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Canada Will Require Negative COVID-19 Test 72 Hours Before Arrival

Canada Will Require Negative COVID-19 Test 72 Hours Before Arrival

Old Dec 31, 2020, 3:40 am
  #61  
 
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Bottom line is the airline has the last say and can deny you to board the flight if yo don't meet requirements E.g negative Covid test just like they can deny you boarding if you show up clearly intoxicated.
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Old Dec 31, 2020, 4:21 am
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We are currently in the Turks and Caicos. This certainly messed up our mood yesterday.

I called the CBSA to confirm our ability to drive from the US into Canada (one of my plan Bs - strange, alamo for example seems to offer one way rentals into Canada). The agent says, oh these new policies are effective January 6. I asked her are you referring to the pre-boarding covid test requirement announced at the press conference a couple of hours ago. She said yes, we don't have any of the details yet, but the date is January 6.

I calles again to speak to a different agent and sure enough he said the same thing, no idea what the details will be but goes live January 6.

To my knowledge no one in the press has reported this yet...
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Old Dec 31, 2020, 6:24 am
  #63  
 
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Originally Posted by tracon
The Canadian government will deny entry to it's own citizens? I didn't think that was allowed.
Or is the onus being put on the airline, therefore it's denied boarding rather than denied entry?
I think these are two different things and you need to carefully at the wording. The government of Canada will likely never deny entry to its own citizens'. It is protected in the charter. If someone demonstrates they are a Citizen to a customs/immigration officer they will likely be let in. Perhaps having to quarantine after entry.

They are restricting who can fly on an aircraft. It will be up to the airline to deny boarding.

I believe the pre-clearance treaty between Canada and the US permits Canada to establish pre-clearance at US airports. However Canada has never done pre-clearance anywhere. So it is virtually always the airline that checks that a traveler comes in contact with first.
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Old Dec 31, 2020, 6:35 am
  #64  
 
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Originally Posted by WoodlandCreature
More precisely, the announcements say 3 days before *arriving*. For travel from distant stations, such as SYD-YYZ via DOH (or even SYD-YVR on AC 34 as and when it is restored), that could be seriously problematic. Just getting the results within 72 hours can difficult in many places.

(I'll shortly be flying MEL-DXB-YYZ on EK, 35 hours in total, leaving me 37 hours to do the test and get the results.)
Is the wording "before arriving" or is it "before departure"?

I hope this is the start of the longer term permanent solution. You show a test result or you show a vaccination card. If not on arrival you spend 3 days in a government controlled hold area.

Phase II should be to start to apply the same requirements for "essential exempt" travelers. Either vaccination card or test report.

Last edited by tcook052; Dec 31, 2020 at 11:21 am Reason: Off topic
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Old Dec 31, 2020, 7:11 am
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Originally Posted by Fiordland
Is the wording "before arriving" or is it "before departure"?

I hope this is the start of the longer term permanent solution. You show a test result or you show a vaccination card. If not on arrival you spend 3 days in a government controlled hold area.

Phase II should be to start to apply the same requirements for "essential exempt" travelers. Either vaccination card or test report.

The health authorities are also reaching the point where the vaccines are arriving faster than they can administer them. A solution could be to send some of that to a private operator that setups up shop at each of the airports. Business that have a need to have there people travel regularly can pay to get their people vaccinated outside of the health authority queue. That may not be popular on the universal healthcare front but it addresses restarting the economy. A reasonable exemption for the next six months.
Dumbest policy has always been quarantining at final destination and not at port of entry. Someone asymptomatic sick arrives at YYZ then gets on the plane to YVR to quarantine and infects people on the flight.
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Old Dec 31, 2020, 7:28 am
  #66  
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Originally Posted by YOWgary
I disagree - it's at least as much about being seen to be doing something about "UK strain" COVID coming into the country, and to me, to a lesser extent it's simply the only way the federal government can express ITS covid-fatigue.

The phrasing chosen in today's announcement was pretty telling; that both ministers talked about the fact that they can't ban foreign travel, and asking people to do the right thing hasn't worked, so now they're putting up whatever additional roadblocks the law DOES permit.
The Federal government could ban non-essential foreign travel - but they don't have the guts to do so.

Originally Posted by Fiordland
I hope this is the start of the longer term permanent solution. You show a test result or you show a vaccination card. If not on arrival you spend 3 days in a government controlled hold area.

Phase II should be to start to apply the same requirements for "essential exempt" travelers. Either vaccination card or test report.

The health authorities are also reaching the point where the vaccines are arriving faster than they can administer them. A solution could be to send some of that to a private operator that setups up shop at each of the airports. Business that have a need to have there people travel regularly can pay to get their people vaccinated outside of the health authority queue. That may not be popular on the universal healthcare front but it addresses restarting the economy. A reasonable exemption for the next six months.
Agree that if well thought out the requirement would be vaccination card or test - but this shows no signs of being well thought out.

