{"id":111131,"date":"2021-04-01T21:06:11","date_gmt":"2021-04-01T21:06:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/?p=111131"},"modified":"2021-04-01T21:06:11","modified_gmt":"2021-04-01T21:06:11","slug":"covid-19-landing-in-canada-despite-pre-flight-testing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/markets\/covid-19-landing-in-canada-despite-pre-flight-testing\/","title":{"rendered":"COVID-19 landing in Canada despite pre-flight testing"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Reuters) – More than 1,000 air passengers arrived in Canada infected with COVID-19 over a recent four-week period despite obligatory pre-departure testing, according to federal data that cast doubt on any broad easing of restrictions before the summer travel season.<\/p>

FILE PHOTO: Passengers arrive at Toronto’s Pearson airport after mandatory coronavirus disease (COVID-19) testing took effect for international arrivals in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada February 1, 2021. REUTERS\/Carlos Osorio\/File Photo<\/figcaption>

Canada began testing international arrivals in February, requiring air travelers to spend up to three days in hotel quarantine at their own expense until results come back, a measure criticized by airlines hit hard by the pandemic. People who test negative can finish a 14-day quarantine at home.<\/p>\n

The federal policy was meant to deter people from going abroad during the traditional spring holiday season, and to screen for more contagious coronavirus variants, health officials said.<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s air arrival positivity rate of 1.5% over four weeks from Feb 22 to March 25 is higher than those recorded by some other countries doing similar testing at airports.<\/p>\n

Germany\u2019s Frankfurt airport recorded a 0.4% positive test rate from 2,700 travelers over a four-week period this year, according to testing company Centogene NV.<\/p>\n

Canadian government data showed many international flights this year had passengers carrying the virus. From Feb 22 to March 25, of 70,819 travelers tested upon arrival, 1,094 were positive.<\/p>\n

The travel-related cases suggest the government will not ease its arrival quarantine policy any time soon, even as airlines hope increased testing and vaccinations will lead to improved business.<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s travel restrictions are among the world\u2019s toughest, with non-essential foreigners typically denied entry and citizens returning from abroad mandated to quarantine.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis (testing data) indicates that maintaining strong border measures to protect Canadians is more important than ever,\u201d said Cole Davidson, a spokesman for Canada\u2019s health minister.<\/p>\n

Air Canada has said it expects some easing in restrictions by summer, while WestJet Airlines has asked Canada to transition away from what was billed as a temporary hotel quarantine requirement by May 1.<\/p>\n

The hotel quarantine rule for air travelers is encouraging Canadians to fly to U.S. border towns and drive across the border, a Westjet official said. Such travelers are also tested but can quarantine for 14 days anywhere they choose.<\/p>\n

Air travel, which is at around 10% of pre-pandemic levels, \u201cis not responsible for the current situation we\u2019re in,\u201d Andy Gibbons, WestJet\u2019s director for government relations, said of surging COVID-19 cases in Canada.<\/p>\n

Canada would not say how long the arrival testing and hotel quarantine policy will be in place. Testing upon arrival \u201ccan help to identify people with COVID-19 who may have been exposed to the virus after their pre-arrival test, as well as those who may not have been detectable at the time their pre-arrival sample was taken,\u201d Davidson said.<\/p>\n

Canada has reported 982,116 total coronavirus cases and 22,959 COVID-19 deaths.<\/p>\n

Health officials warn that the concerning new coronavirus variants are increasing rapidly in several parts of Canada. Ontario, the most populous province, said on Thursday it would enter a third lockdown on Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the moment, we don\u2019t think that this is the time to soften the mandatory quarantine for travelers,\u201d said Marjaurie C\u00f4t\u00e9-Boileau, a spokeswoman for Quebec\u2019s health minister.<\/p>\n

Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Reuters) – More than 1,000 air passengers arrived in Canada infected with COVID-19 over a recent four-week period despite obligatory pre-departure testing, according to federal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":111130,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nCOVID-19 landing in Canada despite pre-flight testing - Fin2me<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/markets\/covid-19-landing-in-canada-despite-pre-flight-testing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"COVID-19 landing in Canada despite pre-flight testing - Fin2me\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"(Reuters) – More than 1,000 air passengers arrived in Canada infected with COVID-19 over a recent four-week period despite obligatory pre-departure testing, according to federal [...]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/markets\/covid-19-landing-in-canada-despite-pre-flight-testing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Fin2me\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-04-01T21:06:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/cnewsfotor1477.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/markets\/covid-19-landing-in-canada-despite-pre-flight-testing\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/markets\/covid-19-landing-in-canada-despite-pre-flight-testing\/\",\"name\":\"COVID-19 landing in Canada despite pre-flight testing - 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