Canada’s federal Health Minister says vaccinated travellers will no longer need a molecular COVID-19 test to enter Canada starting on February 28.
Travellers can instead opt for a rapid antigen test approved by the country in which it is purchased. However, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said rapid tests will have to be administered by a laboratory or health care entity.
Additionally, unvaccinated children travelling with vaccinated adults who come to Canada will no longer have to isolate and stay away from school or daycare for 14 days.
Some fully vaccinated travellers might still be randomly selected for a molecular test at the airport, but they will not be required to quarantine while they wait for the result.
Unvaccinated Canadians will need to be tested at the airport and again eight days after arrival and isolate for 14 days, said the minister.
The federal government also plans to lift its advisory urging Canadians to avoid all non-essential travel outside the country due to the risk of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
Ottawa will further ease restrictions in coming weeks if the situation continues to improve, hospitalizations continue to diminish, and Canadians continue to get their booster shots, said Minister Duclos.
More airports will also be able to receive international flights after February 28. Airports in communities such as Windsor, London, Fort McMurray and Moncton will be able to start receiving flights from abroad.
There were 5,801 new confirmed cases of cOVID-19 and 110 deaths in Canada on Monday of this week (February 14).
