A group of Canadian doctors are calling on the federal government to remove "unnecessary and non-science-based obstacles to international travel," including pre-departure and on-arrival PCR tests for fully vaccinated travellers.
"COVID-19 testing at the border does not make any sense; travel is no more risky than other activities and there is no scientific reason to single it out," said Dr. Zain Chagla, Infectious Diseases Physician and Associate Professor at McMaster University.
"When first put in place, Canada's travel rules were designed to keep COVID-19 out of the country. Now that the virus is here and community spread is responsible for approximately 99 per cent of all infections, the rules governing travel are obsolete," Chagla continued.
The group of doctors spoke at a press conference organized by the Canadian Tourism Roundtable, national coalition of leaders in the tourism and travel sector, including representatives from airports, airlines, hotels, and chambers of commerce across the country
The group believes that Canada's current COVID-19 travel restrictions are obsolete and out of step with other countries worldwide, including the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Denmark, which have removed all testing requirements at their respective borders for fully vaccinated travellers. It also notes that the vast majority of Canadian travellers are fully vaccinated, as is the industry which serves them.
"There are higher risk, domestic settings that vaccinated people can access without testing than travelling internationally. The travel barriers the federal government has put in place to slow the arrival of COVID-19 no longer make sense and should be eliminated," said Dr. Dominik Mertz, Division Director of Infectious Diseases at McMaster University.
"PCR tests often deliver positive results for weeks to a couple of months after a COVID-19 diagnosis. This reality presents a challenge for those infected during the Omicron wave while no longer having access to PCR testing in Canada," Mertz added.
Dr. Mertz says current government policy is unnecessarily stranding Canadian's abroad, "leading to travel delays, financial penalties and potentially hazardous quarantine locations."
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