(Reuters) -Air vacationers to Canada from China should check unfavorable for COVID-19 not more than two days earlier than departure, Ottawa mentioned on Saturday, becoming a member of different nations which have applied such restrictions.
The necessities, which take impact at 12:01 a.m. ET on Thursday, apply to all vacationers aged 2 and older on Canadian-bound flights originating from the Folks’s Republic of China, Hong Kong or Macao.
The momentary measure will likely be in place for 30 days and be reassessed as extra information turns into out there, the Canadian authorities mentioned.
“We’ll adapt our measures primarily based on out there information, the science, and the epidemiological scenario in our nation and globally to guard Canadians,” mentioned Canadian Transport Minister Omar Alghabra in an announcement.
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South Korea, Spain and France on Friday joined a rising listing of nations, together with america, Britain and India, which have imposed COVID checks for vacationers from China.
The U.S. testing necessities additionally take impact on Jan. 5.
Vacationers from China to Canada and america who check optimistic greater than 10 days earlier than a flight might present the airline with documentation of restoration in lieu of a unfavorable check outcome.
The Public Well being Company of Canada mentioned Saturday it might implement a pilot venture on wastewater testing from plane with Vancouver airport, and broaden such an present venture with Toronto Pearson airport, to evaluate COVID-19 prevalence in varied elements of the world. Samples are sequenced to observe for novel variants, the company mentioned.
The Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention informed Reuters earlier this week it was contemplating sampling wastewater taken from worldwide plane to trace any rising new COVID variants.
China had saved its borders all however shut for 3 years, imposing a strict regime of lockdowns and relentless testing. It abruptly reversed course on Dec. 7 towards dwelling with the virus, and infections have unfold quickly in latest weeks.
China has rejected criticism of its COVID-19 statistics and mentioned it expects mutations to be extra infectious however much less extreme. China will cease requiring inbound vacationers to enter quarantine beginning Jan. 8, however they nonetheless want a unfavorable PCR check outcome inside 48 hours earlier than departure.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Modifying by Mark Porter and Richard Chang)
Copyright 2022 Thomson Reuters.
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