Fully vaccinated travellers will as from February 28 be able to use a rapid Covid antigen test taken the day before their scheduled flight departure, or a molecular test (taken no more than 72 hours before their scheduled flight) to meet entry requirements.
The Public Health Agency of Canada has revealed that antigen tests taken at home were “not sufficient” to meet the pre-entry rules and the tests must be administered by a “laboratory, healthcare entity or telehealth service”.
The agency added that recent Covid data revealed that the wave of the Omicron variant in Canada had passed its peak and it was time to “move towards a more sustainable approach to long-term management of Covid-19”.
Upon getting to Canada, travellers will be “randomly selected” for testing but won’t be required to quarantine while they await their test results.
Children who are under 12 and are travelling with fully vaccinated adults will still be exempt from quarantine.
Unvaccinated travellers will still be required to be tested on arrival, on Day 8 and quarantine for 14 days while unvaccinated foreign nationals will be prevented from entering Canada unless they qualify for an exemption.
Travel health notice will be adjusted by the government from level 3 to level 2. This means the government no longer recommends Canadians avoid travel for non-essential purposes.
Also, Transport Canada will lift its current flight restrictions and allow all Canadian airports to receive international passenger flights at 16:00 EST on February 28.
