Increased restrictions at the Canada-U.S. border

The government is finalizing new COVID-19 testing requirements for travellers entering Canada across land borders.

Since Jan. 7, all travellers were required to provide a negative test result for COVID-19 before boarding a plane. Rebecca Purdy, spokesperson for the Canada Border Services Agency, said the same requirement may be extended to land borders.

“There will be limited exceptions,” said Purdy. “Such as…commercial truckers, to ensure that supply chains, essential services and support for critical infrastructure are not adversely impacted.”

The land borders between Canada and the U.S. remain open, but travellers are asked to quarantine for 14 days. The order also lists a number of people who are exempt, including health care workers and those who transport essential goods. However, they are restricted to their essential work reasons for crossing.

“They must be entering for the purpose of that function, or clearly meet the class of persons as defined by the chief public health officer,” said Purdy. “If the person…is crossing to retrieve personal mail, or returning from a discretionary trip, such as vacation or visiting friends or family, they are subject to quarantine measures.”

Travellers also need to produce documents to prove they are employed in an essential service to be eligible for the exception. Merely having a letter saying they are exempt is not enough. Those who do not have to quarantine have to monitor themselves for 14 days for any development of COVID-19 symptoms and follow guidelines issued by the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Purdy said the requirements for quarantine also applies to “flagpolers” – persons who exit and re-enter the border hoping to renew their status in Canada. However, if “flagpolers” and their drivers stayed inside the vehicles and did not enter US territory, they may be exempt from quarantine.

Steve Erwin, a spokesperson for Windsor Regional Hospital, said there had not been a significant increase in the number of people taking COVID-19 tests for purposes of travel.

“We have had people in the past come for testing when they are going on international travel,” said Erwin. “But that was only a handful, maybe. Most people understand that there’s not a lot of opportunity for travel right now, even before the prime minister’s announcement.”

Windsor Regional Hospital offers COVID-19 testing for people with symptoms. Asymptomatic patients can take the test at a drug store where it is available. The test results take about two to three days and the Windsor Essex County Health Unit will be informed of any positive results.

According to Statistics Canada, between July 2020 and November 2020, an average of 23,000 vehicles had entered Canada across land borders per day. As of Feb. 3, Canada has recorded around 800,000 COVID-19 cases. A total of 21,798,645 tests have been performed and about four per cent of those have been positive.

All travellers coming to Canada must provide their contact information to the Canada Border Services Agency, which shares that information with the Public Health Agency of Canada. Purdy said travellers can make this process contact-free by using the ArriveCAN app.

“The government of Canada continues to advise that Canadians avoid non-essential travel outside Canada until further notice,” said Purdy.