The federal government will replace mandatory 14-day quarantines with rapid COVID-19 tests for international air passengers, the Sun has learned
The move will require arriving passengers to undergo a rapid COVID-19 test to ensure they are free from life-threatening respiratory illness upon arrival, and will replace the problematic mandatory quarantine and rarely applied two weeks for all entrants international travelers
This is a position championed and implemented by many airlines and air transport authorities around the world, and Canada has so far fallen behind in its implementation
Timelines for the program to launch have yet to be announced, but sources tell The Sun that it is expected to be implemented for the first time at a central airport – Toronto Pearson or Calgary – before rolling out in the rest of the country
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney and Calgary Airports Authority CEO Bob Sartor to make an announcement regarding air travel in the province at 10:30 a.m.m Mountain Time, when he’s supposed to announce the plan
Since the federal government implemented its COVID-19 containment strategy in March, only four Canadian airports – Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver – are allowed to accept international flights
Government records reveal dozens of flights with passengers with confirmed COVID-19 infections, with Toronto becoming something of a « hub » for the virus to spread to the rest of Canada via domestic flights
In September, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) – in association with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) – called for the widespread implementation of pre-departure testing to make the safer air travel and encourage people to fly again
This was around the same time that a meeting took place with senior government officials, in which advocates urged the government to agree to a proposal to implement testing at the arrival at Canadian airports
Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu last month rejected August’s approval of rapid antigen testing by the US Food and Drug Administration, calling it a « false sense of security »
Hajdu’s stance appears to have turned 180 since then, after Health Canada earlier this month suddenly gave the green light for three rapid on-site, lab-less COVID-19 tests to be sold in Canada
Canada has announced that it will purchase 85 million Panbio rapid tests from Abbott Rapid Diagnostics in Germany, as well as 79 million Abbot’s ID Now tests, scheduled for delivery by the end of this year
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In early October, Health Canada also approved the Hyris bCUBE, a portable « lab in a box » in Guelph, Ontari based on Songbird Life Sciences that promises COVID-19 test results in 90 minutes
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Quarantine, Canada, Rapid diagnostic test
World news – CA – Rapid tests at airports to replace mandatory quarantine for international travelers