Key Takeaways:
- Once more, travelers entering Canada through Toronto Pearson International Airport must submit to random COVID-19 testing even if they have had all recommended vaccines.
- Travelers chosen for random testing at Toronto Pearson will get an email notification within 15 minutes of completing their customs declaration.
Beginning the following week, passengers entering Canada through Toronto Pearson International Airport who have had all recommended vaccinations will once more be required to submit to random COVID-19 testing.
For travelers arriving by plane at Canada’s four main airports in Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, and Toronto, the policy, temporarily stopped last month amid huge queues and delays at airports, will restart on July 19.
However, the testing will be off-site to avoid interfering with airport operations. People have two options for getting the tests: they can visit testing centers and pharmacies in person or utilize a self-swab test at home during a virtual session.
To learn more about how this can cause passenger delays, CTV News Toronto has called Toronto Pearson.
Also read: Will Ontario reintroduce limits to combat the COVID-19 summer wave?
Moving testing outside of airports will enable testing for air travelers while maintaining the ability to watch for and promptly react to emerging varieties of concern or changes in the epidemiological situation, officials stated in a news release on Thursday. At land border points of entry, mandatory random testing remains unchanged.
After finishing their customs declaration, travelers selected for random testing at Toronto Pearson will get an email notification within 15 minutes. At that time, instructions on how to set up a test will be given.
Both those who have had partial vaccinations and those who have not will still need to get tested when they enter the country as well as on day eight of the compulsory 14-day quarantine. All travelers must register on the ArriveCAN app or website 72 hours before arrival.
After months of difficulties, including canceled flights, lengthy queues, and misplaced luggage, the Greater Toronto Airport Authority declared on Wednesday that operations are “getting better.”
President and CEO Deborah Flint stated, “We’re seeing both labors being restored throughout the system at airlines and government organizations, and we’re seeing processes improving.
The GTAA praised the federal government’s decision to halt on-site mandatory COVID-19 testing in June since it anticipated a spike in summer travel. It stated that if the restriction persisted, Canada might lose billions of dollars in tourism revenue.
Public health experts continue to stress the significance of testing travelers to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos stated, “we need to maintain border testing measures because it is how we track importation of the COVID-19 virus and new variations of concern.” “We will continue adjusting our border controls to balance the need to safeguard Canadians and promote our country’s economic resurgence.
As per the chief medical officer of health for the province of Ontario, the pandemic’s seventh wave is presently affecting the region, and the infection rate will reach its peak in two weeks.
Source: CTV News
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