Fully Vaccinated Travellers to Canada No Longer Need Pre-Arrival COVID-19 PCR Test Starting Feb 28th

Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos today announced that fully vaccinated travellers no longer need COVID-19 PCR test starting February 28th at 12:01 a.m. EST.

Canada is not eliminating the need for COVID-19 tests just yet. Travellers can choose between a COVID-19 rapid antigen test result or a PCR test, but taking a rapid antigen test at home is not sufficient to meet the pre-entry requirement.

The government says the rapid antigen test, taken the day prior to their scheduled flight or arrival at the port of entry, must be authorized by the country in which it was purchased and must be administered by a laboratory, healthcare entity or telehealth service.

Some of the rules remain unchanged. Travellers will continue to be randomly selected for arrival testing, but those selected will also no longer be required to quarantine while awaiting their test results. Unvaccinated travellers will be required to test on arrival, on Day 8 and quarantine for 14 days and unvaccinated foreign nationals will not be permitted to enter Canada unless they meet one of the few exemptions. For those who are not vaccinated due to a previous COVID-19 infection, Canada will continue to only accept molecular test results, taken at least 10 calendar days and no more than 180 calendar days before entering Canada.

All travellers regardless of how long they were away from Canada will still be required to submit their mandatory information via ArriveCAN (free mobile app or website), including proof of vaccination in English or French and a quarantine plan prior to arriving in Canada.

Jean-Yves Duclos announcing the restrictions said, “Today’s announcements are a reflection of the progress we have made against this current Omicron variant. The return to mandatory random testing of all vaccinated travellers will facilitate travel for Canadians all while helping our public health authorities to detect future changes in COVID-19 importation rates and variants of concern. As we have said all along, Canada’s border measures will remain flexible and adaptable, for potential future scenarios.”

Canada will also lower its Travel Health Notice from a Level 3 to a Level 2. This means that the Government will no longer recommend that Canadians avoid travel for non-essential purposes.

Stating February 28th, international flights carrying passengers will be permitted to land at all  Canadian airports that are designated by the Canada Border Services Agency to receive international passenger flights as Transport Canada’s Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) that restricts where international passenger flights can arrive in Canada will expire on the said date.

On the relaxation of travel rules, Beth Potter, President and CEO of  Tourism Industry Association of Canada said, “It’s a step in the right direction and we look forward to the removal of the rapid test in the very near future. As Canada enters a new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic – one marked by widespread vaccination and high levels of prior infection, and one which many Medical Officers of Health have called endemic – it’s time for the federal government to reopen Canada by ending not just PCR, but also antigen testing for all fully-vaccinated travellers.”

New Travel Rules Effective February 28, 2022 at 12:01 a.m. EST:

• Travellers arriving to Canada from any country, who qualify as fully vaccinated, will be randomly selected for arrival testing. Travellers selected will also no longer be required to quarantine while awaiting their test result.
  • Children under 12 years old, travelling with fully vaccinated adults, will continue to be exempt from quarantine, without any prescribed conditions limiting their activities. This means, for example, they no longer need to wait 14 days before attending school, camp or daycare.
  • Unvaccinated travellers will continue to be required to test on arrival, on Day 8 and quarantine for 14 days. Unvaccinated foreign nationals will not permitted to enter Canada unless they meet one of the few exemptions.
• Travellers will now have the option of using a COVID-19 rapid antigen test result (taken the day prior to their scheduled flight or arrival at the land border or marine port of entry) or a molecular test result (taken no more than 72 hours before their scheduled flight or arrival at the land border or marine port of entry) to meet pre-entry requirements. Taking a rapid antigen test at home is not sufficient to meet the pre-entry requirement – it must be authorized by the country in which it was purchased and must be administered by a laboratory, healthcare entity or telehealth service.