Canada will soon require that air travellers test negative for Covid-19 before arrival, federal ministers said on Wednesday (Dec 30), after social media images of maskless tourists prompted a call for stricter measures to curb the virus.
“Canada will quickly implement the requirement for all arriving passengers to have a negative PCR Covid test three days before arriving in Canada,” said Dominic LeBlanc, intergovernmental affairs minister, at a media briefing.
Bill Blair, minister of public safety, later said the new requirement would apply to air passengers, while the federal government is working with provinces on how to supplement strong measures with additional testing at Canada’s land borders.
The pre-boarding testing will not eliminate the requirement for people arriving in the country to quarantine for 14 days, Blair said.