January 6 - New arrivals COVID-19 testing launches on January 6, at Toronto Pearson airport, one day ahead of the federal government’s new testing requirement comes into effect.

 

The news was made on January 6 by Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who called the new pilot program a “game changer.”

 

“We have to get these borders under control,” he said at his daily press conference. “Since September, over 1,300 flights in Canada have had potential COVID-19 exposure; in fact, over 31 international flights with COVID-19 have landed in Toronto in the past two weeks alone."

 

“Before the holidays I made a promise to the people of Ontario that we would do everything in our power to get testing at our airports. Today, we’re delivering on that promise.”

 

Starting on January 6, free and voluntary COVID-19 testing will be made available for eligible international travellers arriving and staying in Ontario for at least 14 days. Travellers choosing to participate in the pilot will receive a self-administered test that will be supervised by a healthcare provider either in person or by video in a dedicated space in terminals 1 and 3 at Toronto Pearson.

 

Inbound international travellers can register to participate in the program at torontopearson.com/testing or in person, upon arrival, at the airport. Test results will be reported into Ontario’s lab information system within 48 hours and public health will follow up on all positive tests.

 

Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier of Ontario and Ontario Minister of Health, stressed that all international travellers will continue to be required to follow the mandatory 14-day quarantine after arriving or returning to Ontario regardless if they have a negative or positive test. The pilot is also meant to be a complementary measure to Canada’s new testing requirement.

 

“This pilot is in addition to the new Government of Canada requirements for travellers coming into Canada to have a negative COVID-19 test, and will act as another layer of protection for our communities,” she said.

 

Elliott also confirmed that the next phase of the pilot, which is being worked on in collaboration with the federal government, would include a modified quarantine period for participants who test negative for COVID-19.

 

Ford added: “While we’re taking these steps, we’re actively working with the federal government to further enhance this program and I hope to have more good news to announce in the coming days. We will continue to work with the Prime Minister and his team on this because right now, we need to stick together. By sticking together and by working together we will get through this.”

 

Toronto’s new pilot program follows a similar program that was launched at Calgary Airport in October 2020.

Source: Travelweek

 

 

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