As of January 7, travelers to Canada must test negative for Covid

Starting Thursday, passengers flying to Canada must test negative for COVID-19. Passengers over 5 years of age must have a negative PCR test result no earlier than 72 hours prior to departure. Only for passengers arriving from 28 countries of the Caribe and South America until January 14, the time between the test and the start has been extended to 96 hours.

Regarding the tests, the government did not extend the ban on passenger flights from Britain, introduced after the detection of a new coronavirus mutation, effective since December 20. The tests do not change the obligation of 14 days of quarantine.

Those in charge of verifying the results of the tests are the airlines who complain that no one has consulted them. However, canadian airlines They were censored this week when The Globe and Mail wrote that they were paying influential people to promote air travel in winter, against the recommendations of doctors and the federal government. The newspaper cited posts on social media in which bloggers e influencers they boasted of trips to the Caribbean and Mexico, among others “in partnership with Air Canada Vacations.”

As Transport Minister Marc Garneau stressed on Wednesday, “it is completely counterproductive for airlines to encourage international travel”. Even more so because public opinion in Canada has received very bad information about the double standards applied by politicians.

As described in the media at the beginning of the year, many politicians in December and before flew, among others, to the southern United States and Mexico to spend the holidays.

They ignore the recommendation to stay at home

As a result, last Monday there were many you resign, both in the federal parliament in parliamentary commissions and in provincial governments and parliaments.

To the amazement of the Canadians even doctors were among those who ignored the advice to stay home. On Wednesday, the head of Health British Columbia public, Dr. Peter Berman, apologized for his travels and told The Canadian Press in October that “we should direct our attention not to complain that holidays they will not be as usual. ”

Also on Wednesday, Dr. Tom Stewart, who led the Niagara Region hospital network, resigned and left the government advisory panel of Ontario after it was revealed that he had spent a few vacation in the Dominican Republic. The list of politicians who ignored their own recommendations continues to grow.

Meanwhile, according to a public opinion poll conducted by Leger for the Association for Canadian Studies, as many as 48 percent of those Canadians Despite the callings, they spent time on vacation with someone from outside their home. The same survey showed that 62 percent of Canadians lost hope of reducing the incidence in the coming weeks.

According to data from the Federal Ministry of Health, Canada has so far registered 626,799 cases of coronavirus infections, of which more than 525,000 are in three provinces: Quebec, Ontario and Albert.

There are 79,203 active cases in Canada, 16,369 people died.

Curfew in Quebec

In Quebec, where there are currently more than 24,600 active cases, there will be curfew between 8 pm and 5 am starting Saturday for four weeks. Quebec it is the first Canadian province to introduce a curfew. Provincial Prime Minister Francois Legault said on Wednesday that the penalties for violations will be between 1,000 and 6,000 Canadian dollars, the government is considering issuing a special document for those who must be absent during the curfew.

Most of the cases in Quebec They are related to schools and workplaces, but the curfew is one of the measures to limit the possibilities of socialization and, as pointed out by the provincial chief doctor, Dr.

Horacio Arruda, it was the meetings during the holidays that led to the severe increase in disease.