Ottawa halting outbound flights to sunshine destinations, restricting inbound flights to four major airports
Trudeau also says Canada won't receive all the Moderna vaccine it expected next week
The federal government will introduce new measures at Canadian airports in the days and weeks to come.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Friday that international inbound flights will be permitted to land only at four airports, those in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, and Vancouver, starting next week. In the coming weeks, those international travellers landing in Canada will be subject to a PCR test and must quarantine for three days, at least. “Travellers will then have to wait for up to three days at an approved hotel for their test results at their own expense, which is expected to be more than $2,000,” said Trudeau Friday. Those with negative test results will then be able to quarantine at home under significantly increased surveillance and enforcement. Those with positive tests will be immediately required to quarantine in designated government facilities to make sure they’re not carrying variants of potential concern.”
Also contained in Friday’s announcement was news that four of Canada’s major airlines have agreed to halt service to Caribbean destinations and Mexico for the time being. “We all agree that now is just not the time to be flying. By putting in place these tough measures now, we can look forward to a better time when we can all plan those vacations,” he said. Air Canada, WestJet, Sunwing, and Air Transat have all agreed to this move. “They will be making arrangements with their customers who are currently on a trip in these regions to organize their return flights,” continued Trudeau.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister said Friday that Canada will not receive all the doses of the Moderna vaccine it was expecting next week. Due to production shortfalls, Trudeau said Canada will only get 78 per cent of the promised shipment, translating to 180,000 doses. “I want to be clear, we will always share the most accurate information we have. But in the short term, those numbers can fluctuate,” Trudeau said. “As global production continues to pick up, there will be more stability in the system. And most importantly, this temporary delay doesn’t change the fact that we will still receive 2 million doses of the Moderna vaccine as planned before the end of March.”
Friday’s announcement also contained news that the federal government will be committing another billion dollars to provinces and territories to allow for the safe reopening of schools. “This $1 billion investment will go towards everything from more sanitizer to better ventilation for classrooms to support for online learning and remote classes,” he added.
