Vaccinated can cross border without testing

Canada will be dropping the requirement that fully vaccinated people entering the country by land, water or air take COVID 19 tests starting on April 1. All travellers, including Canadians returning home, will still need to register with the ArriveCAN free mobile app or website. The rules will not change on April 1 for partially vaccinated or unvaccinated travellers, the government says.
"That sounds good to me," says Calais City Manager Michael Ellis, welcoming the change, even though he would still have to register with ArriveCAN to drop over to St. Stephen. On January 22 the United States dropped most restrictions related to COVID 19 for travellers entering from Canada and Mexico, demanding only proof of vaccination.
The change, in fact, might help solve a problem for the city, attempting to set up rapid PCR tests at a clinic run by Curative Labs at the Calais Recreation Center. Curative Labs had hoped to start offering free rapid PCR tests, with results back within 20 minutes, by mid March. According to Ellis, problems with waivers required under the federal Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments have stood in the way, thus far, to offering rapid PCR tests in Calais.
"You can still get a PCR test there, but they have to be overnighted to their lab, whether it's in D.C. or Texas," meaning at least a two day lag getting the result. "And that's hard for people who want to come over for the day," Ellis says.
He knows Calais people who get PCR tests daily from Curative Labs, allowing them to take trips across the St. Croix River on short notice -- as long as the trip happens within the 72 hour window under the Canadian regulations. "I know some people taking advantage of that," he says.
Since February 28, Canadian border agents also accept negative results from "professionally administered or observed" rapid antigen tests taken outside Canada no more than one day previous. Walgreens offers these tests, but Ellis cautions people to make sure Canada will accept the results. Canada accepts results from rapid antigen tests administered at pharmacies, but Ellis has heard anecdotally that border agents might reject test results not signed by a pharmacist on duty.
"Now with this announcement of April 1, I think it's naturally just going to take care of itself. There's still going to be restrictions, but it's going to be a heck of a lot easier for people to come and go and travel as they choose. We're excited. I know a lot of our small businesses in town are looking to having folks come back and forth more frequently. They've done well to hang on to survive. It is what it is, I guess," the city manager says.
New Brunswick Southwest MP John Williamson welcomes the Canadian announcement. "Ending testing will finally help reunite cross-border families, friends and communities," he says in a Facebook post, but he looks forward to an end to all border restrictions related to COVID 19.
"ArriveCAN should be immediately abandoned, and our border guards should be screening visitors as they did before COVID 19 and U.S. custom officers have done to safeguard their nation throughout the pandemic," he posted. "Both governments should end all other travel mandates to cross the Canada U.S. border, including the requirement to be vaccinated as a condition to enter. Since it is safe for Canadians to travel to U.S. destinations with much, much lower vaccination rates and return home, it is therefore safe for all Canadians to travel freely," he writes.
Federal Health Minister Jean Yves Duclos, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino announced this decision, that the testing requirement would end on April 1, in Ottawa. Canada's high vaccination rate, the increasing availability of rapid tests, decreasing hospitalization and growing availability of treatments for COVID 19 made this step possible, Duclos says.
Fully vaccinated travellers may still be required to take a random PCR test on arrival, but these people will not have to quarantine while awaiting results. Even after April 1, all travellers five and older not fully vaccinated will still need to show proof of an accepted pre entry COVID 19 test: a negative antigen test administered or observed by an accredited laboratory or testing provider taken outside Canada not more than one day before arrival, a valid negative molecular test taken no more than 72 hours before arrival or a previous positive molecular test taken at least 10 but no more than 180 calendar days before arrival. Positive antigen tests will not be accepted. Travellers who arrive without completing their ArriveCAN submissions may have to test on arrival and quarantine for 14 days regardless of vaccination status.
New Brunswick lifted its mandatory order on March 14, but many people still wear masks, observe social distancing and follow other COVID 19 rules, even though the law no longer requires it.