Travel to Canada

A snowHead

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I am seeking to better understand the new restrictions:

1. You have to quarantine on arrival until a negative PCR is delivered?
2. You choose where to quarantine?
3. What restrictions are on you when in quarantine - can you go to a shop? or is it just takeaways as you are under house arrest?
4. Is it possible to change quarantine location after 24 hours?
5. Does Canada have any of the 3 hour PCR tests?
6. Do these exist at Calgary airport?

Oh, and...

7. I have to have a negative PCR 24 hours before departure?
8. I have to do a negative OCR in the 72 hours before returning to UK?
9. I then have to do the up to 2 day quarantine until negative PCR but can get a 3 hour PCR done at airport on return to UK?

Really grateful for any advice or sign-posting snowHead

A snowHead

Assuming you're a double-vaccinated adult and arriving from the UK then as I understand it you'll be allowed in. You need a pre-departure PCR test within 72 hours of flying and proof of vaccination uploaded to ArriveCAN.

There's no requirement to quarantine although it seems you do need a plan, in case border officials deem you unvaxed. Unlikely I guess, but anyway.

All the details are here - https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/answers/foreign-vaccinated

We're due to fly in Feb, haven't thought about the return journey requirements yet!

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@narbs, Thank you - if you click on the news release link on that link above you will read the paragraph below:

Moving forward, border testing surveillance will be adjusted based on the latest available evidence to further reduce the risk of importation of this variant. In the coming days, all fully vaccinated travellers arriving by air from departure points other than the United States will be subject to arrival testing. Fully vaccinated travellers will be required to quarantine while they await the results of their arrival test.

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@narbs,

New thing today apparently.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ottawa-confusion-new-travel-measures-1.6271297

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@stuarth, thanks for that, will see what develops…..

After all it is free

It seems a bit vague on the details...
Another article on CBC News seems to say that it will be up to the airports to decide if on-site or take home - either way in quarantine until the results come back - hope its a rapid test!
https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/airport-covid-19-testing-for-travellers-arriving-in-canada-could-start-any-time-minister-says-1.5689080

Wait and see time. In Iceland in May they had "arrival PCR test and quarantine" fully in place for all incoming people. They way that worked was that you could were tested (for free) by them on arrival in the terminal. Then you had a 6 hour wait for the test result. You could not fly internal, or mix with people, buy beer etc. You had to quarantine in a hotel or... you could hire a car and drive 6 hours across the island. I did the latter and when I arrived at my destination the Iceland government application told me I was clear. Zero cost, almost zero delay, then.

Me, I tend to stay in YVR overnight anyway. There is already testing available in the airport, albeit probably not large scale.
In the best case they'd test you on exit like Iceland, then you'd be confined to the hotel room until the result was available,
which ought to be the next morning. So best case I just lose a spa session and some mediocre hotel food.
... but pandemics have risks which are beyond our control.

The problem for places like YVR is going to be volume of people, as it's massively larger than Reykjavik.

As far as quarantine plans, anyone know what they regard as acceptable?

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I understand you will have to quarantine until a negative test. I suspect you can't change location, but I think you might be good to quarantine in Banff. Not sure how long the tests take to come back. A friend arrvied in Calgary on weds supposedly after this came in. No requirements to test, no quarantining. So its a bit early to tell

You know it makes sense.

OK - new question that I can't seem to find an answer to that has suddenly become relevant to me. Mrs Saintsman has this evening tested positive on LFT and is symptomatic - I'm negative and unsymptomatic for the moment; however we're both PCRing tomorrow, and frankly the chances of either of us returning a negative result look slim

My understanding is that a positive test result more than 14 days and less than 180 days pre-departure alleviates the requirement for both pre departure and on arrival testing (even in Omicron times) - but what is accepted as "proof"? The PCR record in the NHS app?

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

@Saintsman,

All changed this week. Not sure that anyone knows exactly what to yet!

A snowHead

A snowHead

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@Saintsman, I don't think that applies in Canada at all?

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It can take up to 3 days for the test result to come back according to one news report which is fine if you're there for 2 weeks but any less than that is a huge cut to a holiday, I’m not booking any lift passes until I arrive into Canada and I’m even considering switching to Europe as this is frankly going to lead to chaos on arrival to the airport.

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@RichardB, Agree , it could be tough. But they will be under a lot of pressure to get rid of it. They were heavily criticized for not acting sooner earlier in the pandemic relating to travel, so this was a reaction to the unknowns about Omicron. The next few weeks will tell

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The mail in test referenced in the article link will be a logistical nightmare. My flight to Vancouver in January arrives at 1800. Assuming we get a self test kit that means I’d have to mail it in and sit in a Whistler hotel 2-3 days. Being from the USA I’m currently exempt from arrival testing, but I’m not counting on that lasting. If my trip is 6 days, spending half quarantined is a waste. If USA citizens are added to require arrival testing then goodbye Whistler, hello Aspen.
My main concern if my long awaited revelstoke/kicking horse trip in March. Hopefully things are relaxed by then. The problem is, restrictions are added very hastily, and removed very slowly.

