Why $2,000 for a hotel quarantine? Your concerns about Ottawa’s new vacation policies answered

After the federal federal government introduced the new travel measures on Jan. 29, CBC Information was flooded with emails from Canadians wanting to know additional — including how Ottawa came up with a $2,000 hotel quarantine invoice.

So far, the authorities has available only wide facts about the new rules, but it promises to supply far more details in the coming times.

Here is what we know now.

Air passenger rules discussed

Some of the government’s new vacation measures are already in location. On Jan. 31, Canada’s key airlines — in an arrangement with Ottawa — cancelled all flights to Mexico and the Caribbean until April 30.

Numerous American airways even now fly from Canada to individuals destinations, but passengers will come upon at minimum one particular U.S. stopover together the way.

Canada’s airlines are still traveling to the United States, because important employees will need to vacation amongst Canada and the U.S. through the pandemic, Transport Canada instructed CBC Information on Thursday.

Canada-bound travellers must provide proof of a detrimental COVID-19 test before boarding their flight, and all flights getting into the country are now staying funnelled into four main airports in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.

According to the governing administration, most air travellers entering Canada will before long be required to get another COVID-19 take a look at on arrival and hold out for the success — up to a few days — in a designated hotel in the vicinity of the airport where they landed. 

Travellers who take a look at adverse can depart and finish the relaxation of their 14-working day quarantine at dwelling. Those with favourable test success will be needed to remain at a designated government facility. 

What about the expense?

Passengers will be billed for their resort continue to be, and Ottawa has prompt the cost could be about $2,000. It’s unclear if two people today sharing a place would have to fork out double that quantity.

Several individuals have questioned how a 3-working day continue to be in a resort could overall $2,000. The government says the amount would also cover relevant bills, this sort of as the price of the check, transportation, food items, lodge security and cleansing. 

“It truly is not just only the charge of a lodge place,” General public Safety Minister Bill Blair explained on Jan. 29.

He stated travellers shouldn’t balk at the cost tag.

“We assume that if they are going to make that choice [to travel], that they must bear the full expense and responsibility of all the actions that are required to keep Canadians harmless.”

Any exceptions to the rule?

The govt has mentioned that there will be “confined exceptions” to the resort quarantine prerequisite, but it hasn’t yet laid out who will be exempt. At a news convention on Tuesday, Key Minister Justin Trudeau prompt that there could be some wiggle place for serious conditions.

“Certainly, there may perhaps be individual compassionate or humanitarian exceptions that need to be produced in given predicaments, and we’ll search at these,” he stated.

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Infectious illness medical professionals remedy questions about the COVID-19 pandemic, together with whether Canada’s new travel constraints go significantly plenty of and what’s been realized about variants. 5:41

Some snowbirds who have presently been given the COVID-19 vaccine in Florida have asked CBC News if they’ll be exempt from the resort quarantine requirement.

Ottawa says no, at least not at this time.

Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s main public wellness officer, said on Friday that it truly is unclear if vaccinated persons can still get the virus with no developing symptoms and then infect other folks.

“The scientific principle underpinning the application of vaccines for intercontinental travel can’t be designed at this time, simply because we do not know if the vaccines lower transmission,” she informed CBC Information.

When will the lodge quarantine rule choose effect?

The start out date is even now up in the air. 

Transport Minister Omar Alghabra recommended last Sunday that air travellers could be ushered into resorts as early as Feb. 4.

But on Feb. 2, Trudeau indicated that it could be months just before the lodge quarantine necessity normally takes influence.

“We hope to have that applied in just the month — weeks to come,” he stated in French at a news convention. “Folks are performing incredibly tough to build a system so that it is established ahead of people today get started travelling for the March break.”

What takes place if I refuse to comply?

In a news release saying the new vacation measures, the authorities also laid out the fines for breaking the country’s quarantine necessity. Violators could facial area serious penalties, which include 6 months in jail and/or up to $750,000 in fines. 

What about the land border?

Simply because the Canada-U.S. land border is shut to non-crucial visitors, most of the persons at the moment crossing into Canada by land are essential workers who are exempt from quarantine.

But some snowbirds who flew to U.S. sunbelt states this winter delivered their vehicles throughout the border and strategy to generate back again property.

At this place, the resort quarantine rule won’t implement to travellers crossing into Canada by land. But the government has indicated it is really doing work on harder rules at the land border, these types of as a COVID-19 examination necessity for non-vital travellers.

“We’re also looking at methods to more strengthen our land border measures,” Trudeau stated on Friday. “We are going to have extra to announce on this before long.”