Canada Gazette, Part I, Volume 156, Number 7: ORDERS IN COUNCIL

February 12, 2022

PUBLIC HEALTH AGENCY OF CANADA

QUARANTINE ACT

Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 in Canada Order (Prohibition of Entry into Canada)

P.C. 2022-41 January 28, 2022

Whereas the Governor in Council is of the opinion, based on the declaration of a pandemic by the World Health Organization, that there is an outbreak of a communicable disease, namely coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), in the majority of foreign countries;

Whereas the Governor in Council is of the opinion that the introduction or spread of COVID-19 would pose an imminent and severe risk to public health in Canada;

Whereas the Governor in Council is of the opinion that the entry of persons into Canada who have recently been in a foreign country may introduce or contribute to the spread in Canada of COVID-19 or of new variants of the virus causing COVID-19 that pose risks that differ from those posed by other variants but that are equivalent or more serious;

And whereas the Governor in Council is of the opinion that no reasonable alternatives to prevent the introduction or spread of COVID-19 are available;

Therefore, Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Health, pursuant to section 58 of the Quarantine Actfootnote a, makes the annexed Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 in Canada Order (Prohibition of Entry into Canada).

Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 in Canada Order (Prohibition of Entry into Canada)

Definitions

Definitions

1 The following definitions apply in this Order.

Canadian Forces
means the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada. (Forces canadiennes)
common-law partner
has the same meaning as in subsection 1(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations. (conjoint de fait)
dependent child
has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations. (enfant à charge)
extended family member
in respect of a person, means
  • (a) a sibling, half-sibling or step-sibling of the person; or
  • (b) a grandparent of the person. (membre de la famille élargie)
foreign national
has the same meaning as in subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. (étranger)
fully vaccinated person
has the same meaning as in subsection 1.1(1) of the Quarantine Order. (personne entièrement vaccinée)
immediate family member
in respect of a person, means
  • (a) the spouse or common-law partner of the person;
  • (b) a dependent child of the person or of the person’s spouse or common-law partner;
  • (c) a dependent child of the dependent child referred to in paragraph (b);
  • (d) the parent or step-parent of the person or of the person’s spouse or common-law partner; or
  • (e) the guardian or tutor of the person. (membre de la famille immédiate)
permanent resident of Canada
has the meaning assigned by the definition permanent resident in subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. (résident permanent du Canada)
protected person
has the same meaning as in subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. (personne protégée)
Quarantine Order
means the Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 in Canada Order (Quarantine, Isolation and Other Obligations). (Décret visant la quarantaine)
temporary resident
means a temporary resident within the meaning of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. (résident temporaire)
variant of concern
means a SARS-CoV-2 variant designated as a variant of concern by the World Health Organization. (variant préoccupant)

Prohibitions

Signs and symptoms

2 A foreign national is prohibited from entering Canada if

Pre-arrival COVID-19 molecular test

3 A foreign national who is five years of age or older is prohibited from entering Canada if they do not comply with the applicable requirement under the Quarantine Order to provide evidence that they received a COVID-19 molecular test result.

Vaccination

4 (1) A foreign national is prohibited from entering Canada unless they are a fully vaccinated person and they comply with the applicable requirement under the Quarantine Order to provide evidence of COVID-19 vaccination.

Non-application — less than 18 years of age

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a person who is less than 18 years of age if they

Listed institution

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(d), a listed institution is an institution that is

Non-application — dependent adults

(4) Subsection (1) does not apply to a person who is 18 years of age or older if they are dependent on one or more other persons for care or support by reason of mental or physical limitation and they seek to enter Canada with their parent, step-parent, guardian or tutor and that parent, step-parent, guardian or tutor

Non-application — other persons

(5) Subsection (1) does not apply to

Non-application — compassionate grounds

(6) Subsection (1) does not apply to a person if the Minister of Health determines that they seek to engage in one of the following activities:

Non-application — remote communities

(7) Subsection (1) does not apply to a person if they are a habitual resident of Hyder, Alaska, Northwest Angle, Minnesota or Point Roberts, Washington who

Non-application — transit

(8) Subsection (1) does not apply to a person

Non-application — contraindications

(9) Subsection (1) does not apply to a person if they have a contraindication to a COVID-19 vaccine dosage regimen, within the meaning of the Quarantine Order, and they comply with the requirement under that Order to provide evidence confirming that fact.

