Canada to require negative COVID-19 tests from visitors

TORONTO – Anyone arriving in Canada starting next week will have to show a negative COVID-19 test in order to enter the country, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Tuesday.

The president clarified that Canada will not return Canadian citizens who arrive from the United States and who do not have a certificate with a negative result, because technically they will already be on Canadian soil, but said that they will have to pay fines of up to 3,000 Canadian dollars (2,370 US dollars) and which will be strictly monitored.

Canada already requires that anyone arriving by air show a negative test for the virus three days after the arrival date. In addition, at the four Canadian airports that accept international flights, tests will soon be mandatory upon arrival in the country.

Last month, Trudeau announced new travel restrictions on the arrival of a more contagious variant of the coronavirus, for example forcing anyone arriving by air to isolate themselves in a hotel at their own expense, but the government has not announced when the trips will begin. Mandatory hotel stays.

The measure contemplates that the traveler stays in a hotel designated by the government until a negative test of the coronavirus is received. The government has indicated that the stay in this type of hotel will be around 2,000 Canadian dollars (1,570 US dollars) for three days. Another test will be done after 10 days.

The hotel’s high cost encompasses coronavirus testing, security, food, and the cost of the measures each hotel will have to take to protect its employees.

Canada has also suspended all air travel to Mexico and the Caribbean until April 30. The country already requires those who enter the country to self-quarantine for 14 days.

Many governments have recently been considering stricter measures in the face of the arrival of new variants, delays in the application of vaccines and the pressure on hospitals.

Canadian authorities have urged citizens to cancel all non-essential travel.