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
omicron variant
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
Multiple reports out of the U.S. today suggest top officials in the Biden administration are considering a law that would require anyone who enters the country to be tested for COVID-19 the day before their flight. The U.S. also is considering forcing all travellers, including American citizens, to be tested again after they arrive, even if they ‘re fully vaccinated. CNN said top U.S. officials “were deliberating the potential changes Tuesday night and no final decisions have been made.” But the network also said the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed in a statement that the agency is Read more
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says Canada’s provincial premiers will discuss mandatory testing for visitors arriving from the United States. “We’re going to be super cautious; everything is on the table,” Ford told reporters today at the opening of a new hospital in Mississauga, Ontario. “We’ll sit down and discuss that.” “It doesn’t take much to get a test at the airport,” he said. Ford said he was pleased that the Trudeau government on Tuesday announced it will require on-arrival testing for all passengers coming from destinations other than the U.S. That’s in addition to requiring visitors and Canadians to be Read more
New testing requirements for most travellers coming into Canada will have a devastating effect on Canada’s tourism industry at a time when they’re just starting to recover from the pandemic, critics charge. “This is indeed another blow as the Canadian tourism sector was slowly seeing more action,” said Frederic Dimanche, director of the Ted Rogers School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Ryerson University in Toronto. “This will of course lead to a significant decline in visitor arrivals. International visitors will not be willing to go through this.” The Trudeau government on Tuesday said anyone coming into Canada from a Read more
