Trudeau: COVID Positive Travelers Must ‘Quarantine in Government Facilities’
Trudeau said that 'variants' of the coronavirus was a cause of 'potential concern'
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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that Canadian citizens traveling from abroad who test positive for COVID-19 test “will be immediately required to quarantine in designated government facilities."
Those who test negative for the coronavirus will still be required to self-quarantine for two weeks.
Trudeau said:
As soon as possible in the coming weeks, we will be introducing mandatory PCR testing at the airport for people returning to Canada. Travelers will then have to wait for up to three days at an approved hotel for their test results at their own expense, which is expected to be more than $2,000.
Those with negative test results will then be able to quarantine at home under significantly increased surveillance and enforcement. Those with positive tests will be immediately required to quarantine in designated government facilities to make sure they’re not carrying variants of potential concern.
We will also in the coming weeks be requiring nonessential travelers to show a negative test before entry at the land border with the U.S., and we’re working to stand up additional testing requirements for land travel.
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WATCH: (relevant statement starts at 4:10)
Trudeau said that “variants” of the coronavirus was a cause of “potential concern," adding his judgments were “grounded in science and evidence.”
Transport Canada’s website states:
“Anyone who receives a negative test result and is authorized to enter Canada must still complete the full, mandatory 14-day quarantine."
Canada’s government “will be further increasing surveillance efforts to ensure travelers entering Canada complete the applicable mandatory 14-day quarantine period under the Quarantine Act.”
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Canada’s Transportation Ministry adds that “Government officials” who deem a traveler “not suitable” are “required to quarantine in a federal quarantine facility.”
It also warns that violations “could lead to up to six months in prison and/or $750,000 in fines”:
(1/4) Government of Canada announced today new #COVID19 testing and #quarantine requirements for travellers to Canada, further enhancing the multi-layered strategy to reduce the risk of importation and transmission of the virus. https://t.co/XINYj4YpTR pic.twitter.com/7iKk8jgZGB
— Health Canada and PHAC (@GovCanHealth) January 29, 2021
(2/4) In the coming weeks, travellers arriving in Canada will be required to take a #COVID19 test on arrival in Canada at their own cost. https://t.co/XINYj4YpTR
— Health Canada and PHAC (@GovCanHealth) January 29, 2021
(3/4) Travellers will also be required to reserve a hotel room approved by the Government of Canada for 3 nights at their own cost, while awaiting their test results, before moving on to their approved place of #quarantine. https://t.co/XINYj4YpTR
— Health Canada and PHAC (@GovCanHealth) January 29, 2021
(4/4) These new measures are in addition to requiring a negative #COVID19 test result 72-hours prior to boarding a flight to Canada. https://t.co/XINYj4YpTR
— Health Canada and PHAC (@GovCanHealth) January 29, 2021
Federal authorities will also visit Canadians’ homes or other “quarantine locations” to enforce 14-day quarantines, procured by the Public Health Agency of Canada from private security firms:
To ensure travellers’ awareness and compliance with quarantine requirements, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is working with security companies to help complete compliance checks for travellers arriving in Canada.
Employees of these companies were trained by PHAC and authorized as Screening Officers under the Quarantine Act. These Screening Officers will visit travellers’ quarantine locations to establish contact, confirm identity, and confirm that travellers are at the place of quarantine they identified upon entry into Canada. These new officers will conduct visits in 35 cities across the country, starting in Montréal and Toronto.
No exemptions were announced for Canadians who have received a coronavirus vaccine.
