Visitors and tourists to Parliament Hill stand around the Centennial flame on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Oct. 22, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
People arriving on flights to Canada from China, Hong Kong and Macao will have to do a COVID-19 test before they board for another two months, after Canada announced it would renew border restrictions on air travel from those areas Thursday.
The government mandated pre-boarding tests for people coming from those places last month after China removed long-standing public health restrictions, causing a countrywide outbreak of the virus.
The test requirement is now expected to remain in place until April 5, the Public Health Agency of Canada announced in a statement Thursday.
The government says it is concerned about reports of a dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases in China, and a lack of data available from China about potential variants that could be spreading through the country.
"Despite the data provided by China thus far, ongoing gaps in data availability remain a significant concern," the public health agency said in a statement.
"Extending these temporary health measures will provide time for new, reliable data sources to be made available and allow time for expected domestic waves in China to subside."
The agency said it's also concerned about what China's reopening could do to Canada's "already burdened" health-care system.
Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said earlier this week that the measures were necessary at the time, and any changes would be based on advice from the government's public-health experts.
The move to harden border restrictions for travellers from China drew criticism from some infectious disease experts last month who feared it would do little to stop the global spread of the virus and could worsen anti-Chinese discrimination.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson criticized the change at the time, saying some countries were attempting to manipulate COVID-19 measures for political purposes and it would take countermeasures.
Cynthia Carr, an epidemiologist and founder of EPI Research, said the rampant spread of COVID-19 gives the virus the opportunity to mutate, which can lead to new variants.
"We just know that is an area of opportunity for the virus to get stronger," she said in defence of the test requirements.
She said restrictions are not intended to target individuals based on their ethnicity, country of origin, sexuality or gender, but rather to keep a close eye on an area where there has been a major change in the spread of the disease.
"We have to be very careful about how we balance public-health messaging," she said. "We don't want people to feel stigmatized."
The restrictions mean any air traveller over the age of two who lands in Canada on a flight that originated from China, Hong Kong or Macao must have proof of a negative molecular or rapid-antigen COVID-19 test result, no matter their citizenship or vaccination status.
The rule applies even to travellers who are only transiting through Canada on their way to another country.
Those whose flights transfer through China, Hong Kong or Macao and who are in the country for less than 24 hours do not need to take a test.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 2, 2023.
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U.S President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have announced updates on a number of cross-border issues, after a day of meetings on Parliament Hill.
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The Public Order Emergency Commission has concluded that the federal government met the threshold for invoking the Emergencies Act to bring an end to the 'Freedom Convoy' protests and blockades.
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Joe Biden comes for a sleepover next week to make Canada the 18th country he has visited since being sworn in as U.S. president, quite the protocol slippage from that fading, if not forgotten, tradition of Canada being the first foreign presidential pitstop, writes Don Martin in a column for CTVNews.ca.
After weeks of refusing to look further into foreign election interference, Justin Trudeau surrendered to intense pressure and appointed a 'special rapporteur' to review China's actions. In his exclusive column for CTVNews.ca, Don Martin writes this 'startling change of heart' suggests the PMO is in panic mode and reflects badly on the prime minister's decision making.
The Trudeau tipping point is within sight. The moment when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau knows he has to quit for the good of the party or the Liberals realize they can't survive re-election with him at the helm is almost upon us, Don Martin writes in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca.
Bombshell revelations that suggest Chinese agents actively, fraudulently and successfully manipulated Canada's electoral integrity in the last two federal elections cannot be dismissed with the standard Justin Trudeau nothing-to-see-here shrug, Don Martin writes in his exclusive opinion column for CTVNews.ca.
Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, prosecutors and defense lawyers said Thursday, making him the first former U.S. president to face a criminal charge and jolting his bid to retake the White House next year.
The bodies of six people, including one child, were found in the St. Lawrence River Thursday afternoon after an air search involving the Canadian Coast Guard, the Akwesasne Mohawk Police said.
A long list of failures by Nova Scotia RCMP leadership and policing systems dominate the final report into Nova Scotia's April 2020 mass shooting.
This Sunday, NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) will announce the four astronauts that will be blasting off to fly around the moon for the Artemis II mission, one of whom will be a Canadian astronaut.
Gwyneth Paltrow won her court battle over a 2016 ski collision at a posh Utah ski resort after a jury decided Thursday that the movie star wasn't at fault for the crash.
When two skiers collided on a beginner run at an upscale Utah ski resort in 2016, no one could foresee that seven years later, the crash would become the subject of a closely watched celebrity trial.
When it comes to election misinformation on social media, Facebook takes the cake, according to a new study which found heavy Facebook users were far more likely to consume fake news than Twitter or other social media sites.
Researchers believe the availability of non-alcoholic drinks can help to combat drinking problems.
Ottawa Police are investigating an attempted break-in at the residence of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's national security adviser, the second such incident involving one of his top aides in recent months.
The bodies of six people, including one child, were found in the St. Lawrence River Thursday afternoon after an air search involving the Canadian Coast Guard, the Akwesasne Mohawk Police said.
Four of the Vancouver police officers involved in the violent 2015 arrest of Myles Gray – which ended with the 33-year-old dying in handcuffs – claim they were directed by their union not to keep notes about what happened, in violation of department policy.
