Canada drops testing for vaccinated travelers soon

[scross]

Ottawa (CNN) — Canada announced it will lift its Covid-19 pre-entry test requirement for fully vaccinated travelers beginning April 1, saying Thursday that the pandemic was entering a "transition phase."
The requirement will be dropped for air, land and water ports of entry.
However, the announcement came with a warning that travel restrictions may need to be reimposed.
"As the weather warms up and people spend more time outside, we can expect to see transmission decline in the coming months, but we have to be prepared for a waning of collective and individual immunity," said Jean-Yves Duclos, Canada's health minister, during a news briefing Thursday.
Duclos added in a statement that fully vaccinated travelers may still be selected at random to take a test upon entry to Canada but will no longer be required to quarantine while awaiting their results.
Unvaccinated and partially vaccinated travelers who are eligible to enter Canada will still have to take a Covid-19 molecular test on arrival and on day 8. They will still be required to quarantine for 14 days.
Foreign travelers arriving in Canada for reasons such as tourism are still required to be fully vaccinated.
In addition, Canada indicated that all travelers will continue to be required to complete the ArriveCAN questionnaire online or through the mobile app before entry to Canada.
While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday that after two years of restrictions, Canadians are "pretty damn tired" of the pandemic, health officials were cautious, saying the virus would be "with us for a very long time."
Health Canada says more than 80% of Canadians are now fully vaccinated. Canada is now reporting more than 37,000 deaths because of Covid-19 since the pandemic began.
For the week beginning March 7, Health Canada reported that hospitalizations continued to decrease as did ICU admissions.

 

[srhawk454]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/federa ... -1.6386763

Finally, some good news.

 

[Joan and Jim]

As I understand things, the US has not dropped testing for those coming from Canada. Any news on that?

 

[scross]

I think the one day Covid test is for air travel back into USA. We had to do that in February when we flew back from Costa Rica. I don’t think it’s a requirement for those arriving back into the USA by recreational pleasure craft for US citizens.
Last August we had to get tested before going into Canada but not at all when coming back into the USA. I should mention that we are vaccinated and boosted and those were the rules for us. Not sure what the rules are for those unvaccinated.

 

[Joan and Jim]

The information of which I was possessed spoke only of the elimination of testing for those entering the US from Canada by land or by ferry. It did not refer to those arriving by pleasure craft. I wrote to Customs and Border Protection for clarification and today got this reply: "You can enter the US by boat if you are vaccinated. You do not need a COVID test to enter the US by sea unless the rules change again."

I do not know if CBP can scan and read the proof of vaccination issued by the Canadian Government which I have on my phone. I will take my paper confirmation of vaccination with me.

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

There is an app put out by the Canadian Government called “ArriceCan”. According to my understanding one downloads this app and follows the entry instructions for registering to enter Canada, as it relates to Covid. The app requires your personal information, you are able to download your covid vaccine card for you and everyone in your group. 72 hours before entering CNada you go back in and provide information about your trip, entrance date and location, etc. It is my understanding this process will expedite entrance into Canada.

Jim F

 

[NewMoon]

ArriveCAN is not just helpful, it is required. Here's a quote from the Canadian government website:

You must use ArriveCAN to provide mandatory travel information before and after your entry into Canada. It only takes minutes to help keep each other safe. Available for iOS, Android and web.

 

[Red Raven]

We used ArriveCAN to enter Canada in December on our way to Whistler. Several of us in our group had problems with the iOS app over a mobile connection. It would get stuck while uploading the required files. We ended up using the Web portal with a wired connection with success. Make sure you get all the way to the QR code provided for the specific crossing. It can only be used only once. I can assure you cannot enter Canada without the process complete. They sent one of our party back to complete the process. I would recommend loading everything while at a wired connection at home before attempting to cross.

Curt