Why $2,000 for a lodge quarantine? Your issues about Ottawa’s new travel policies answered

© Nathan Denette/The Canadian Push
It can be unclear but when exactly air passengers landing in Canada will be needed to acquire a COVID-19 exam and check into a quarantine resort.

Bewildered about Ottawa’s rigid new rules designed to discourage vacation during the COVID-19 pandemic?

You happen to be not alone.

After the federal governing administration announced the new journey measures on Jan. 29, CBC News was flooded with email messages from Canadians seeking to know much more — including how Ottawa came up with a $2,000 resort quarantine bill.

So far, the govt has supplied only wide details about the new rules, but it promises to supply more information in the coming times.

Here’s what we know now.

Air passenger policies spelled out

Some of the government’s new travel measures are already in area. On Jan. 31, Canada’s significant airlines — in an arrangement with Ottawa — cancelled all flights to Mexico and the Caribbean right up until April 30.

Several American airlines even now fly from Canada to those people destinations, but passengers will experience at minimum just one U.S. stopover together the way.

Canada’s airways are even now traveling to the United States, since vital personnel need to have to travel between Canada and the U.S. throughout the pandemic, Transportation Canada told CBC News on Thursday.

Canada-bound passengers must offer proof of a destructive COVID-19 check before boarding their flight, and all flights entering the country are now currently being funnelled into 4 major airports in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.

According to the governing administration, most air passengers entering Canada will quickly be demanded to consider another COVID-19 exam upon arrival and wait around for the results — up to a few days — in a designated hotel. Travellers who examination detrimental can leave and finish the rest of their 14-day quarantine at residence.

Individuals with favourable exam success will be required to stay at a specified authorities facility. 

What about the value?

Passengers will be billed for their resort stay, and Ottawa has prompt the charge could be about $2,000. It’s unclear if two people sharing a place would have to shell out double that sum.

Numerous men and women have questioned how a a few-working day keep in a hotel could total $2,000. The government claims the amount would also deal with associated expenditures, these kinds of as the cost of the test, transportation, resort stability and additional overall health protections for resort staff. Presumably, meals would be provided as very well.

“It is really not just merely the value of a lodge area,” General public Protection Minister Invoice Blair claimed on Jan. 29.

He mentioned travellers should not balk at the rate tag.

“We assume that if they’re likely to make that choice [to travel], that they need to bear the full expense and duty of all the measures that are needed to continue to keep Canadians secure.”

Any exceptions to the rule?

The governing administration has claimed that there will be “minimal exceptions” to the lodge quarantine need, but it has not nevertheless laid out who will be exempt. At a information convention on Tuesday, Primary Minister Justin Trudeau prompt that there could be some wiggle area for serious circumstances.

“Naturally, there may perhaps be distinct compassionate or humanitarian exceptions that ought to be made in presented scenarios, and we are going to seem at all those,” he said.

Some snowbirds who have previously acquired the COVID-19 vaccine in Florida have questioned CBC Information if they will be exempt from the lodge quarantine requirement.

Ottawa claims no, at the very least not at this time.

Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public well being officer, said on Friday that it can be unclear if vaccinated individuals can however get the virus with out establishing symptoms and then infect some others.

“The scientific basic principle underpinning the software of vaccines for international vacation can’t be designed at this time, because we do not know if the vaccines cut down transmission,” she explained to CBC News.

When will the hotel quarantine rule get impact?

The get started date is nevertheless up in the air. 

Transportation Minister Omar Alghabra proposed last Sunday that air passengers could be ushered into motels as early as Feb. 4.

But on Feb. 2, Trudeau indicated that it could be weeks just before the lodge quarantine prerequisite requires effect.

“We hope to have that carried out in just the thirty day period — weeks to arrive,” he stated in French at a information meeting. “Folks are doing the job incredibly tough to generate a process so that it is founded ahead of persons start travelling for the March break.”

What comes about if I refuse to comply?

In a information release announcing the new journey measures, the government also laid out the fines for breaking the country’s quarantine prerequisite. Violators could deal with serious penalties, including six months in jail and/or up to $750,000 in fines. 

What about the land border?

Simply because the Canada-U.S. land border is shut to non-important visitors, most of the individuals at the moment crossing into Canada by land are vital staff who are exempt from quarantine.

But some snowbirds who flew to U.S. sunbelt states this wintertime shipped their vehicles across the border and plan to travel back again home.

At this place, the hotel quarantine rule will not apply to travellers crossing into Canada by land. But the government has indicated it really is doing the job on tougher guidelines at the land border, such as a COVID-19 test prerequisite for non-important travellers.

“We’re also on the lookout at ways to even more bolster our land border measures,” Trudeau stated on Friday. “We’ll have more to announce on this quickly.”