Non-application — evacuated person

5 (1) Sections 2 and 3 and subsection 4(1) do not apply to a person or any member of a class of persons who enters Canada on board a conveyance organized by the Government of Canada and is authorized by the Minister of Health, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to be evacuated from a country and who, as determined by the Minister of Foreign Affairs or the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, is in exigent circumstances and suffering hardship, if the person complies with the conditions that the Minister of Health may impose to minimize the risk of introduction or spread of COVID-19.

Non-application — crew member

(2) Sections 2 and 3 do not apply to a crew member as defined in subsection 101.01(1) of the Canadian Aviation Regulations or a member of a crew as defined in subsection 3(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations who enters Canada on board a conveyance organized by the Government of Canada that transports a person referred to in subsection (1).

Quarantine

6 A foreign national who is not a fully vaccinated person is prohibited from entering Canada if, based on the purpose of entry or the anticipated length of their stay, they cannot comply with the applicable requirement to quarantine under the Quarantine Order.

Immediate Measures

Minister of Health’s power

7 (1) Despite any other provision of this Order, other than section 8, the Minister of Health may — if the Minister determines that immediate measures are necessary to minimize the introduction or spread of a variant of concern in Canada — prohibit, for a period of no more than 30 days, a foreign national or any member of a class of foreign nationals from entering Canada, if, within a period of 14 days before the day on which they seek to enter Canada, they were in a country where, as determined by the Minister,

Factors

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the Minister of Health must consider the following factors:

Non-application

(3) Subsection (1) does not apply to

Application

Non-application

8 This Order does not apply to

Powers and Obligations

Powers and obligations

9 For greater certainty, this Order does not affect any of the powers and obligations set out in the Quarantine Act.

Cessation of Effect, Repeal and Coming into Force

Cessation of Effect

February 28, 2022

10 This Order ceases to have effect at 23:59:59 Eastern Standard Time on February 28, 2022.

Repeal

11 The Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 in Canada Order (Prohibition of Entry into Canada from the United States)footnote 1 and the Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 in Canada Order (Prohibition of Entry into Canada from any Country Other than the United States)footnote 2 are repealed.

Coming into Force

January 31, 2022

12 This Order comes into force at 00:01:00 Eastern Standard Time on January 31, 2022.

SCHEDULE

(Paragraph 4(5)(g))

Occupational Categories

Item

Column 1

Unit Group

Column 2

National Occupational Classification Code

1

Managers in agriculture

0821

2

Managers in horticulture

0822

3

Butchers, meat cutters and fishmongers — retail and wholesale

6331

4

Agricultural service contractors, farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers

8252

5

Contractors and supervisors, landscaping, grounds maintenance and horticulture services

8255

6

General farm workers

8431

7

Nursery and greenhouse workers

8432

8

Harvesting labourers

8611

9

Process control and machine operators, food, beverage and associated products processing

9461

10

Industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers and related workers

9462

11

Fish and seafood plant workers

9463

12

Labourers in food and beverage processing

9617

13

Labourers in fish and seafood processing

9618

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order.)

Proposal

This Order in Council, entitled Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 in Canada Order (Prohibition of Entry into Canada), is made pursuant to section 58 of the Quarantine Act.

The Order repeals and replaces Orders in Council P.C. 2021-961 entitled Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 in Canada Order (Prohibition of Entry into Canada from the United States) and P.C. 2021-962 entitled Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 in Canada Order (Prohibition of Entry into Canada from any Country Other than the United States), which came into force on November 21, 2021, and merges the two into one prohibition of entry Order.

