Canada to restart random Covid tests for international arrivals

The Canadian government is re-introducing Covid-19 testing related measures at four major airports in the country from Tuesday, for international travellers, including those coming from India.

Starting on July 19, it will revive mandatory random testing for international passengers arriving at the airports in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary.

That measure was placed on hold on June 11 as conditions at Canadian airports turned woeful with wait for hours in lines, among other travails.

However, Transport Canada announced on Friday that it will bring back the random tests, though these will now be taken off-site. Arriving passengers chosen at random will receive an email notification within 15 minutes of clearing their customs declaration. The test will be completed outside the airport, either via an in-person appointment at select testing provider locations and pharmacies, or a virtual appointment for a self-swab test. Travellers who do not qualify as fully vaccinated, unless exempt, must continue to test on Day 1 and Day 8 of their mandatory 14-day quarantine, a release from the department stated.

The ArriveCan app, introduced for passengers to upload vaccination status prior to departing for a Canadian destination, will also continue, and is in fact, being expanded. Passengers coming to Toronto or Vancouver will be able to provide their customs declaration through the app. However, there have been plenty of issues with app, including difficulties for passengers unable to access their digital documentation when the major Canadian telecommunications network, Rogers, went down last Friday for over 20 hours.

In June, Mark Weber, president of the Customs and Immigration Union told a House of Commons committee, "As far as border officers are concerned, the last few months have shown that ArriveCAN neither facilitates cross-border travel, nor does it improve operational efficiency. In fact, it does exactly the opposite."

The situation at Canadian airports has drawn global attention, for the wrong reasons. On Wednesday, Wimbledon men's runner-up Nick Kyrgios was passing through Toronto en route to the Bahamas and his girlfriend posted an image of them lying on the floor in the airport, with the caption, "The reality of delayed flights & lost luggage…"

Such issues are far from resolved, as the Transport Canada release itself noted, "We are making progress, but challenges remain. We continue to work with air industry partners to reduce congestion and delays in the travel system and update Canadians on our progress."