TORONTO -- The federal government is expanding the list of authorized quarantine hotels for international travellers and asking them to change their travel plans if a hotel isn't available.
Initially, when the mandatory hotel quarantines began on Feb. 22, only 22 hotels were listed on the federal government's website. This list grew to 37 hotels later in February.
Currently, the federal government's list of approved quarantine hotels includes 57 hotels.
"The Public Health Agency of Canada is currently accepting more hotels as government-authorized accommodations to ensure additional rooms are available for travellers," a spokesperson for the agency said in an emailed statement to CTVNews.ca on Sunday.
Since Feb. 22, international travellers flying into Canada have had to get tested for COVID-19 upon landing and quarantine in a government-authorized hotel at their own expense while waiting for their test results. This can take up to three days and cost up to $2,000. Fines for non-compliance can cost up to $3,000 for each day of non-compliance.
The list of airports approved for travellers flying into Canada has not changed. Travellers are limited to landing in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto or Montreal.
The Public Health Agency of Canada is also asking travellers returning to Canada to plan ahead and adjust their travel dates if quarantine hotels aren't available on a certain date, or risk being sent to a designated quarantine facility.
"A traveller who could not secure a room at a government-authorized hotel will be assessed by a quarantine officer and may be directed to a designated quarantine facility or another a suitable place to quarantine," the agency said.
"If rooms are not available for their preferred dates, travellers must change their flight for a date when a government-authorized hotel is available."
