All travelers coming from abroad – except from the US – will now be required to be tested for COVID-19 upon arrival in the country, whether or not they have been vaccinated twice.
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They will then have to isolate themselves to a minimum until their test result comes back. For the unvaccinated, they will have to undergo a 14-day quarantine, regardless of the result of the first test taken upon arrival, Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos outlined a series of measures to combat the spread of the Omicron variant on Tuesday afternoon.
Mr. Duclos did not rule out the possibility of extending this new measure to all travelers, including US citizens.
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The minister also confirmed the addition of Egypt, Nigeria and Malawi to the list of African countries affected by border restrictions. The list, as of Friday, included South Africa, Eswatini, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Namibia.
Minister Duclos confirmed that aliens who have passed through one of these 10 countries in the 14 days prior to their planned arrival in Canada will be refused entry.
Click on the third dose
On another note, the minister asked the National Immunization Advisory Committee (NACI) to provide the federal government with updated guidance on the usefulness of booster doses.
The purpose of this measurement is to determine the most effective strategy for administering this third dose.
Duclos noted that today the policy went into effect requiring proof of vaccination for all travelers on trains and planes in Canada.
“This is an excellent procedure and very timely,” he said.