UPDATE - Canada Hotel Quarantine, Other Entry Measures To Take Effect On February 22 - Minister

TORONTO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th February, 2021) Canada's new enhanced entry requirements, including the out-of-pocket hotel quarantine for incoming air passengers, will come into effect on February 22, Canadian Health Minister Patty Hajdu said on Friday.

"As of February 22, 2021, all air non-essential travelers will be required to take a COVID-19 molecular test when they arrive in Canada before exiting the airport," Hajdu said. "Air travelers will also be required to reserve, prior to departure to Canada, a three-night stay in government-authorized hotel. Travelers will be required to stay at their reserved hotel for up to three nights at their own cost, while they await the results of their arrival test."

For connecting passengers, they will need to reserve a hotel room in the city of their arrival and await the coronavirus test results there before continuing their journey, Hajdu explained.

Those who test negative for the disease will be allowed to spend the rest of the 14-day quarantine period at home, while those who test positive will be transferred to a state isolation facility. Inbound passengers will be required to take an additional COVID-19 test towards the tail end of the 14-day quarantine, Hajdu said.

The new measures will also impact travelers at the land border with the United States.

Arrivals at the land border crossing will be required to take a COVID-19 test upon entry into Canada and towards the end of their isolation term, Hajdu added. These additional measures also take effect on February 22.

The minister also reiterated that the government's requirement to present a negative COVID-19 test upon entry at the land border takes effect on February 15. Officials acknowledge that constitutional provisions prevent border agents from stopping those without a negative test from re-entering. However, to combat possible circumvention of the new measure, those who do not present a negative test could face fines of up to $2,360, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau previously said.

The new measures are already being met with backlash, with some likening them to internment camps. The Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) has said that the hotel quarantine plan violates citizens' rights to mobility and has indicated a willingness to challenge the measures in court.

Although the Canadian government is constitutionally prohibited from barring citizens from leaving the country, the Trudeau government has used the enhanced border security measures to discourage international travel amid the pandemic.