Canada announced Monday that it will remove all remaining coronavirus entry restrictions, including testing and quarantine requirements, effective October 1, ending some strict rules. The longest and the longest in the world.
Travelers, regardless of nationality status, will no longer be required to submit public health information, proof of immunizations, coronavirus test results before or after arrival, or have to undergo random PCR testing, Canada’s Public Health Agency said. The country is also removing the requirement to wear masks when traveling by plane and train.
“Thanks largely to Canadians who rolled up their sleeves to get vaccinated, we have reached the point where we can safely lift hygiene measures at the border,” said Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos. whole.
Canada boasts one of the highest rates of Covid-19 vaccination in the world, with 84 percent of the population fully vaccinated against the virus; About 50 percent received a booster. In the United States, by comparison, only 68 percent of the population was fully immunized and 33 percent had a booster shot.
Omar Alghabra, Canada’s Minister of Transport, said in the same statement that border measures are “always temporary,” adding: “We are making adjustments based on the current situation.” because that’s what Canadians expect.”
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This decision comes two and a half years after the United States, Canada and Mexico decided to close their borders to prevent the rapid spread of Covid.
As the virus continues to rage around the world, temporary restrictions on crossing the U.S.-Canada border have been extended until August 9, 2021, when Canada first opens its borders to immigrants. Americans are fully immunized. Later, Canada opened its doors more widely to vaccinated travelers from other countries.
That October, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, leader of the Liberal Party, make vaccination a requirement for air and rail passengers, as well as for federal government employees, including members of the military and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, a move that has sparked a backlash from the Conservative Party. in Canada.
In February of this year, a large group of truck drivers crippled central Ottawa, Canada’s capital, for weeks with protests that began as a protest against vaccination bans.
Before April this year, as infections began to decline and vaccination rates remained high, Canada dropped the requirement that fully vaccinated travelers present proof of a recent negative coronavirus test. recently entered this country. However, those who took the plane were still randomly selected to take the PCR test upon arrival at the airport.
While Canada is still competing with the latest sub-variant of Omicron, earlier this month it allowed The first Omicron-adapted vaccine for adultsmade by Moderna.
In his statement, Mr Duclos said the government hoped Covid-19 and other respiratory viruses “will continue to circulate during the cold months” and encouraged Canadians and visitors to stay up to date on vaccinations. Covid-19 vaccinations and immunizations “and take individual public health measures.”
In the United States, all foreign visitors still have to be fully vaccinated and provide proof of vaccinations, including travelers from Canada. Representative Brian Higgins of New York, a Democrat whose districts include Buffalo and Niagara Falls, encouraged the United States to follow Canada’s lead.
“It has been two and a half long years of border restrictions between the United States and Canada,” he said in a statement. “Extensive measures have kept loved ones apart and made it impossible for border communities to achieve full economic recovery. The end of the restrictions is overdue. Canada’s decision is the right one. The US should follow suit immediately.”
