Travel curbs to ease for fully vaccinated Canadians

Ottawa, June 22 The Canadian government has announced that "fully vaccinated" citizens and permanent residents can enter the country without having to undergo quarantine starting from July 5.

The announcement on Monday came as more than 75 per cent of eligible Canad have received one dose of vaccine and over 20 per cent have received two doses, reports Xinhua news agency.

"Fully vaccinated" means having taken a full series of a vaccine, or a combination of vaccines that have been authorized by Health Canada, Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson, at least 14 days prior to entering the country, according to the announcement.

The vaccinations do not have to be administered in Canada, it added.

The Canadian government requires all travellers, whether arriving by land or air, to now disclose vaccination information at the border including vaccination status and the timing and brand of vaccine received.

They must electronically submit Covid-related information to the government's ArriveCAN app before arriving, meet the pre- and on-arrival test requirements.

Entering fraudulent information into the app will result in fines of up to C$750,000 ($607,000) or six months in prison.

If approved, those accepted travellers will not have to quarantine.

Those arriving by air will also not be forced to stay at a government-authorised hotel and non-vaccinated children or dependent adults travelling with them will also be exempt from the hotel stay.

If a fully vaccinated traveller tests positive for Covid-19, they will be required to follow local public health guidance and quarantine requirements.

Children who aren't vaccinated will be able to go home with their parents but must quarantine for two weeks.

There are no changes to border restrictions for travellers who are not fully vaccinated.

Those who land by air will still have to stay in hotel quarantine for up to three days pending a negative arrival test, quarantine at home for the remainder of the 14-day period and take a test on day eight of their self-isolation period.

"As we've told Canad all along, easing measures at the border will happen as we see our communities increasingly become safe," Health Minister Patty Hajdu said at a press conference on Monday.

"This is the first phase of our precautionary approach to easing Canada's border measures. At this time we are not opening up our borders any further," Dominic LeBlanc, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, also said at the press conference.

The government further announced that international commercial flights will continue to be funnelled through the Montreal-Trudeau International Airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport, Calgary International Airport and Vancouver International Airport.

The government also "strongly" advises that Canad avoid non-essential travel outside of the country.

Canada has so far 1,409,269 cases, with 26,080 deaths.