Province to end border screenings; feds will handle

The B.C. government is pulling more than 200 employees away from the U.S. border and will rely on the federal government to carry out COVID -19 screening measures at Vancouver International Airport and along the 49th Parallel.

Since early April, government staffers from 13 different ministries were assigned to major land border crossings and YVR to offer support to those returning home to B.C. and ensure returnees have a self-isolation plan in place.

The federal Quarantine Act requires all people entering Canada to self-isolate for 14 days.

B.C. will end its border checks today and hand off the screening measures — which were pioneered in B.C. before being implemented nationwide — to the Canada Border Services Agency.

“The evolution of federally led border measures has allowed the B.C. public service to step back from border screenings and redeploy our resources to best limit the spread of COVID -19 in British Columbia,” solicitor general Mike Farnworth, B.C.’S minister of public safety, said in a statement.

From April 10 to June 15, the province processed more than 72,400 people arriving at the airport and 17 land border crossings.

The province has made 26,100 followup calls to monitor the progress of those self-isolating.

Service B.C. will continue its compliance and wellness checks to ensure travellers maintain their 14-day self-isolation. Provincial screening measures will continue for temporary foreign workers arriving in B.C. for seasonal farm work. The workers will be required to self-isolate for 14 days at government-funded accommodations near YVR and will be screened by health professionals before travelling to their work sites.