In Canada the Good there will be very little appetite for a private sector solution - at least until everyone to be "at risk" gets it first.
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Last edited by tcook052; Dec 31, 2020 at 11:20 am Reason: off topic
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Old Dec 31, 2020, 9:12 am
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Originally Posted by sydneyracquelle
Dumbest policy has always been quarantining at final destination and not at port of entry. Someone asymptomatic sick arrives at YYZ then gets on the plane to YVR to quarantine and infects people on the flight.
Yes, Quarantine at final destination and restrict point of entry to only three airports is the international flight traveled over a large body of water but not if it did not is the silly.

The quarantine should be at a mid-market airport hotel. There is lots of them available.
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Old Dec 31, 2020, 9:38 am
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Originally Posted by bambinomartino
We are currently in the Turks and Caicos. This certainly messed up our mood yesterday.

I called the CBSA to confirm our ability to drive from the US into Canada (one of my plan Bs - strange, alamo for example seems to offer one way rentals into Canada). The agent says, oh these new policies are effective January 6. I asked her are you referring to the pre-boarding covid test requirement announced at the press conference a couple of hours ago. She said yes, we don't have any of the details yet, but the date is January 6.

I calles again to speak to a different agent and sure enough he said the same thing, no idea what the details will be but goes live January 6.

To my knowledge no one in the press has reported this yet...
I too have this as a plan b. In Mexico and flying back to Calgary via Denver on the 11th. Plan B, bring... fly to Great Falls, Montana and drive over to Calgary. Checked Avis rental rates and its less than $80 for the day. Its not too bad... annoying but still possible.
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Old Dec 31, 2020, 10:17 am
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Originally Posted by WannabeSE
I too have this as a plan b. In Mexico and flying back to Calgary via Denver on the 11th. Plan B, bring... fly to Great Falls, Montana and drive over to Calgary. Checked Avis rental rates and its less than $80 for the day. Its not too bad... annoying but still possible.
Applying this ONLY to air travel is truly incomprehensible.

While I wish WannabeSE all safety and good luck in such a tortured journey, how many more touch points will now occur than the one-stop connection over DEN?

If the GoC goal is to reduce transmission, then the shortest / least contact path will best accomplish this end.

troubling, distressing, not sure what other words best describe the lack of leadership in announcing such a half-baked scheme.
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Old Dec 31, 2020, 10:32 am
  #70  
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Originally Posted by skybluesea
troubling, distressing, not sure what other words best describe the lack of leadership in announcing such a half-baked scheme.
This half-baked scheme looks good in the eyes of the sheeple, look at comments in any internet forum or under any article.
Who is actually going to dissect this? People just want to feel good that "something" is being done. Most people still think "borders are closed"

Do not underestimate the power of the sheeple as a voting bloc.
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Old Dec 31, 2020, 10:58 am
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Originally Posted by rankourabu
This half-baked scheme looks good in the eyes of the sheeple, look at comments in any internet forum or under any article.
Who is actually going to dissect this? People just want to feel good that "something" is being done. Most people still think "borders are closed"

Do not underestimate the power of the sheeple as a voting bloc.
Cant do this at land borders as they cannot deny a CDN citizen entry and return you to USA as USA land borders are closed to CDNs.

Last edited by sydneyracquelle; Dec 31, 2020 at 4:41 pm
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Old Dec 31, 2020, 11:11 am
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A rapid, antigen testing at the arrival airport would certainly catch more positive cases than a PCR taken 3 days earlier. If positive, you send the traveler to a supervised quarantine site.
But it would not discourage travel enough I imagine - another proof this is the real goal of this new requirement.
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Old Dec 31, 2020, 11:47 am
  #73  
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Travellers who are unable to procure tests before their flights home won't be stranded abroad, LeBlanc said. Immediately upon their return to Canada, he said, those passengers will be required to isolate at federally-approved sites until they obtain negative test results and meet other quarantine commitments.
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Old Dec 31, 2020, 11:50 am
  #74  
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This revised statement makes NO sense.

Does this mean airlines will have NO obligation to check whether PCR test has been procured?

On what basis will airlines be permitted to board passengers to Canada otherwise.

NO wonder GoC needs more time to produce the Order-In-Council as the airlines will be scratching their heads on what to do here.
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Last edited by skybluesea; Dec 31, 2020 at 12:03 pm Reason: deleted link
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Old Dec 31, 2020, 12:41 pm
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So how is a Canadian who was traveling in Mexico for instance to get tested 72 hours before return. Go to a Mexican hospital??
What an inane policy. Returning citizens should get tested and if necessary go into quarantine on arrival.
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