Canada Lifts Pre-Arrival Covid-19 Testing for Fully Vaccinated Travelers
Starting April 1st, fully vaccinated travelers arriving in Canada won’t need to undergo pre-arrival Covid-19 testing. The Canadian government has announced this Thursday its plans to lift this entry requirement while still carrying out random testing at its borders.
According to the Wall Street Journal, this restriction has “frustrated businesses on both sides of the US-Canada border.” It made short trips across the border to visit or shop really tedious and complex, according to the American newspaper.
This change won’t apply to unvaccinated or partially vaccinated travelers, who will still need to show a negative Covid-19 test upon entering Canada. Passengers who undergo random testing won’t need to be in quarantine while awaiting for results.
To see if you can enter Canada, check this Canadian government website.
Canada is reopening
High levels of vaccination in Canada and less pressure from Covid-19 in the country’s hospitals made way for this decision, which is increasingly being taken in other places now that the pandemic appears to be easing.
Countries like Finland, Portugal and Lithuania have also lifted the testing requirement for some or most travelers. Other countries have their borders open, without restrictions, such as Costa Rica, Iceland, Mexico, Norway, Ireland, Romania, Hungary and Slovenia.
On the other hand, China has imposed a new lockdown in five cities that are home to more than 37 million people. The country is facing its worst Covid-19 outbreak since the start of the pandemic. About 80% of the cases are from the omicron variant.
In the case of Canada, “all measures are subject to review and we will continue to adjust them as the situation evolves,” said Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos. All passengers are still subject to filling in the ArriveCAN form before entering the country.
These decisions are being taken two years after the World Health Organization declared the new coronavirus a pandemic, back in March 2020.
What you need to know before traveling to Canada
Canada understands a “fully vaccinated” traveler to be someone who has received two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine accepted for travel or a mix of two vaccines accepted for travel, or one dose of the Janssen (Johnson&Johnson) vaccine.
Travelers must have received their second dose of the vaccine (or their dose of the Janssen vaccine) at least 14 days before entering Canada. Unvaccinated individuals can provide negative results from a rapid test to enter — or PCR tests, if they prefer.
The vaccines accepted in the country are those from Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Bharat Biotech, Janssen, Moderna, Novavax, Sinopharm and Sinovac. The Canadian government doesn’t have plans to require booster shots for travel.
Proof of vaccination has to be in English or French. If not, a certified translation must be provided. Even though testing requirements are going to be lifted, passengers have to detail before arrival their quarantine plan in case they get infected while in the country.
Unvaccinated travelers entering Canada should do a 14-day quarantine immediately. Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said that the restriction changes “are possible thanks to the millions of Canadians who have stepped up, rolled up their sleeves and gotten vaccinated.”
David Rheault, an Air Canada’s top official, celebrated the news: “Canada now joins other countries around the world in reopening and we look ahead to the summer travel season.”