Davvidd

It is still not clear to me if the anti gen tests needed to be taken the day before arrival means 24 hours within your arrival into Canada or within 24 hours of your immediate flight to Canada or within 24 hours of your departure to Canada and transiting another airport?

hoipolloi

Wait for the full details be published on TIMATIC and the IATA Travel Centre

airoli

Antigen tests are available for free in Switzerland to anyone with a health card, at many many test centers everywhere, and the results take 15min including a pdf certificate. I, for one, am pleased that Canada is getting rid of the onerous PCR requirement. The antigen tests which I already need to do for travel to the US are a very minor headache.

Davvidd

I guess it depends on how they formulate the rules. If the anti gen test is within 24 hours of your direct flight to Canada then I would prefer to do the PCT test within the 72 hours.

etgohomeok

I'm confused as to how "telehealth" testing fits into the (current) requirement that the test be taken outside of Canada. Has there been any indication that this requirement will be dropped when the new rules come into effect on February 28?

As far as I can tell from screenshots online, the Switch Health telehealth results have an address in Mississauga printed on them along with language stating the test "may" have been taken outside of Canada. Further, I'm assuming that if I purchase a test kit from a US-based organization, the result will have a US address printed on it.

If I were to purchase two antigen tests from Switch Health and bring them with me to the land border, pull over on the side of the road 1km from the border on the Canadian side and take a test with my phone, then drive across the border and take a second test 20 minutes later on the US side without having gotten out of my car in the interim, would the first one be rejected by ArriveCAN but the second one accepted?

visitor

I have used the online witnessed Switch Health test (molecular RT-LAMP) to both go and return from US no problem.

etgohomeok

Thanks but frankly what I really want to know is whether someone has been physically in Canada while doing the telehealth session and used the result for a short trip to the USA in the time that the "outside of Canada" verbiage has been present in the regulations.

Or whether or the "insiders" in this thread have any insight into whether this language will be dropped from the new regulations that come out on February 28.

visitor

There will no longer be a requirement for a test for travel under 72 hours. As for the past, I have had trips under 72 hours and there was no attempt by anyone (AC or anyone) to determine where the test was taken.
edited to indicate bolded crossed-out statement is not correct, see below!

etgohomeok

I think this is incorrect. I watched the press conference yesterday and there was indication that the 72 hour exemption would be reviewed "in the coming weeks" but not that it would be coming into effect on the 28th.

TheCanuckian

If you arrived from the United States, no. If you arrived from elsewhere, then you are supposed to isolate. But I don’t think there is any enforcement. If no one told you to isolate, I think you have plausible deniability…

xray

When it comes to the proctored tests, I think you are overthinking this. If you have already crossed into the US, the time on the test will reflect a time at which CBSA knows you weren't in Canada.

When the "outside of Canada" stipulation was put in, it was to prevent people from using the same test to cross and come back - thereby not really testing at all. It also was for optics to try to legitimize the necessity for testing for travel outside the country (albeit unsuccessfully).

YYZ1313

Yeah. Originally, the plan was to reinstate that rule along with the other new rules but I guess they decided to keep it as a future treat...

xobile

I'm with /u/emcampbe --there's never been a need to pay for a covid test in the US, for travel or otherwise, for anyone, resident or not. Just book a free appointment (PCR/Rapid Diagnostic aka Abbott ID NOW (Rapid PCR/NAAT test) at CVS/Walgreens and get your results in a day.

visitor

You are right, my bad. The news article(s) that I read were unclear.

bcard519

Does anyone know if the new requirements will be ONLY an antigen or other test @ less the 24hr or if the good old free ID NOW/ molecular test at less than 72 hours will still be available for entry into Canada.
They are so easy to get and book, instead of trying to run around on the last day.