Canada Will Ease Entry Requirements on February 28
Officials in Canada said Tuesday that the country will ease entry for fully vaccinated international travelers starting on Feb. 28. The news comes as COVID-19 cases decline. New rules will allow a rapid antigen test for travelers instead of a molecular one
A booster shot is not required for entry. You are considered fully vaccinated if you have completed a one- or two-dose vaccination series, with the final dose completed at least 15 days before entry.
Previously, Canada required all travelers 5 and older arriving by land or air to show a negative PCR test taken no more than 72 hours before arrival. That applied to both vaccinated, and unvaccinated visitors.
PCR tests will still be accepted, but not required. If a traveler chooses to take a rapid antigen test pre-departure, it must be authorized by the country in which it was purchased and administered by a lab, healthcare entity or telehealth service. The test must also be administered no more than 24 hours before the scheduled arrival in Canada.
Alternatively, travelers can enter the Canada if they can show proof of a previous COVID-19 infection with a positive molecular test taken at least 10 days but no more than 180 days before arrival.
Canada will also resume the random testing surveillance program in place before the omicron surge, Reuters reports. Vaccinated travelers only need to take a post-arrival PCR test if they are randomly selected for this program. There is no quarantine requirement for those awaiting test results.
Unvaccinated will only be able to enter Canada under certain circumstances.
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Requiring any kind of a test from vaccinated travelers is beyond dumb. And regardless, I’m not setting foot in Canadau until Trudeau is gone.
So they’ll consider you “fully vaccinated” and will let you in regardless how long it’s been since your last covid injection, despite the fact that efficacy wanes down to nearly nothing six months from the last shot. But the unvaccinated and not previously infected are outright banned. Either crazy people are making the rules, or this is not about public health.
The quarantine plan is what’s a bit unclear. Does that mean we need to book two separate lodgings in advance and enter both into the ArriveCAN app? What if you’re crossing by land and not by air? Can your plan simply be to get back in your car, turn around and go back home to the US? If we purchase covid travel insurance that covers lodging, is that enough to satisfy their quarantine plan?