OTTAWA — Starting Wednesday at midnight, any Canadian who returns from abroad and is not able to explain a credible quarantine plan will be required to quarantine in a hotel.
The stricter measures, which will be imposed through strengthening The Quarantine Act, were announced Tuesday by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during his daily news conference.
It gives authorities the ability to require anyone who does not have an adequate 14-day self-quarantine plan in place to quarantine in the city where they arrived, at a designated location such as a hotel, which will be paid for by the federal government.
“Examples of things that could be inadequate, for example, (are) if their plan is to go stay in a place where there are many elderly family members at risk of COVID-19, or whether they don’t have a set destination,” Trudeau said.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said these new rules apply to anyone entering the country, whether by land, air or sea, and whether they are symptomatic or not, and mean Canadians returning from abroad are not allowed to isolate anywhere they would be in contact with a vulnerable person, such as a senior or someone with pre-existing conditions.
The new rules also mean they must have a plan in place for basic necessities such as food and medicine, so it will be necessary for people to have a plan before they land in Canada.
As it stands, only asymptomatic Canadian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate family members are permitted to enter Canada, and they are required by law to self-quarantine for 14 days upon their return.
Restriction timeline questioned
Trudeau also faced questions Tuesday about when certain restrictions might begin to be loosened in Canada.
He said while he knows everyone is interested in when they can return to work and school, the reality is it will take weeks before any changes are considered.
“We recognize that it is going to be important to get our economy going and that we will have to do it in phases,” he said. “We will have to remain vigilant until such a point as a vaccine against COVID-19 is found.”
Last week, Trudeau said it is expected to take 12-18 months before a vaccine is available to the public.
Meanwhile, Trudeau said the federal government is in ongoing discussions with the provinces about reopening the economy, recognizing that different regions of the country are in different places with their COVID-19 curve.
“Right now, we are still very much in this phase and we’ll need to remain in this phase for a good while still. But as we start to open up, we will be strategic and vigilant about what we are able to do in a very gradual way,” he said.
Regarding the American border, Trudeau said travel restrictions are going to remain extremely important to contain the spread of the coronavirus in Canada, and the government will continue to work with the Americans and people around the world to ensure these restrictions continue as long as necessary.