A proposed class-action lawsuit over infamous brainwashing experiments at a Montreal psychiatric hospital was before Quebec's highest court Thursday, as victims attempted to remove immunity granted to the United States government.
A long list of failures by Nova Scotia RCMP leadership and policing systems dominate the final report into Nova Scotia's April 2020 mass shooting.
Two-and-a-half years after it was established, Nova Scotia’s Mass Casualty Commission has recommended sweeping changes to everything from gun control to mental health services, although there’s no guarantee any will ever be implemented.
A 22-year-old accused of fatally stabbing a teenager at Keele Station over the weekend was released on a probation order just weeks earlier, tied to a sexual assault charge, court documents show.
Turkiye's parliament on Thursday ratified Finland's application to join NATO, lifting the last hurdle in the way of the Nordic country's long-delayed accession into the Western military alliance.
Every day, hundreds of people are taken into law enforcement custody in New York City. Former President Donald Trump is expected to become one of them next week.
Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, prosecutors and defense lawyers said Thursday, making him the first former U.S. president to face a criminal charge and jolting his bid to retake the White House next year.
A new government study highlights just how violent America's recent past has been by showing a surge in gunfire injuries during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the number of people fatally shooting each other -- and themselves -- also increased.
Nashville authorities released 911 calls Thursday that capture the terror inside an elementary school during the attack this week that left three children and three adults dead.
The hush money case in New York that has led to criminal charges against Donald Trump is just one of a number of investigations that could pose legal problems for the former president.
Ottawa Police are investigating an attempted break-in at the residence of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's national security adviser, the second such incident involving one of his top aides in recent months.
Gun policy comments made by then-RCMP commissioner Brenda Lucki in a contentious call to Nova Scotia RCMP officers after the mass shooting in 2020 did not amount to political interference, the Mass Casualty Commission (MCC) final report concludes.
A private member's bill that would create specific carve-outs for farmers in Canada's carbon pricing scheme has passed in the House of Commons.
The Canadian Pharmacists Association says protecting Canadian drug supplies from mass exportation to the U.S. market remains a priority in light of British Columbia's recent move to limit sales of the diabetes drug Ozempic, which has been hyped as a weight-loss treatment.
When the doors close at night at the administration office at Yukon's Carcross Tagish First Nation, a van hits the road and drives through the communities to offer naloxone to reverse overdoses, drug testing kits, food and even a friendly face to help those struggling because of the opioid crisis.
Scientists think they may have pinpointed the cause of a mysterious outbreak of liver disease that affected children worldwide last year.
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An ultramassive black hole, understood to be one of the largest ever detected, has been discovered by astronomers using a new technique.
When it comes to election misinformation on social media, Facebook takes the cake, according to a new study which found heavy Facebook users were far more likely to consume fake news than Twitter or other social media sites.
Gwyneth Paltrow won her court battle over a 2016 ski collision at a posh Utah ski resort after a jury decided Thursday that the movie star wasn't at fault for the crash.
When two skiers collided on a beginner run at an upscale Utah ski resort in 2016, no one could foresee that seven years later, the crash would become the subject of a closely watched celebrity trial.
Camila Cabello credits the strong women in her life for her success as an artist and a person. So it was only natural that she was there to celebrate her grandmother's milestone -- the publication of a novel.
Just a week after Airbnb tightened regulations for Quebec listings following a deadly fire, hosts may already be bending the rules. Airbnb now requires its hosts to provide a six-digit policy number with their listing, obtained when a tourist lodging is registered with the provincial government. But a scroll through the Airbnb website suggests users are falsifying their permit numbers to sneak past the authentication process.
The European Union must be prepared to develop measures to protect trade and investment that China might exploit for its own security and military purposes, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned on Thursday.
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A scientist at CAMH says video games have similar addictive features to gambling which cause social isolation of the individual and dependency on the activity.
Researchers believe the availability of non-alcoholic drinks can help to combat drinking problems.
On March 30, 1923, exactly 100 years ago, the world's first continuous passenger cruise ship arrived back in New York City after completing a 130-day voyage.
Marcus Stroman committed baseball's first regular-season pitch-clock violation in the third inning of the Chicago Cubs' 4-0 victory over Milwaukee on Thursday on opening day.
Tiger Woods returns to the Masters, no longer a surprise as it was a year ago but no less a rare appearance. This will be only his third tournament against elite competition since he remarkably hobbled his way through 72 holes at Augusta National.
Ryan Reynolds spent the day in Ottawa as he continues his efforts to buy the Senators, meeting with officials from the city of Ottawa and the National Capital Commission and attending the Senators game.
For nearly a year, the average used vehicle in the United States had been edging toward affordable again for millions of people. Now, with the supply of used vehicles failing to keep up with robust demand, prices are creeping up again, with signs pointing to further increases ahead.
Closing out a half century of purely gasoline-powered V12 cars going back to the brand's earliest models, Luxury Italian sports car designer Lamborghini has unveiled its first supercar with a charging port.
After claiming his 100th podium in Saudi Arabia in confusing and controversial circumstances, Fernando Alonso is looking for a better result at Sunday's Australian Grand Prix than his two third-place finishes so far this Formula One season.
