Only 1% of international travelers returning to Canada have tested positive for COVID-19 since the country enacted a mandatory hotel quarantine in February, according to data released by the Public Health Agency of Canada.
PHAC statistics show that 21,939 returning Canadian travelers received coronavirus tests between Feb. 22 and March 4. Of those travelers, just 267, or 1.2%, tested positive for the virus.
The agency’s numbers indicate that over 98% of all COVID-19 cases in Canada are acquired from domestic sources. In comparison, approximately 1% are acquired from international sources.
In Ontario, only 0.6% of COVID-19 cases have been linked to foreign travel, which is surprising because the province is home to Toronto Pearson International Airport, the nation’s largest and busiest airport.
In response to more contagious variants of the novel coronavirus emerging around the world, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced tougher travel restrictions on Jan. 29. The new measures included rerouting all international flights to airports in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal, suspending all flights to the Caribbean and Mexico until April 30, additional testing and a mandatory three-day hotel quarantine at an approved facility for all international travelers.
Travelers are expected to pay for the hotel quarantine, which costs approximately $2,000 CAD, themselves. The government had nearly 11,500 hotel rooms reserved for the program as of March 6.
The new measures were on top of the pre-boarding COVID-19 testing and 14-day self-isolation requirements Canada already had in place. Travelers that receive a negative PCR test after three days at an approved hotel are able to isolate at home for the remaining 11 days of their mandatory quarantine.
Failure to comply with the restrictions could result in jail time and fines of up to $750,000 CAD.
On March 8, the Canadian Constitution Foundation and five Canadian citizens filed a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s three-day hotel quarantine requirement.
“The quarantine hotel policy is an unjustified limit on the rights of Canadians’ Charter-protected right to enter Canada,” said CCH Litigation Director Christine Van Geyn. “The $2,000 cost per traveler is exploitative and punitive.”
The five Canadians taking part in the suit were forced to pay for hotel quarantines after traveling internationally to visit sick family members.
According to the CCF, the federal hotel quarantine rule is a violation of sections 6,7,9 and 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The organization is asking the Ontario Superior Court to put an immediate end to the policy.
As of March 13, there have been 906,000 COVID-19 cases and 22,429 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Canada since the pandemic began.