In ongoing measures which ease COVID-related rules, the government of Canada has announced that, effective April 1, fully vaccinated travellers no longer require a pre-entry COVID test for entry to Canada.
As always, it is important to be aware of caveats. Some things to keep in mind:
- Random on-arrival COVID tests will still be administered, and may lead to quarantine if results are positive. (There is no requirement to quarantine prior to receiving test results.)
- For the limited class of persons still permitted to enter Canada unvaccinated, there is no change to the pre-arrival test requirements. This includes an on-arrival COVID testing, and a day-8 test, with a 14-day quarantine period, if non-essential.
- All travellers must also continue to submit the required information to the ArriveCAN app before arrival in Canada. Travellers who arrive in Canada who have not uploaded the necessary information to the ArriveCAN app, may require a COVID test and 14-day quarantine on arrival, whether or not vaccinated. For those travelling by plane (or boat) the ArriveCAN information must be submitted within the 72 hours before boarding.
For further details on general COVID-related requirements, please see prior issues of ImmPulse™, including the January 6, 2022 issue, and the February 22, 2022 issue. Please also see refer to government source information:
- with regard to the upcoming rule change discussed herein, at https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/news/2022/03/government-of-canada-will-remove-pre-entry-test-requirement-for-fully-vaccinated-travellers-on-april-1.html, and
- with regard to COVID-related travel rules in general, as may be updated, at https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/covid-vaccinated-travellers-entering-canada.
The information in this article is for general purposes only, and not intended as legal advice for any particular situation.