(CPAC)

By rdnewsNOW staff and Canadian Press

take effect this sunday

PM Trudeau announces strict travel changes, clarifies vaccine situation

Jan 29, 2021 | 10:13 AM

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says that Canada will be getting fewer doses than expected from its next shipment of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine.

He says that Canada will receive 180,000 doses next week, which is 78 per cent of what was expected.

He says Canada is still on track to receive two million doses of the Moderna vaccine before the end of March.

Trudeau says he also had another call with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, who said that Canada will still receive its promised four million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine by the end of March.

Meantime, Trudeau says Canada’s air carriers have agreed to suspend service to 14 destinations in the Caribbean and Mexico beginning this Sunday.

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The restriction will remain in place until April 30.

Trudeau says this involves flights with Air Canada, WestJet, Sunwing and Air Transat.

“The government asked, and we agreed,” said Ed Sims, WestJet President and CEO. “While we know that air travel is responsible for less than two per cent of cases since the start of the crisis, and even less today, we recognize the Government of Canada’s ask is a precautionary measure. We also note that the overwhelming majority of quarantine exemptions, well over 90 per cent in fact, are connected to land borders and not air travel. We have responded to their request and will suspend service to destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean.”

For guests with travel booked during the impacted period, WestJet says it will proactively notify them of their options.

All international flights will also only be allowed to land at four airports; Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal.

Passengers entering Canada must undergo a mandatory PCR test for COVID-19 upon arrival at the airport and then self-isolate at an approved hotel at their own expense for up to three days as they await their test results.

Anyone with a negative test can then go home and self-isolate, while those who test positive for COVID-19 will need to quarantine at a government facility.

As of Friday morning, Canada has 53,911 active cases of COVID-19, and 19,772 people have died. Just over 694,000 people have recovered.

(with files from The Canadian Press)

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