The federal government will eliminate the need to isolate Canadian travelers who have received two doses of the vaccine at the hotel in early July. Easing, details need to be clarified, tour operators are not satisfied.
“The first phase currently under consideration is aimed at allowing the entire vaccinated population – Canadians, permanent residents and essential workers – to return to the country without having to go through an isolated hotel,” Minister Dominique LeBlanc explained as head of the Cabinet Committee on COVID-19 on Wednesday.
These passengers must undergo a screening test before departure, as well as a test upon arrival in the country. They will have to do their isolation at home until they get a negative result for this last test.
Completion of the appropriate vaccine, such as the second dose, should be at least 14 days prior to travel and one of the vaccines approved by Health Canada.
No specific date has yet been set for these changes to take effect. If the health condition is still under control, they may come into effect from the first week of July.
“Under the next phase any additional changes will be made based on the country’s data and the situation around the world. [ainsi qu’]Consultation, again, with the provinces and territories, ”the minister said.
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In Quebec’s Prime Minister’s Office, we have no immediate comments. The option to start flexibility by the end of August, Mr. Legalt has already revealed that most Quebecs would have received their two-dose Covid-19 vaccine.
Some of the targeted
“This is only for those who have been vaccinated twice,” explains Eric Poissonald, president of the Association of Agents de Voyages du Quebec. “Two more vaccinated, now 6% in Canada”
So the tourism sector will not be back anytime soon, he said. “Take Transat for example, all their planes are on the ground until the end of July.”
According to the National Airlines Council of Canada, airlines are cutting back a little more. “Unlike many other countries, including all other G7s, the federal government has not yet provided a clear resume plan for when and how major travel and border restrictions will be lifted,” its chairman, Mike McGney, said in a statement. . “
This improvement is mainly hoped for by Canadians planning a vacation next winter or for Canadians who want to meet their families abroad, Eric Poissonald said. “In the short term, it becomes much less.”
Forty “in prison”
At Montreal-Trudeau Airport, passengers landing in small drops almost mocked this isolated move.
In front of the spacecraft that will take him to his hotel, Andre Coopet, a Canadian citizen who has been vaccinated twice, so he mentions that he will have to wait several days for his second negative test. “It’s absurd [deux fois] Being vaccinated makes no sense in forcing the hotel to pay. Fifteen would be superfluous too. Everyone who is vaccinated should have a health “pass”. Once he gets his second negative test, he can return to his home to complete his isolation. “I’m a prisoner in Canada,” he resigned, with a smile.
Hatham Daly, a resident of Canada and unknown, fears instead of catching COVID-19 when he is isolated in a hotel. “On the bus, with me, there are others coming from other trips. We have already mixed. If the aircraft of these aircraft is infected with a virus, the risk of infection increases! Also the money for the hotel is $ 900. This is too much! “
Vaccine passport
“The big question is to know what will be accepted as evidence for the vaccine, which raises the question of a vaccine passport or official record,” asks Wendy Paradis, president of the Canadian Association. Travel agencies. “We are waiting for details that have not yet been clarified.”
To these questions, Minister LeBlanc replied that evidence was being developed for the vaccine, but that it would not be ready in early July. He therefore suggested that the Central Government be acting in an interim measure. “In the next few days, we are working with the Border Services Agency, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, who are responsible for the passports, to determine these types of technical details,” he announced.
Minister LeBlanc says his government will be ready for the first phase of delimitation early next month. “We will keep all the necessary steps with the border service officials to ensure the interim measures, until the proof of the national vaccine, a one-size-fits-all passport, is ready,” he promised. “But at the same time, we are getting a very long-term and very permanent solution in the next few weeks,” he continued, adding that this work should be done in conjunction with the provinces and territories.
With Canadian Publishing
