January 7 - The Ontario government is launching a new innovative, voluntary and free border testing pilot program at Toronto Pearson International Airport for eligible arriving international travellers to help quickly identify and stop the spread of COVID-19 in the province.

 

Details were provided today at Pearson airport by Premier Doug Ford, Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, and Solicitor General Sylvia Jones.

 

Recognizing the increased risk that inbound international travellers may pose, including the potential to spread the new UK COVID-19 variant, the government is fulfilling its commitment to quickly implement airport testing to help contain this deadly virus.

 

Beginning January 6, 2021, the province, in partnership with the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, will offer free and voluntary COVID-19 testing for international travellers arriving and staying in the province for at least 14 days.

 

Eligible travellers will be able pre-register for the program or proceed to get tested when they arrive at the airport. Those choosing to participate in the pilot will receive a free, self-collected lab-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test and be supervised by a health care provider either in-person or by video as the traveller self-administers the test.

 

Switch Health, a health service provider, will provide the monitored self-swabbing tests in a convenient and dedicated space in the airport. Switch Health has been delivering testing services in the Windsor-Leamington area and Peel Region, and can support the needed volumes and timing requirements for the testing pilot.

 

Test results will be reported into Ontario’s Lab Information System within 48 hours and local public health units will follow up on all positive tests. All international travellers will continue to be required to follow the federal requirement for a mandatory 14-day quarantine after arriving or returning to Canada, regardless if they have a negative or positive test.

 

This program is in addition to the new Government of Canada pre-departure requirement for travellers bound to Canada to demonstrate proof of negative COVID-19 results from a test taken within three days prior to departure. The province continues to work with the federal government to explore the next stage of the pilot, including a proposed modified quarantine period for participants who test negative.

 

With the confirmation of cases of the COVID-19 UK Variant stemming from inbound international travel, the province continues to be in constant contact with the Public Health Agency of Canada and other jurisdictions to monitor the developing situation related to the COVID-19 UK Variant and ensure coordinated, effective and shared efforts to protect and safeguard the public.

 

Quick Facts

• Inbound international travellers can register to participate in the program at torontopearson.com/testing. Registration can be done in advance of arrival at the airport or upon arrival at Toronto Pearson airport • Individuals requesting a COVID-19 test for outbound international travel clearance are not eligible for a publicly funded COVID-19 test in Ontario • Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health strongly advises that travel out of the province should be limited to essential purposes only • Ontario has completed over eight million COVID-19 tests to date, more tests than all Canadian provinces and territories combined • Testing is available by appointment for those within provincial testing guidance at assessment centres, participating pharmacies and specimen collection centres. Please visit Ontario.ca/covidtest to find a testing location and for eligibility criteria to be tested • As of December 26, 2020 at 12:01 a.m., a provincewide shutdown is in effect for a period of 14 days in Northern Ontario and a period of 28 days in Southern Ontario to stop the spread of COVID-19 • To help everyone stay safe, download the COVID Alert app. It is free to use and is available from the Apple and Google Play app stores. This app lets users know if they may have been exposed to the others who are infected with the virus

 

Additional Resources

• Ontario Updates Testing Guidelines for Outbound International Travellers • Visit Ontario’s COVID-19 vaccine web page to get information on the province’s three-phase immunization program, COVID-19 vaccines and safety measures and approval standards • Visit Ontario’s website to learn more about how the province continues to protect the people of Ontario from COVID-19

 

 

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