All COVID-19 travel restrictions in Canada will be gone starting on Oct. 1, health officials announced Tuesday.
Both international and domestic travelers to the country will be able to give up such pandemic mainstays as submitting mandatory health information through ArriveCAN when entering the country and proof of vaccination or COVID-19 testing prior to or on arrival. The country is also discontinuing quarantine, isolation, and symptom-monitoring policies, CBS News reported. These restrictions had remained for rail and air travelers, even as others fell.
Travelers on cruise ships will lose some of the rules, but not all. "Cruise measures are also being lifted, and travelers will no longer be required to have preboard tests, be vaccinated, or use ArriveCAN. A set of guidelines will remain to protect passengers and crew, which will align with the approach used in the United States," the Public Health Agency of Canada said in a news release.
Though the country will also drop mask mandates for air and rail travel, health officials still "strongly recommended" wearing them. People who have COVID-19 symptoms should not travel, health officials said.
The loosened rules were the result of Canada's high vaccination rates and lower hospitalization and death numbers, CBS News reported.
"Thanks largely to Canadians who have rolled up their sleeves to get vaccinated, we have reached the point where we can safely lift the sanitary measures at the border," Canadian Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos said in the release. "However, we expect COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses will continue to circulate over the cold months, so I encourage everyone to stay up-to-date with their COVID-19 vaccination, including booster doses, and exercise individual public health measures."
