The Canadian government has announced plans to drop its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for domestic and international flights from the 20th of June. Since October of last year, travelers over the age of 12 wishing to travel need to have had a vaccine.
Canada loosens COVID-19 travel rules
The move marks a major relaxation of Canadian COVID-19 travel requirements. However, it’s not without its caveats. The rule change will only apply to Canadians; international travelers of other nationalities will still have to provide a pre-entry test result, quarantine for 14 days and could be subject to Day 1 and Day 8 testing.
Unvaccinated Canadians who are returning from abroad to Canada will also be required to provide a pre-entry test. While Canadian flyers will be celebrating, Canadians who like cruises won’t be so happy. The government has said the vaccine mandate would remain in place for cruise ship passengers and crews due to the fact that passengers are in close contact with each other for extended periods of time.
Speaking about the rule change, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said:
“It’s clear that the COVID situation is not the same now as it was last fall when we implemented the vaccine mandate for travelers. [However,] In order for us to continue to protect the demands on our public health care system, we want to make sure that incoming travelers are at minimum vaccinated.”
The move comes days after the US announced the removal of its requirement for travelers to deliver a negative COVID-19 test before boarding an international flight bound to the United States. Earlier this week, random COVID-19 testing at all Canadian airports was also suspended by the Canadian government until 30th June.
Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc says the decision to lift the mandates “was not about shortening the wait times that are currently being experienced at some of Canada’s airports.”
“The adjustments we’re making today are based on science, and they will not have an impact immediately on these airport delays. We remain committed to reducing the wait times at Canada’s airports.”
Canada’s COVID-19 recovery
Throughout the pandemic, Canada saw much lower rates of COVID-19 and related deaths than its southern neighbor. According to John Hopkins University, as of 11th February, 279 US residents have died of Covid per 100,000, compared to about 94 in Canada.
Canada has also seen higher vaccination uptakes than the US, and this is helping the country open up again while maintaining lower COVID-19 figures. As of 9th February, 80% of Canada’s population was fully vaccinated against COVID-19, along with another 5% that were partially vaccinated, meaning they had received at least one dose of a multi-dose vaccine. However, in the US, only 64% of people were fully vaccinated and 12% partially vaccinated.
In Canada, individual provinces and territories can impose and lift local mandates. However, jurisdiction over issues such as vaccine passports is only exercised by the federal government.
Source: simpleflying.com