New rules for anyone flying to the United States begin in a few hours. The U.S. says that passengers on any flights that depart for the U.S. after Monday, December 6 at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time (which could be interpreted as 9:01 p.m. December 5, today, for flights departing in the Pacific time zone) must show a negative COVID-19 test taken either the day of their flight or the day before. That goes for doubly vaccinated travellers, as well. Contrary to some published reports, it’s not a 24-hour window. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention site says anyone flying Read more

I like to give folks the benefit of the doubt. But I really am wondering who’s in charge in Ottawa these days. If you read today’s Globe and Mail, you’ll find a startling story in which federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos warns Canadians flying home from any country other than the U.S. that they have to isolate while they await the results of the Trudeau government’s new requirement for on-arrival COVID testing. He’s been saying that for days, so nothing unusual there. But the Globe story goes on to say that “neither he (Duclos) nor Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Read more

There’s a lot of bad information being passed around these days, and it’s really unfortunate. With the Omicron variant top of mind, the Biden administration yesterday announced new rules for anyone flying into the United States from another country. All flights departing after 12:01 a.m. ET on Monday, December 6 will have to abide by new testing rules set out on Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. I’ve seen several stories by state that travellers need to be tested with 24 hours of their flight. But that’s not correct. The CDC website that shows the new Read more

It’s about to become a little trickier to visit the United States. President Joe Biden’s administration says that, starting some time next week, all in-bound international passengers will have to take a COVID-19 test within 24 hours of their departure. They’re also taking action to increase vaccination rates in the States, and extending the mask mandate for domestic flights and public transportation to March 18, 2022. The changes were announced Thursday as part of a broader plan to bolster the nation’s arsenal of tools in its fight against the virus as the world enters its third year of the pandemic, Read more

Two of the most popular destinations for Canadians and Americans are putting new testing rules in place. Tourism Ireland said today that all arrivals into the Republic – whether vaccinated or not – will need a negative Covid test result from tomorrow (Dec. 3) onwards. Those travelling with an antigen test result will need to have obtained it within 48 hours of departure, and it will have to be professionally administered. No self-administered tests will be accepted. Those with a PCR test result will have a longer pre-travel window of 72 hours. Persons arriving into the state from overseas who Read more

The government of Canada says arriving passengers at Canadian airports may need to isolate for three days while they await COVID-19 test results. The Trudeau government on Tuesday announced that all travellers coming into Canada from countries other than the U.S. will have to be tested for COVID-19 on arrival, even if they’re fully vaccinated. They also will have to isolate while they await their test results. The on-arrival test is in addition to the PCR test that Ottawa requires travellers to take within 72 hours of their scheduled flight departure for Canada. Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos on Wednesday said Read more