Canada Will Require Negative COVID-19 Test 72 Hours Before Arrival
Dec 31, 2020, 6:01 pm
#106
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Plus, this also means diverting revenues from already be-leaguered Canadian operators who will likely be carrying a lot of this traffic home to competing U.S. / foreign carriers.
I expect internal polling is telling the government that looking tough on the border outweighs the practical effectiveness of this half-baked policy...but what is new?
Last edited by tcook052; Dec 31, 2020 at 6:08 pm Reason: Off topic
Dec 31, 2020, 6:10 pm
#107
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There are two possible outcomes for passengers who fail to obtain PCR tests prior to departure, Garneau said in an interview with CBC News.
"One is, if they haven't got the test result and there are clinics available, they will have to reschedule their departure because they won't be allowed on board," he said. "If, on the other hand, they can demonstrate ... that there was no facility, then they can be admitted onboard."
Travellers who can prove that they were unable to get a test abroad will have to quarantine at a federally-approved facility upon their return for 14 days.
"One is, if they haven't got the test result and there are clinics available, they will have to reschedule their departure because they won't be allowed on board," he said. "If, on the other hand, they can demonstrate ... that there was no facility, then they can be admitted onboard."
Travellers who can prove that they were unable to get a test abroad will have to quarantine at a federally-approved facility upon their return for 14 days.
Dec 31, 2020, 6:18 pm
#108
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There are two possible outcomes for passengers who fail to obtain PCR tests prior to departure, Garneau said in an interview with CBC News.
"One is, if they haven't got the test result and there are clinics available, they will have to reschedule their departure because they won't be allowed on board," he said. "If, on the other hand, they can demonstrate ... that there was no facility, then they can be admitted onboard."
Travellers who can prove that they were unable to get a test abroad will have to quarantine at a federally-approved facility upon their return for 14 days.
"One is, if they haven't got the test result and there are clinics available, they will have to reschedule their departure because they won't be allowed on board," he said. "If, on the other hand, they can demonstrate ... that there was no facility, then they can be admitted onboard."
Travellers who can prove that they were unable to get a test abroad will have to quarantine at a federally-approved facility upon their return for 14 days.
"demonstrate to who"?
So does an airline check-in agent simply take the word of the passenger?
Will Foreign Affairs have a registration link for traveler to provide such documentation in advance?
I could go on, but proving a negative!
hhhmmm....I have been involved in Canadian border control policy a long time, but never heard of this one.
Last edited by skybluesea; Dec 31, 2020 at 6:19 pm Reason: correct documentation
Dec 31, 2020, 6:36 pm
#109
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Just a question- because I sincerely do not know the answer. Is there any other jurisdiction in the world that requires both a negative PCR test and and a 14 day quarantine for arrival?
Dec 31, 2020, 6:49 pm
#110
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In the day and age of FedEx a test is always available. Take the cruise ships that are docked offshore in the Caribbean waiting for cruise ships to be safe for travelers again. The crew are regularly tested. They run a tender into the nearest port and hand the sample off to an airline to fly out to Miami or where ever.
Air Canada, Sungwind, WestJet and AirTransat all understand how to move express cargo around on passenger airlines. They have contracts in place at all of these airports. If they wanted to they could organize someone to collect samples and put the samples on a flight to a nearby city with testing capability. The issue is will they go out of their way to organize it. How much will they want to charge their passengers for the service.
Air Canada, Sungwind, WestJet and AirTransat all understand how to move express cargo around on passenger airlines. They have contracts in place at all of these airports. If they wanted to they could organize someone to collect samples and put the samples on a flight to a nearby city with testing capability. The issue is will they go out of their way to organize it. How much will they want to charge their passengers for the service.
Dec 31, 2020, 6:59 pm
#111
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Pre-departure PCR testing is a common requirement in many countries now.
https://www.koreanair.com/global/en/...SA_detail.html
Here's another link, looks like Testing (either pre-departure or on arrival + quarantine) is common in many countries.
Dec 31, 2020, 6:59 pm
#112
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The US has already imposed this testing requirement for travelers coming from the UK. Given we should see a new administration in the US that wants to take a more active role against COVID, I would not be surprised to see similar rules being imposed on entry to the US.
It's not as if they're serious about preventing COVID importation, or they would have instituted this before the holidays.
Dec 31, 2020, 7:03 pm
#113
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I think that's the point, they want people to think it would be too much trouble / impossible and to stop taking discretionary trips. I know that the audience here is likely far more pro-travel right now (particularly those who continue to participate in the forum while things have been effectively shut down 9 months), however a lot of the general population and the governments of Ontario/Quebec at least really want flights stopped or at least those that are seen to be for leisure. We'll see in a few weeks if it works.
Dec 31, 2020, 7:06 pm
#114
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I could see this happening with tour operators like ACV, Transat and Westjet Vacations where they have dozens/hundreds of guests staying at the same small number of resort hotels and could organize a nurse to come and do mass swabs three days before departure and take them all to a lab.
This step is an industry killer that will achieve its goal of preventing Canadians from travelling abroad while accomplishing very little in terms of actually preventing importation of the virus. Just MHO as a member.
Dec 31, 2020, 7:23 pm
#115
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Sorry but I can't as not only is it just another expense tour companies would be incurring on top of others like free COVID insurance it's fraught with pitfalls for delays or testing troubles well beyond their control.
This step is an industry killer that will achieve its goal of preventing Canadians from travelling abroad while accomplishing very little in terms of actually preventing importation of the virus. Just MHO as a member.
This step is an industry killer that will achieve its goal of preventing Canadians from travelling abroad while accomplishing very little in terms of actually preventing importation of the virus. Just MHO as a member.
Dec 31, 2020, 7:29 pm
#116
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Sorry but I can't as not only is it just another expense tour companies would be incurring on top of others like free COVID insurance it's fraught with pitfalls for delays or testing troubles well beyond their control.
This step is an industry killer that will achieve its goal of preventing Canadians from travelling abroad while accomplishing very little in terms of actually preventing importation of the virus. Just MHO as a member.
This step is an industry killer that will achieve its goal of preventing Canadians from travelling abroad while accomplishing very little in terms of actually preventing importation of the virus. Just MHO as a member.
Dec 31, 2020, 7:44 pm
#117
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They still haven’t addressed transit situations
It also seems like the only real exemptions from the testing requirement are crew and emergency services workers. So there will be a category of people that are exempt from quarantine but not testing?
It also seems like the only real exemptions from the testing requirement are crew and emergency services workers. So there will be a category of people that are exempt from quarantine but not testing?
Dec 31, 2020, 7:53 pm
#118
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It's early. Within a couple of weeks most people other than Canadians going for a vacation will be exempt. It's all just fluff for the media now
Dec 31, 2020, 8:21 pm
#119
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Dec 31, 2020, 8:48 pm
#120
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Also agree will cause collapse of traffic that facilitates the next obvious step i.e. political justification to advance funds to domestic airlines.
ps...given my personnel circumstances, eligible for vaccine in January, so booked flight in April to Rome. Anticipating potential disruption ticketed in refundable Y so with this PCR requirement may very well be death knell for my first international trip in 13 months. Still possible, so cross my fingers I can get my friends in Rome to find me reliable place to get test done.