OTTAWA –
The federal government has announced it is dropping all COVID-19 entry restrictions, including: proof of COVID-19 vaccination and quarantine requirements at the border, doing away with mandatory random COVID-19 testing, making the ArriveCan application optional, and Canada is lifting the mask mandate on planes and trains.
Declaring the imminent end of these restrictions—effective Oct. 1— marks a major milestone in Canada’s pandemic response.
Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Public Safety Marco Mendicino, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra and other relevant ministers and public health officials are speaking to the doing away with pandemic precautions Monday morning in Ottawa.
Deciding to allow the special orders that for months have upheld Canada’s special pandemic authorizations under the Quarantine Act to expire means:
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Foreign nationals won’t need to be vaccinated to enter the country; -
Incoming travellers to major airports won’t be subject to random mandatory COVID-19 tests; -
Unvaccinated Canadians will no longer have to isolate when they return; -
Travellers will not have to monitor or report if they develop COVID-19 symptoms upon arrival in Canada; -
Filling out the ArriveCan app prior to landing will become optional; and -
It’ll no longer be mandatory to wear a face mask on planes or trains.
“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… rapid tests, and treatments for COVID-19,” said the government in a statement about the changes.
This is a breaking news story. More to come…