Canadians had been dealing with COVID a lot during the ongoing pandemic. Their country reported a total of over 35,000 deaths caused by the coronavirus and more than 3.2 million infections since the pandemic began, according to information brought by worldometers.info.
But recently, COVID cases started to decline in Canada. Perhaps that’s why the authorities are preparing to make it easier for international travelers to visit the country. According to Reuters, those who are fully vaccinated for the coronavirus will have the right to access the country from abroad just by taking a rapid antigen COVID test.
The new rule kicks in on February 28
Omicron is one of the most contagious COVID variants out there, and it also caused a lot of trouble in Canada. However, the light from the end of the tunnel already seems visible.
Jean Yves Duclos, the Health Minister of Canada, stated as Reuters quoted:
These changes are possible not only because we have passed the peak of Omicron, but because Canadians across the country have listened to the science and to experts.
Here’s what the Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable industry group has to say, as cited by the same source:
Though today’s announcement brings us one step closer to where our industry needs to be, in requiring pre-departure rapid antigen tests, the government missed an opportunity to align with other international jurisdictions that removed pre-departure test requirements for fully vaccinated travellers.
As more and more countries give up COVID restrictions, there’s another virus out there that scientists are trying to keep an eye on: NeoCov. We’re talking about another form of coronavirus, and SARS-CoV-2 also lands in the same category. However, NeoCov might not represent a reason to be concerned at the moment.
There’s currently a lot of fuss in Canada, as protests continue. These fellows could even lose access to their bank funds, and it’s interesting to see how the situation will continue.