Airports are still not at full capacity to administer mandatory, on-arrival COVID-19 tests, according to Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, and travellers should expect delays when arriving in Canada.
Canada’s new, on-arrival testing measures for travellers coming from anywhere except from the U.S. have been the source of some confusion since they were announced on 30NOV.
Since then, a report from CTV News shows that Canada’s airports have been increasing capacity for testing.
“On [30NOV], our capacity for all air travellers from all countries was of 11,000 tests per day. As of yesterday, [09DEC], that capacity has increased to 17,000 tests per day. The end state to test all non-U.S. air travellers is a capacity of 23,000 nationally,” Duclos said on Friday 10DEC.
“Our testing capacity is increasing steadily and significantly but it still remains incomplete.”
However, Duclos had yet to say when the government would be ready to be testing all incoming travellers at full capacity.
“Canadians who are thinking of travelling abroad need to be warned that the situation abroad is both risky and unstable. They should also know that returning to Canada will likely involve delays and hassle,” Duclos warned. He later added that all incoming travellers should still expect to be tested and made to quarantine upon arrival.
As previously reported by Open Jaw, the federal government has awarded contracts to three private companies in order to help with airport testing, with a total value of CAD $631m.
According to CTV News, as of 09DEC, YVR is administering on average 3,130 tests per day; YYC is administering on average 1,460 tests per day; YYZ is administering on average 8,317 tests per day; and YUL is administering on average 3,033 tests per day.
When passengers arrive at the Canadian border, they will either be swabbed by a public health nurse or get a take-home test. They must then self-isolate at home or at their designated quarantine destination while they await the results of the test. If they receive a negative result, they’re free to leave self-isolation. If the test is positive, they must stay in quarantine for 14 days.
