Scrapping quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated travellers 'legitimate' tool to reach herd immunity
Fully vaccinated Canadians will soon be able to travel outside of the country without having to self-isolate for 14 days or have to quarantine upon arrival.
University of Saskatchewan epidemiologist Nazeem Muhajarine says the announcement is an opening but “probably not necessarily an invitation” for people to take the first flight out of Canada.
He predicts that people will likely travel interprovincially before booking an international ticket.
“I think we have almost forgotten what it is like to board a plane ... I think it will happen slowly, it won’t happen instantly because the virus is still among us,” he said.
While optimistic about the announcement, he wishes the federal government would look at its public health measures first, such as wearing masks, before considering travel.
“What kind of precautions and public health measures should we be taking at one point in time in relation to the vaccine?”
Muhajarine says incentivizing Canadians to get vaccinated is a “legitimate” tool to exercise and a “benefit” as the country continues to reach a herd community.
In terms of reaching 80 to 85 per cent of the country getting vaccinated, he says we are “running into a wall.”
“We are running into a hard to reach, you know, our population who may hesitate still to get a vaccine or outright refuse, those hesitating people. We want to win them over,” he said.
Travellers will still have to show a negative pre-departure PCR test, and will have to take a COVID-19 test upon arriving in Canada. Once in Canada, returning travellers will still need to self-isolate until their most recent test result comes back negative.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.