Ontario Introduces COVID-19 Screening Test At Major Airport

Canada has been reluctant for quite some time now to let travelers cross its borders because of the pandemic. The country enforced its travel restrictions early in March and has been maintaining them steadily.

It was only towards the end of last year after Canada managed to flatten the curve that the country began to exempt groups of travellers from the rules. However, all travelers are still required to abide by all the coronavirus protection measures, including the quarantine requirement. 

Since the primary concern is the spreading of the virus, it seems prudent to not let people who have even the slightest symptoms of COVID-19 into the country. To that end, some provinces in Canada have been making provisions for immediate COVID-19 screening for travelers as soon as they land in Canada. 

Ontario Introduces New Pilot

The Government of Ontario is the latest to offer free COVID-19 tests to international travelers who want to stay in the province for two weeks at the very least. Pearson Airport, which happens to be Canada’s leading airport, is now going to offer this feature. Premier Doug Ford introduced this pilot project in Ontario and it was implemented on January 6.

The Ontario government claims that this pilot is going to test, track, and locate COVID-19 cases as early as possible to prevent spreading. Pearson Airport welcomes over 60,000 international travelers every week.

Anyone who is interested in free screening will have to register beforehand. They will be provided with a self-collected PCR test free of cost. A healthcare professional will monitor them at the time of the test.

It is important to note that travelers will have to quarantine for fourteen days even if they test negative.