International travellers who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will once again be allowed onto Canadian soil this week as eased travel restrictions go into effect.
At 12:01 a.m. Sept. 7, all foreign nationals who have been jabbed with a vaccine authorized for use by Health Canada will be allowed into the country for non-essential purposes, and won't need to quarantine for 14 days. To date, Canada has approved vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca.
Canadian airports are advising travellers to arrive earlier and prepare for longer wait times, in anticipation of the new rules and additional public safety precautions.
The move to ease restrictions for international travellers, first announced in July, follows Canada's earlier decision in August to allow fully vaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents into the country, and put an end to the federal government's quarantine hotels. The U.S. has yet to reciprocate, as fully vaccinated Canadians are still not permitted to cross land borders. Air, sea and rail travellers are exempt. The U.S. State Department's travel advisory for Canada currently stands at Level 3: "Reconsider Travel," citing a "high level of COVID-19."
Meanwhile, Canada still has a ban on direct flights from India in place until Sept. 21. Travellers coming from the country through an indirect route are still required to obtain a valid pre-departure COVID-19 molecular test from a country other than India before coming to Canada.
This was excerpted from the 7 September 2021 edition of Global News.