Canada to Resume Mandatory COVID Testing

Canada will soon resume conducting COVID-19 mandatory random testing on fully vaccinated tourists, as suggested by new reports. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has announced that from July 19 all travellers arriving at any of the four major airports of the country, namely Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal, will be subjected to random testing for COVID-19, according to the report.

According to the PHAC, all tourists, fully, partially or not at all vaccinated, will be subjected to random COVID-19 testing outside of airports, either through in-person appointments or via virtual appointments. During the in-person test, a location or pharmacy will be selected where the test will be conducted, while in virtual appointments they will have to take a self-swab.

Additionally, PHAC will conduct the test on travellers who are not qualified as vaccinated on day 1 and day 8 of their mandatory 14-day quarantine, unless they are exempted. Furthermore, they will also have to undergo a 10-day isolation period if by any chance their arrival test is positive. 

PHAC made a comment acknowledging the testing requirements being moved outside the airports that this will allow them to test travellers arriving at the airports while still being able to quickly respond to and monitor any other potential scope for concern. They have also informed that these tests on point of entry at the land borders will remain in place without any further modifications.

However, as a part of its broader strategy to shift the testing for air travellers outside of the airports, Canada had previously lifted the mandatory random testing requirement for the travellers on June 11th. After the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, Canada has switched its tactics to damage control with this reinstatement of the mandatory random testing rule at the four major airports of the country.