Air travelers to Canada from China must test negative for COVID-19 no more than two days before departure, Ottawa said on Saturday, joining other nations that have implemented such restrictions, Trend reports citing Reuters.
The requirements, which take effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Thursday, apply to all travelers aged 2 and older on Canadian-bound flights originating from the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong or Macao.
The temporary measure will be in place for 30 days and be reassessed as more data becomes available, the Canadian government said.
“We will adapt our measures based on available data, the science, and the epidemiological situation in our country and globally to protect Canadians,” said Canadian Transport Minister Omar Alghabra in a statement.
South Korea, Spain and France on Friday joined a growing list of countries, including the United States, Britain and India, that have imposed COVID tests for travelers from China.
The U.S. testing requirements also take effect on Jan. 5.
Travelers from China to Canada and the United States who test positive more than 10 days before a flight may provide the airline with documentation of recovery in lieu of a negative test result.
The Public Health Agency of Canada said Saturday it would implement a pilot project on wastewater testing from aircraft with Vancouver airport, and expand such an existing project with Toronto Pearson airport, to assess COVID-19 prevalence in various parts of the world. Samples are sequenced to monitor for novel variants, the agency said.
Source: TREND News Agency