Canada will remove all COVID-19-related border requirements for all travelers entering the country beginning on October 1, Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos said on Monday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th September, 2022) Canada will remove all COVID-19-related border requirements for all travelers entering the country beginning on October 1, Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos said on Monday.
"We are announcing that the government of Canada will not renew the order-in-council that expires on September 30 and will therefore remove all COVID-19 border requirements for all travelers entering Canada," Duclos said at a press conference. "This includes the removal of all Federal testing, quarantine, and isolation requirements, as well as the mandatory submission of health information in ArriveCan."
Transport Minister Omar Alghabra also announced that air and rail travelers will no longer be required to undergo health check or wear masks on planes and trains. Cruises will also no longer have to review the vaccination status of crew and passengers.
Duclos said that Canada was in "a much better position than we were in 2020," largely due to vaccinations and observance of other public health measures. He added that more than 85% of Canadians had received at least two doses of COVID-19 vaccines and Moderna's new bivalent vaccine specifically targeting the Omicron variant was now available to all adults.
Duclos said fall booster campaigns were already in progress, citing 40% of Canadians saying they wanted to receive a booster this fall and another 40% saying they were considering it.
The health minister called on Canadians to get a booster if it had been six months since their last dose, comparing the practice to charging a phone battery. He conceded that the government expected an increase in cases of COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses during the fall with activities moving indoors, but believed it could be managed with vaccinations and protocols like masks and handwashing.
