Canada’s coronavirus travel restrictions will be scaled back for fully vaccinated travelers, the government said on Thursday, following a decline in reported coronavirus infections and the country’s success in achieving a high vaccination rate in its population.
Starting April 1, fully vaccinated travelers will no longer need to show proof of a recent negative coronavirus test to enter the country. All air travelers may still be selected at random to take PCR tests upon arrival at airports, and unvaccinated or partially vaccinated travelers will still be required to take a test one day before flying.
Canada will also continue to require all travelers to submit a health information form before entering Canada. Those who arrive without having submitted a completed form may be required to take a test and to quarantine for 14 days, regardless of their vaccination status.
“Adjustments to Canada’s border measures are made possible by a number of factors, including Canada’s high vaccination rate, the increasing availability and use of rapid tests to detect infection, decreasing hospitalizations and growing domestic availability of treatments for Covid-19,†Jean-Yves Duclos, the country’s health minister, said at a news conference on Thursday.
“As vaccination levels and health care system capacity improve, we will continue to consider further easing of measures at the borders — and when to adjust those measures — to keep the people in Canada safe,†Mr. Duclos said.
Many countries around the world have eased pandemic restrictions recently, including those for travelers, even though the highly contagious Omicron subvariant known as BA.2 has been driving new surges of cases in Europe and East Asia. Cases of severe disease and death remain in decline, especially among the vaccinated and boosted.
Britain is dropping all its remaining restrictions for foreign travelers on Friday, including testing requirements for unvaccinated travelers. Romania and Ireland lifted their pandemic-related entry restrictions this month.
Provinces across Canada have gradually been easing coronavirus restrictions in recent weeks, saying the threat posed by the virus was declining. Ontario and Nova Scotia will end mask mandates on Monday in most public indoor settings, including restaurants and gyms, and other parts of the country are expected to follow in April.
