Canada Has Decided To Reintroduce Mandatory Random COVID-19 Testing At Four Major Canadian Airports

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has decided to reintroduce mandatory random COVID-19 testing for passengers arriving at Canadian airports. This will be enforced from 19 July 2019. The new requirement will be implemented through a passenger screening process aimed at detecting potential cases of coronavirus (COVID-19).

This testing will be performed on travelers arriving in the country from four of its major airports i.e Calgary, Montreal, Vancouver, and Toronto.

Tests for all travelers will be conducted outside the airport and will be for all the air travelers, who are fully vaccinated, partially vaccinated, or not vaccinated randomly to detect the new variants of Covid-19. Those who tested positive have to follow quarantine regulations and stay isolated as per the Canadian government rules.

Jean-Yves Duclos, the federal health minister said that "We have to keep border testing measures active because that is how we track import of the Covid-19 virus and new variants of concern."

Canada paused this mandatory random COVID-19 testing for all passengers a month ago on June 11 outside the airport to maintain the traffic of travelers outside the airport.
At all the four Canadian airports mentioned above, after finishing their customs declaration, passengers who are carefully chosen for a mandatory test will be notified by email and told to go for a test either via in-person appointment at an off-site clinic or pharmacies, via self-swab test with a virtual appointment. Masks are still mandatory aboard flights leaving Canada.