Random COVID testing resumes at Canada’s four major airports

Air travellers who test positive for COVID-19 following random arrival tests — which resumed in Canada on Tuesday — will have to quarantine for 10 days even if the provinces they land in no longer require isolation due to the virus.

The federal government has said the resumption of the testing, which now takes place at locations outside the country’s four major airports, would help detect new variants coming into Canada. Ottawa said the 10-day isolation for those testing positive is mandatory even if provinces and territories have different rules.

Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba no longer require anyone who tests positive for the virus to isolate, although those provinces still recommend isolating for five days from the time of symptom onset. In Nova Scotia, only those who live in a long-term care facility or congregate living setting are legally required to isolate for seven days.

The mandatory random testing applies to fully vaccinated passengers arriving in Canada through Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal.

At Toronto’s Pearson airport, some questioned the need for the random tests on Tuesday.

‘“I don’t think it’s necessary,” said Sobia Sadiq, who arrived in Toronto from Houston, Texas, to visit her brother. “And if somebody has already travelled so far, and they unfortunately tested positive, then it’s unfair to them.”

Sadiq said she wasn’t selected for a random test and noted that her travel experience had been smooth.

Rasha Bassyouni, who returned to Toronto from a wedding in Dallas, said she was previously ambivalent about the random tests but now supports the measure after witnessing how quickly the virus spread among some members of her family.

“It’s only five minutes of your own time,” said Bassyouni, who worked as a physician in Egypt before moving to Canada. “And this is for your own safety, for your family’s safety, and for the Canadian safety.”

Fully vaccinated travellers selected for random testing will receive an email notification within 15 minutes of completing their customs declaration, the federal government has said. That email will contain information to help them arrange a test in their region, either through an inperson appointment or a virtual appointment for a self-swab test.

Ottawa had paused the random testing of vaccinated travellers entering Canada by air last month as it worked to move the actual testing process to locations outside of airports.