After all it is free

@gryphea, I'm holding fire for now as it is likely pointless to change destination as things can change anywhere at a moments notice, Switzerland quickly back pedaled on their mandatory quarantine and hopefully similar will happen with Canada's testing requirement. It's angering as it makes even having the PCR test 72 hours before near enough redundant.

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@Saintsman,
Good luck, and hope your travel goes smoothly. But don't count on arguing your case with CBSA, they have fined people making essential trips for gas/food when BC government said it was fine due to our current issues, and giving Canadians 14 days quarantine for not doing the arriveCan thing for day trips (have to admit, I had no idea that was necessary either!)

You know it makes sense.

@stuarth - I'm just trying to comply with the rules. The rules as they stand are that someone who can prove their positive status more than 14 days before departure are exempt. That's VERY clearly published and stated online and is the federal rule. The guidance for that is based on a legit reason that SHOULDN'T (and I get that I am tempting fate here) change due to Omicron etc unless the border closes completely. All I'm looking for is guidance as to what qualifies as proof.

The fact that the rules in my circumstances would work in my favour is a side benefit. My first concern is being able to actually get into Canada, and there's now a very real chance that I or my wife could now fail a pre-departure PCR despite now being complete Covid free. We can take a 3-4 day isolation in a hotel - I'm booked for 6 weeks

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

@Saintsman,
I guess my point was, as you noted, the rules dont seem that clear for the latest update and I could easy see why the exemption might go away - as I understood it the lingering post-test PCR fail is a fairly rare thing?

Sadly, I think it might be academic.
Was skiing Whistler yesterday and it seems to have reverted to mostly pre-pandemic behavior. Very few people wearing masks except where rules require, full loading, busy lines (without last year's spacing), very lively bars (vax required, and largely outside, but still...)
Considering what's happening elsewhere, wondering how long until it all gets shut down again Sad

A snowHead

I think that the timescale may narrow a bit, but my understanding is that there's a near 50/50 chance that the missus or I will still be testing positive inside the timescales we're talking about here. It's far more common than people think inside the first couple of months post infection. Either way I need to be sure I am covered for this eventuality, but with the bonus that if we do get a positive we get to skip the on arrival test and isolation. The only real part to the rules being unclear is as to whether or not the NHS pass is sufficient with regards to that - I can find absolutely NOTHING, and my local test providers seem to not understand what I'm looking for.

As for the rest of it - vax rates are VERY high in BC in general and Whistler in particular, and while it may be the destination of choice for the unvaxed (choice as in their only option), firstly they have the challenge of actually getting there; made virtually impossible now that road access form the rest of Canada is now effectively impossible; and secondly their only real mixing point with everyone else is the gondola - for which I am still pretty pissed off with VR for their decision, and also BC Health for their justification which literally made as much sense as Donald Trump

A snowHead

I think the vax thing might actually contribute to the problem. Last year mostly everyone was super careful and for the most part we made it through the ski season, with apparently little transmission related to skiing directly. Strangely, having practices that worked seems to be the BC governments justification for not needing them now! Puzzled

This year it seems people have decided, they are invincible. I'm am vaccinated, but I'd still prefer not to test its efficacy, and I don't really want to find out how "mild" the "mild" version of covid is either!

It is very annoying as it seems we should have learnt from the things that worked and carried on with them even if they are marginally inconvenient.

[/rant]

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You would think so, but they're operating as per regulations set out by Public Health BC

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Well, mask when required is just right. The rules should reflect science. Indoors, close proximity. Why should anyone be required to wear mask when it's outdoors, or in well ventilated space? I mean, you can wear mask if you like. But it's not likely to make much difference.

Full loading of chair also doesn't matter, as it's really well ventilated. OK, gondola is a sticky point. But again, busy line is just a reality. How well spaced out can only be controlled to certain degree. Still, if it's outside, I can't seeing what the problem is. Not for the vaccinated anyway.

I don't see the problem as vaccinated people not behaving. It's really just the fact people are mixing! Families, friends, who during lockdown were not mixing, are mixing now. They're eating and entertaining together. They're traveling together, staying in the same hotel rooms. So when one person got it (kids not yet eligible for vacines), the whole family got it. Whilst during the lockdown, they're not in school and not spreading the virus.

I have a hard time seeing skiing being the problem. It's more likely the travel and entertaining during ski holiday is the problem. More precisely, the travel and entertaining of any sort are the issue. But what do you want to do, back to lockdown?

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Gondola is the real problem in Whistler as I see it. Not requiring vaccination, requiring masks, but not being enforced/respected

After all it is free

Just had my booster as i suspect that will be a requirement..
..
So now its ..
1 rwgister with arrivCan
2 .test before departure
3. Teat on arrival and quarantine.
4. Test before leaving.
5. 2 day test including isolation till negative..
6.. anything else

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It is an unlikely situation to happen if your pre-departure PCR test comes back negative but, I don’t understand why the Canadian government did not simply reduce the time for the PCR test down to 24-48 hours rather than 72 instead of this situation which enforces an inconvenient isolation period. The first PCR test may as well be redundant, it certainly feels a waste of money now.

Help!!

Travel to Canada

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