The Government of Canada has made it official: all COVID-19 entry restrictions, as well as testing, quarantine, and isolation requirements for anyone entering Canada, will end effective October 1.
The official announcement confirms reports from a wide range of news sources last week.
"The removal of border measures has been facilitated by a number of factors, including modelling that indicates that Canada has largely passed the peak of the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 fuelled wave, Canada's high vaccination rates, lower hospitalization and death rates, as well as the availability and use of vaccine boosters (including new bivalent formulation), rapid tests, and treatments for COVID-19," the government said in a statement.
Here's what the changes will look like Effective October 1, all travellers, regardless of citizenship, will no longer have to:
-- Submit public health information through the ArriveCAN app or website;
provide proof of vaccination;
-- Undergo pre- or on-arrival testing;
-- Carry out COVID-19-related quarantine or isolation;
-- Monitor and report if they develop signs or symptoms of COVID-19 upon arriving to Canada.
Transport Canada is also removing existing travel requirements. As of October 1, travellers will no longer be required to undergo health checks for travel on air and rail; or wear masks on planes and trains.
Cruise measures are also being lifted, and travellers will no longer be required to have pre-board tests, be vaccinated, or use ArriveCAN. A set of guidelines will remain to protect passengers and crew, which the government says will align with the approach used in the United States.
Despite the changes, some, including ACTA President Wendy Paradis, still worry that restrictions could return as COVID and other respiratory illnesses ramp up during the fall and winter season.
However, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos doesn't mention such a possibility in announcing the dropping of measures.
"Thanks largely to Canadians who have rolled up their sleeves to get vaccinated, we have reached the point where we can safely lift the sanitary measures at the border," Duclos said.
"However, we expect COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses will continue to circulate over the cold months, so I encourage everyone to stay up-to-date with their COVID-19 vaccination, including booster doses and exercise individual public health measures. I also thank the dedicated public health officers and frontline staff at our land borders and airports who have worked tirelessly to protect the health and safety of people in Canada for the last two years."
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