Quebec calls for airport tests, quarantine inspections to avoid COVID-19 holiday spread

MONTREAL (Reuters) – The Canadian province of Quebec on Tuesday urged the federal government to demand a COVID-19 test for residents returning from end-of-year holidays, following images of unscathed tourists going on overseas beaches hitting social media as things arose.

Canadian travel restrictions are among the toughest in the world, with unnecessary foreigners generally refusing entry and citizens returning from abroad ordered to quarantine.

But a second wave of the modern coronavirus has led to calls for more airport tests, with hospitals filling up in the two most populous regions.

Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé has said he wants holidaymakers returning to the province to be tested before they leave, and a tougher enforcement of 14-day quarantine after their departure. home. Both Quebec and Ontario have asked the government to test airports for international arrival.

Dubé said his office was endowed with Canadian Health Minister Patty Hajdu.

“The federal government informs us about the implementation of these measures in early January,” he told reporters. “For us this is not fast enough.”

Quebec, which has shut out all non-essential business and limited restaurant service, on Tuesday reported an additional 2,381 cases and 64 deaths, stressing the health system, Dubé said .

COVID-19 cases in Canada reached 555,207 as of December 28th.

The Public Health Agency of Canada said in a statement that travel at airports is down 90% compared to the previous year, and that only about 2% of known COVID-19 cases in Canada have come from side-by-side travel. outside the country.

Canada, which advises against unnecessary travel, will continue to use “science and evidence” to inform any measures about border measures, he said.

The province of Alberta has been running a pilot program since November that will test Covid-19 for passengers returning to Calgary International Airport.

Premier Jason Kenney urged the federal government to roll out a similar program at other major airports across Canada.

“We can pick up those who are positive right away, so we can intervene much faster,” Kenney told a news conference Tuesday.