Canada mandates negative Covid test for travellers from US border

Ottawa, Feb 10 : Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that non-essential travellers entering the country through the US border will have to provide proof of a negative Covid-19 test from next week.
“As of February 15, when you return to Canada through a land border, you’ll need to show a 72-hour PCR test, just like air travel,” Trudeau said at his press conference here on Tuesday.
Should Canadians or permanent residents not be able to provide that test result, they could face severe penalties, including fines of up to C$3,000.
The Canada-US border has been closed to non-essential travel since March 2020.
Trudeau said his government will also implement some other new measures to ensure extensive follow up by Health Canada to ensure they are getting tested and properly quarantining.
“What we can do is in cases of no test to show (is) apply a stiff penalty, a fine and demand and ensure a rapid and complete follow-up to make sure that they are getting tested, that they are being properly quarantined, that they are not putting at risk the safety of other Canadians by returning home without a clear negative test,” the Prime Minister said.