The Federal Minister of Health is giving insight into the hotel quarantine measures for international air travellers entering Canada.
Implemented on February 22, all air travellers entering the country are required to stay in a government-authorized hotel for three days while they await the results of their COVID-19 test taken on arrival.
Travellers are responsible for the cost of their stay, as well as food, security, transportation, and infection prevention measures.
Minister Patty Hajdu says this a critical time for the country with variants of the virus being identified.
She says they wanted to be able to genomic-sequence every positive test, so they can track how the virus is shifting. The hotel stays provide an extra layer of protection.
It is this sequencing that makes it difficult to implement rapid testing.
Hajdu says the challenge is that with the rapid antigen test, you can’t do the sequencing.