The Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable is calling on the federal government to redeploy PCR tests used for on-arrival testing of fully-vaccinated, asymptomatic and previously negative travellers into Canada for community use and for a return to randomized on-arrival testing for surveillance purposes. “On December 17, the federal government announced additional measures to contain the spread of the Omicron variant,” The Roundtable said in a statement. “This included the increase of on-arrival PCR testing for travellers arriving from destinations other than the United States and isolation until test results are received, despite all travellers being fully vaccinated, asymptomatic and having Read more
omicron variant
Flight cancellations continue to trouble U.S. and Canadian travelers today, but it’s not as bad as yesterday. As of 1 p.m. Eastern Time today (January 4), flightaware.com reports there have been 3,482 cancellations around the world today. For flights within, to or from the U.S., that figure was at 1,367. That’s a lot, but it’s a little better than the 5,023 cancellations for all day yesterday around the world and the 3,226 cancellations for the U.S. Fliers in Canada continue to have problems with cancellations. Flight Aware says 18% of Air Canada Jazz flights have been cancelled so far today, Read more
Ontario is moving back to a modified Stage 2 COVID-19 plan, which means no indoor dining at bars and restaurants. Premier Doug Ford today said he knows the policies will cause pain for businesses and individuals, but that Ontario health officials were alarmed by the rising number of COVID-19 in the province and was worried about hospitals being overwhelmed. School kids will return to on-line classes until at least January 17, Ford said. Ford said the changes will come into effect on Wednesday, January 5 at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time and will be “time limited.” Ontario Health officials said they Read more
The Trudeau government has no plans to follow the U.S. by reducing COVID-19 quarantine times to five days, CTV News reports today. “The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) told CTVNews.ca in a statement on Wednesday that officials are aware of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) updated guidance and the body will inform Canadians should there be similar steps taken north of the border. “While isolation and quarantine rules may vary across the country based on the directives of local public health experts, federal authorities recommend an isolation period of a minimum of 10 days from the Read more
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating some 86 cruise ships for COVID-19, according to multiple reports. The Washington Post said in today’s edition that 86 ships in U.S. waters are being looked at. BNN Bloomberg pegged the number of ships under investigation by the CDC at 89. Several cruise ships were turned away from ports in the Caribbean and Mexico over the past week due to concerns about COVID-19 and the Omicron variant. The website Axios said affected cruise lines include Disney, Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian. The CDC today lists cruise travel at level three in Read more
