Canada still undecided on whether to include U.S. in new COVID-19 testing rules

Days after Canada brought in new travel measures over Omicron COVID-19 variant concerns, the federal government has yet to decide whether travellers from the U.S. should also face new testing rules.

The government said Tuesday that all air travellers coming into the country would have to be tested upon arrival, regardless of their vaccination status. They would also be required to isolate until they get their test result back.

The measures, however, don’t apply to those coming into Canada from the States.

Federal ministers held a call with provinces Tuesday night to discuss the option of bringing in those same requirements for people coming from the U.S.

“We’re going to be super cautious, everything’s on the table right now. We’re not going to leave anything out, it just hasn’t hit that point yet and we’re going to have further conversations,” said Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

Duclos will also be speaking with the provinces about how they can set up testing requirements at the US border *if* it ends up being needed.
So far no confirmed omicron cases in the States #cdnpoli

— Cormac Mac Sweeney (@cmaconthehill) November 30, 2021

Transport Minister Omar Alghabra echoed that message, saying nothing is being ruled out at this point.

“We need to be prepared and ready if we need to adjust that decision to include travellers from the U.S. We haven’t made that decision yet,” he explained, adding a lot will depend on the epidemiology of the virus in the U.S. and around the world.

Exemptions to the testing rules are being questioned by many, including federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh.

“We want to see a consistent approach based on the evidence that keeps Canadians safe,” Singh said.

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Meanwhile, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino has said he is confident Canada’s airports will have the capacity to carry out this mass testing.

“With regards to operational resources, we’ll spare no expense, we’ll make sure that our airports, our frontline officers can handle the volume,” he said.

In addition to expanded testing rules, Canada also announced additional countries would be added to its travel ban list amid the rise of Omicron cases. Foreign nationals are currently barred from entry to Canada if they have been to Nigeria, Malawi, Egypt, South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, and Eswatini in the last two weeks.

BREAKING: Health Minister @jyduclos says 3 more countries are being added to the travel ban list over concerns about the omicron variant. Egypt, Malawi and Nigeria are added to the list of 7 South African nations announced last week #cdnpoli

— Cormac Mac Sweeney (@cmaconthehill) November 30, 2021

The ban was expanded, even though the World Health Organization and many experts have said such targeted bans don’t work.

Singh is also critical of the ban on several countries, saying such a move is not effective.

So far, several cases of the new Omicron variant have been identified in Canada, with the first confirmations coming from Ontario over the weekend.