Alberta has announced a pilot program that would give returning international travellers a chance to shorten the 14-day quarantine. The project will start at Calgary International Airport and Coutts border crossing on Nov. 2.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
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A new pilot project starting Nov. 2 will give international travellers a way to shorten the current 14-day quarantine requirement at Calgary International Airport and at the Coutts border crossing.
Travellers returning from the U.S. will have the option of having an expedited COVID test, which could come back in as little as two days.
Premier Jason Kenney says the project – the first of its kind in Canada – will allow for proper safety precautions while easing the system for those travelling for work.
“Alberta’s government has highlighted the importance to protect lives and livelihoods. Today’s announcement does just that,” he said.
Those who choose the test will still be required to isolate while they wait for the results, but, if they test negative they are no longer in quarantine. They will then be required to take certain precautions such as wearing a face mask and avoid high-risk groups.
They will also have to agree to a second COVID test on day six or seven after they returned to Canada. This test would be done at a community pharmacy. Another requirement is daily reporting on their state of health.
They will not be allowed to travel outside Alberta for 14 days.
Kenney says three per cent of international travellers have tested positive since the beginning of the pandemic.
“Recognizing this, and the fact that COVID is not going away any time soon, we have been looking at new ways to support the travel industry and bring back safe travel.”
According to numbers provided by Alberta Health, that falls to less than two per cent for July, August and September.
Reuters revealed Tuesday that European Union officials were close to announcing that flights from Canada to EU countries will be blocked.
Since July the EU has had a list of countries in this category. There has been pressure on Canada to lift the 14-day quarantine period because many EU countries are not imposing this on Canadians visiting overseas.
Kenney’s office would not comment on whether Alberta was hoping that the pilot project for international travellers would result in the EU not restricting flights from Canada.
The pilot project would not result in the Coutts border is likely to be opened to non-essential travel as that decision falls upon the federal government.
“As for the land border at Coutts, it is not up to Alberta to decide when the border will reopen,” said Christine Myatt, spokesperson.
Although not confirmed it is likely the pilot could expand to the Edmonton International Airport in February.
Kenney said Alberta’s tourism industry is expecting a 63 per cent drop in visitor spending this year, which will have a large effect on jobs.
“Behind every one of those jobs, there is a family who is facing uncertainty, and a person who needs to pay their mortgage, or a parent who needs to put groceries on the table,” he said.
“That’s why we cannot turn our back on the travel, the tourism industry and the Albertans’ lives that have been thrown into upheaval.”
The premier made the announcement about the joint provincial-federal project over the phone from his home in Edmonton, where he is in self-isolation after one of his ministers tested positive. Kenney had already said he tested negative, but was quarantining for the next week as a precaution.
Earlier in the day, Calgary Airport Authority president Bob Sartor said the traveller testing pilot project was what “we have all been waiting for months.”
“”This innovative, government-approved, science-based testing trial for international arriving guests is the lifeline that airports and airline partners need to instil confidence in air travel once again.”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he will be keeping “a really sharp eye” on the project.
“I’d be open to it, but I just first want to see what’s happening in Calgary with it, because Toronto is much different than Calgary,” he said.
A professor of medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton cautioned that two days of quarantine aren’t enough.
Zain Chagla said in an interview that the novel coronavirus can live inside an infected person for several days before it shows up on a test, and the person can infect others during that time.
Anyone contracting the virus during the final days of travel could pass the initial test and be out in the community before the infection was caught by the second test, he said.
“The odds are you’re going to pick up about 80 per cent of the people while travelling with that first test, but there is going to be a percentage that you’re going to miss that are going to go into the community and become spreaders,” Chagla said.
“There’s a window of about five days where there may be a public health implication.”
The testing option should only be used by those who need to travel, he said.
Kenney also said that, starting Monday, Albertans who have to leave the country for essential travel will have the option to receive their COVID-19 tests within 72 hours. Those would be administered by Dynalife, a private company, for a $150 fee.
— with files from The Canadian Press
