Since the start of the pandemic, the federal government has asked travelers to quarantine themselves for 14 days following return to Canada.
Doug Ford, meanwhile, has been calling for rapid drug tests at airports in Ontario for several weeks, saying travelers arriving from abroad are at risk of the spread of COVID-19.
The Premier of Quebec, François Legault, also asks to tighten the control of the quarantines of the travelers.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford (on file).
Photo: The Canadian Press / Nathan Denette
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The federal government announced on Wednesday that Canadians returning from travel will be required to be tested for COVID-19 three days or less before returning home.
Once back, they will still have to comply with a 14-day quarantine.
Ottawa is also developing a rapid screening system in collaboration with the Calgary airport.
This pilot project is the envy of the Ford government, which is putting pressure on the Canadian government so that Pearson airport in Toronto can benefit from it.
For Roxanne Borgès Dasilva, professor at the school of public health at the University of Montreal, the tests when arriving in the country do not replace a quarantine.
This is one measure among other measures, but quarantine is the only reliable measure, since COVID-19 has an incubation period between 7 and 14 days
, she explains.
She adds that a negative test result does not always equal an uninfected person
.
The seven-day quarantine as a compromise?
Hamilton Health District public health physician and McMaster University professor Dr Zain Chagla says countries must adopt strategies that are sustainable over the long term to enable travel.
According to him, the best way to proceed would be to impose a quarantine of 7 days, followed by a screening test, because according to the most recent data, this period would be sufficient to detect a large majority of cases.
Zain Chagla proposes a seven-day isolation followed by a screening test, since according to him almost all infections appear during the first seven days of quarantine.
Photo : CBC/Radio-Canada / Craig Chivers
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The data we see in Hamilton allow us to say that at the end of 7 days of confinement, almost all those infected receive a positive result.
, he explains.
He says that by imposing seven days of quarantine followed by a test, it would be psychologically easier for travelers to be less tempted to break it.
By imposing this 7-day period, during which we must stay at home, I believe that people will react better and that it is better that a seven-day quarantine is well done rather than a 14-day quarantine is bad. made.
He claims the new variant of COVID-19 from the UK shows the current model of quarantine is not working.
If quarantine worked, we would not have cases of transmission of the new variant of the coronavirus
, he says.
He adds that while this strategy is not without risk, it is time to find a long term strategy
while awaiting the vaccination of a majority of the population.
How to improve quarantine?
In Canada, the primary authority for managing quarantines for returning travelers is the Public Health Agency of Canada.
According to an email received from theASPC, travelers must provide their contact information while in isolation for 14 days, whether or not they have symptoms of COVID-19 infections
.
Travelers must also provide a quarantine plan to the authorities.
Travelers are also asked about their state of health when they arrive in Canada.
Photo: Reuters / Friso Gentsch
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The agency says travelers are also questioned about their state of health upon arrival in the country.
To enforce the quarantine order, the agency indicates that the Government of Canada makes more than 3,500 direct calls every day to ensure individuals are on their mandatory quarantine
.
People in quarantine are also required to report their state of health during their period of isolation.
In Ontario, police observed breaches of quarantine instructions.
From the Ontario Provincial Police, we are told that since March, 31 fines have been distributed for violating a quarantine order related to COVID-19.
The Ontario Provincial Police have distributed 14 tickets for breaches of quarantine since the start of the pandemic.
Photo : CBC/Paula Duhatschek
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For the Toronto Police Service, there are 14 breaches of quarantine and 4,654 audits on behalf of Health Canada.
Valérie Sales, an infectious disease specialist at Markham-Stouffville Hospital, suggests that travelers can receive more information on the various quarantine parameters during their return flight.
She has a video or pamphlet to learn more about what activities are allowed or prohibited and how to support them during their time of isolation.
Barbara Yaffe, Ontario’s assistant medical officer of health, said on Tuesday that the success of the quarantine depended almost entirely on the person’s willingness to follow it
.
How do other countries handle travelers?
While the Canadian border is currently completely closed to all non-essential visitors, whether they come from the land border with the United States or elsewhere, some countries manage their borders differently.
In France, people arriving from a list of several countries do not need to comply with restrictions related to COVID-19.
Travelers arriving in France must have received a test for COVID-19 three days or less before arriving in the country.
Photo : Getty Images / PASCAL PAVANI
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On the French Public Health website, we can read that the inhabitants of the countries of the European Union and other countries such as Australia, Iceland and Japan are among the countries where it is possible to move around without restriction.
For other countries, France has set up a series of restrictions, including the ban on going there without a valid reason.
In addition, to avoid being placed in quarantine, the French government recommends a negative PCR test performed within 72 hours of arrival.
The country does not impose a mandatory quarantine on arriving people, but asks for submit to national containment orders
, therefore to the current public health instructions.
France recorded 11,395 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday, and more than 20,000 new positive diagnoses on December 24.
On the Australian side, the borders are much tighter, no travelers are allowed to enter the country without restrictions, unless they are from New Zealand or have spent 14 consecutive days there.
Once in Australia, travelers must quarantine in their arrival city, even if their destination is elsewhere in the country.
Certain special exemptions allow specific cases to violate this directive.
