B.C. premier questions continuing COVID-19 test requirements at Canadian border

B.C.’s Premier says he wants to see pre-arrival COVID-19 tests gone from Canada’s border sooner than later, questioning if they are even necessary at this point.

John Horgan said Thursday that with over two years of experience in this pandemic “we have more tools available to us.”

COVID-19 has strained the tourism sector and he says some people are yearning for travel. 

“Those who are ready to travel are frustrated by extra layers of complication to their travel plans. They’ve already been double vaccinated in some cases, double vaccinated and boosted. They’re going to take up protocols and procedures to put in place to protect themselves as they go forward.”

Horgan says he knows the federal government is talking about relieving those restrictions but stressed, “the sooner we can get to that the better for all of us — and certainly the best for the tourism industry.”

He adds he would at least like to see Ottawa again allow test exemptions for72 hour trips, something that was in place in B.C. place following November’s catastrophic floods.

“It’s not the cost question, although that’s frustrating for travellers, it’s another level of precaution that I don’t know is necessary at this point.”

Read More: Vaccinated travellers will no longer need molecular COVID test to get into Canada

Starting Feb. 28 vaccinated travellers will no longer need a molecular COVID-19 test to enter Canada, and can instead opt for a potentially cheaper and easier to access rapid test.

The change comes as sunny news to some travellers looking forward to a March break getaway, but tourism and airline associations think the government needs to go further to clear the way for vaccinated people to travel freely.

The new rules are more closely aligned with those of the United States which allows people to perform a rapid antigen test on themselves, as long as the test is affiliated with a telehealth service that will verify the user’s identity, supervise the test, and provide written documentation.

Some fully vaccinated travellers might still be randomly selected for a molecular test at the airport, but they will not need to quarantine while they wait for the result.

– With files from The Canadian Press