network.
“It’s definitely a step in the right direction.”
More and more governments are thinking of ways to be more aggressive because of the new variants, vaccine delays, the challenges of getting the population vaccinated and the strain on healthcare systems.
Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said officials had asked Canadians to cancel all unimportant trips and try to eliminate them.
‘Unfortunately, some make the choice to do non-important travel. “If they are going to make the choice, they have to bear the full cost,” Blair said.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said his province would begin testing as a stopgap at the Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Monday until federal measures were put in place.
Trudeau also announced that there will be a delay in the next shipment of the Moderna vaccine, which arrives next week. He said Canada would receive 78% of the expected amount, which would be translated into 180,000 doses.