Experts recommend cancelling hotel quarantine

The federal advisory group, which makes recommendations to the government on issues related to COVID-19, is advising that the mandatory hotel quarantine for foreign travellers entering Canada be removed. The group argues that instead, arrivals should provide a quarantine plan, and only go to government-designated facilities if they do not.

The advisory group highlighted several problems with mandatory hotel quarantine. For example, many travelers choose to simply ignore the requirement and pay the $3,000 CAD fine, and some fly to the U.S. and arrive in Canada by taxi, legally missing hotel quarantine because the rules for air and land border travelers are different.

The requirement for mandatory quarantine in hotels came into effect in February and caused a flurry of criticism. Travellers arriving in Canada from abroad must take a COVID-19 test upon arrival and wait up to 3 days for the result in one of the approved hotels, while paying for their own accommodation. The cost per person can be up to $2,000 CAD.

"Travellers face additional costs, time commitment and the need to book government-authorised accommodation," the advisory group said in its report.

The group suggested several scenarios for travellers arriving in Canada, depending on vaccination status.

For the unvaccinated, it is suggested to request a COVID-19 test before leaving for Canada, a repeat test on arrival, a quarantine plan (no hotel) and a control test on day 7.

For those who have received the first dose of vaccine, it is recommended that a confirmation of vaccination be introduced. The requirements to take a test before departure and on arrival are retained, but quarantine for this group is proposed only while waiting for the results, and the control test after 7 days is abolished. The group also made a caveat: those who were vaccinated once, but did not get a second vaccination within the appointed time should be considered unvaccinated.

And for fully immunized travelers, it is proposed to eliminate all quarantine and testing requirements and retain only the test on arrival and require those entering to provide proof of vaccination.

The National Airline Board of Canada said it supports the recommendations and urged the government to use the advisory group's report as the basis for a new travel and tourism strategy. Earlier, Air Canada, Canada's largest airline, also called for hotel quarantines to be abolished because of the losses they cause to the airline industry.

But how has the Canadian government responded to the recommendations and should we expect them to take effect? Health Minister Patti Haidu and Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said they were positive about the advisory group's proposals, but noted that the strict quarantine measures now in place in Canada have proven effective.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made it clear that Canada will not adopt new rules for travellers just yet because the country has not yet reached a point where it can do so. Instead, the prime minister has recommended that Canadians comply with current health measures and get vaccinated.