Ottawa to eliminate pre-arrival PCR testing, require antigen tests instead: report

The Canadian government is going to soon remove PCR testing requirements for fully vaccinated Canadians travelling outside of the country, according to a senior government source that spoke to CTV News.

Currently, any person entering Canada is required to show proof of a negative molecular (PCR) test taken within 72 hours of a scheduled departure of a flight or arrival at a land crossing.

The federal government is expected to alter this requirement by the end of the month, CTV News has learned, but border testing will remain.

Instead, Canadians will have to show a negative antigen test, which is what the United States requires, the report says.

PCR tests can take 24 to 48 hours (or longer) to process and can cost between $100 to $200 (or more), depending on the destination.  

READ MORE: Changes to border measures will be shared next week, says Health Minister Duclos

Antigen testing, on the other hand, is cheaper (roughly $20 to $40), complimentary in some settings (select all-inclusive resorts in sand and sun destinations have offered it for free) and faster to process (15 to 30 minutes to complete, give or take).

Speaking at a press conference on Friday (Feb. 11), Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said the worst of the Omicron wave in Canada is “now behind us” and that changes to Canadian border measures would be announced next week.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who also spoke to reporters on Friday, said measures requiring people to be fully vaccinated to board a plane or train (and work in federal public service) are not among the changes being announced.

“I think it’s extremely important to emphasize that all the decisions we take will be based in science and indeed will be focused on Canadians getting their lives back to normal,” Trudeau said.

Dr. Theresa Tam also noted that Canada is “past the peak” of Omicron and said that while border testing is meant to reduce community spread, “it’s not a perfect system.”

“Because of the nature of Omicron, and how infectious it is, it is very difficult to prevent every case of importation,” Dr. Tam said.

No official announcement has been made by the Canadian government just yet.

It is also unclear as to what will become of Canada’s on-arrival test-and-quarantine program, which Ottawa ramped up in late November in response to the arrival of the Omicron variant.

READ MORE: On-arrival testing a “capacity drain” on system, says Tam; AC, WestJet urge feds to redeploy tests to community

“Out of date"

The Canadian government, for several months, has faced heightened pressure from the travel industry and other groups to eliminate non-science-based obstacles to international travel.

On Thursday (Feb. 10), the Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable, a coalition of travel and tourism leaders, held a press conference at Toronto Pearson International Airport – one of several the Roundtable has held over the past few months – to state that the pandemic, vaccinations and science has evolved and so too should the government’s response to border rules.

Canada's travel restrictions are “obsolete and out of step with other countries worldwide,” the Roundtable says.

READ MORE: Redeploy on-arrival PCR tests to address urgent community needs, says Roundtable

The United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Denmark, for example, have removed all testing requirements at their borders for fully vaccinated travellers.

Two doctors – Dr. Zain Chagla and Dr. Dominik Mertz of McMaster University – spoke at Thursday’s press event and made cases for the removal of obsolete testing measures at the Canadian border – specifically pre-departure and on-arrival PCR tests for fully vaccinated travellers.

Both doctors highlighted flaws and inconsistencies with both measures.

"COVID-19 testing at the border does not make any sense; travel is no more risky than other activities and there is no scientific reason to single it out," said Dr. Chagla, an infectious diseases physician and associate professor. "When first put in place, Canada's travel rules were designed to keep COVID-19 out of the country.”

“Now that the virus is here and community spread is responsible for approximately 99 per cent of all infections, the rules governing travel are obsolete.”

READ MORE: “Testing at the border does not make any sense”: Doctors call for removal of obsolete testing rules

Dr. Chagla said the government requiring PCR tests from travellers is “out of date.”

PCR tests are “extremely sensitive for COVID-19,” he said, and they may be forcing some Canadians to quarantine in destination when they don’t have to.

If, for example, a person contracts COVID-19 over a two-month period, and then travels months later, they could still test positive – for up to six months, Dr. Chagla said.

“When they’re testing in their foreign location, they may test positive, but they may not be infections to others. It may be from COVID-19 in the last two months.”

Instead, that traveller must quarantine in destination, reschedule their flight and deal with local COVID-19 patrolling.

“And all for what? They may not be infections to others,” Dr. Chagla said.

Earlier this week, the Association of Canadian Independent Travel Advisors (ACITA) launched a federal e-petition calling on Ottawa to drop pre-departure testing.

Surveying its own membership, ACITA says 65 per cent of travel advisors believe that PCR testing in destination is the “single greatest deterrent for consumers to book new travel.”

As of Saturday morning (Feb. 12), ACITA’s petition, which is open to both the travel industry and general public, showed more than 11,660 signatures.

In a statement Friday, the Roundtable said it looks forward to seeing changes in Canada’s travel and border measures.

“There is no scientific reason that justifies travel being singled out as the only activity that requires testing and isolation,” the Roundtable said. “Accordingly, we are hopeful that the Canadian government will establish a plan with a clear timeline for removing restrictions, including the removal of unnecessary pre-departure and arrivals testing and isolation requirements for fully vaccinated travellers and blanket travel advisories, as has been done by other international jurisdictions."

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