The new Order is complemented by the Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 in Canada Order (Quarantine, Isolation and Other Obligations) [the Quarantine Order] made under the Quarantine Act, which imposes testing, isolation, quarantine, and other requirements to prevent the introduction or spread of COVID-19, and also by domestic travel-related measures.

This Order will be in effect from 00:01:00 EST on January 31, 2022, until 23:59:59 EST on February 28, 2022.

Objective

The new Order merges the two emergency Orders in Council that prohibited the entry of foreign nationals into Canada from the United States (U.S.) and any country other than the United States.

This Order maintains Canada’s focus on reducing the introduction and spread of COVID-19 by decreasing the risk of importing cases from outside the country. The Order continues to prohibit foreign nationals from entering Canada from any country if they fail to meet the pre-entry obligations under the Quarantine Order. This Order also continues to prohibit entry of foreign nationals arriving from any country if they have COVID-19, have reasonable grounds to suspect they have COVID-19 or are exhibiting signs and symptoms of COVID-19, subject to certain narrow exceptions.

This Order grants authority to the Minister of Health to temporarily prohibit entry of foreign nationals, irrespective of vaccination status, if in the 14 days prior to entering Canada they were in a country identified as having an outbreak of a variant of concern as identified by the World Health Organization (WHO). The Order also clarifies some of the entry requirements for foreign nationals, based on vaccination status. All changes under the Order are described under the “Implications” section. The new Order extends the duration of the measures until February 28, 2022.

Background

COVID-19

COVID-19 is caused by a novel coronavirus capable of causing severe illness, named Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Although it is part of a family of viruses that includes Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), SARS-CoV-2 is more contagious.

COVID-19 was first detected in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease is caused by a new strain of coronavirus never before seen in humans. Information about the virus, how it causes disease, whom it affects, and how to appropriately treat or prevent illness has been developing over the past two years.

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, spreads from an infected person to others through respiratory droplets and aerosols when an infected person breathes, coughs, sneezes, sings, shouts, or talks. The droplets vary in size, from large droplets that fall to the ground rapidly (within seconds or minutes) near the infected person, to smaller aerosols, which linger in the air.

COVID-19 has been clearly demonstrated to be a severe, life-threatening respiratory disease. Patients with COVID-19 present symptoms that may include fever, malaise, dry cough, shortness of breath, and damage to the lungs. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and death. Older individuals and those with a weakened immune system or an underlying medical condition are at a higher risk of severe disease. The time from exposure to onset of symptoms is currently estimated to be up to 14 days, with a median of 5 to 6 days, although evidence suggests this could be shorter for the Omicron variant (Omicron). The time period in which an individual with COVID-19 can transmit the virus is said to be at a maximum of 10 days after symptom onset for immunocompetent people who have COVID-19.

The WHO declared an outbreak of what is now known as COVID-19 to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on January 30, 2020, and a pandemic on March 11, 2020. COVID-19 has demonstrated that it can cause widespread illness if not contained. The WHO continues to provide technical guidance and advice to countries for containing the pandemic, including identification of cases and recommendations for measures to prevent further spread. Since September 2020, multiple countries have detected SARS-CoV-2 variants whose mutations may increase pathogenicity and/or transmissibility, and potentially reduce vaccine effectiveness; these are referred to as variants of concern. The introduction of the new, more transmissible variants of concern of the virus causing COVID-19 has further worsened the negative health impacts of COVID-19.

Testing

Testing capabilities advanced significantly in early 2021. Over 197 countries and territories require a negative pre-travel COVID-19 test or medical certificate as a condition of entry into their jurisdictions. The United States, for instance, currently requires that all travellers arriving by air to the United States have evidence of a negative pre-departure molecular or antigen test no more than one day prior to boarding a flight to the United States, irrespective of vaccination status. The United States does not currently require testing for entry at the land border.

COVID-19 molecular testing, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) tests, has a higher sensitivity for detecting COVID-19 over the duration of infection. It is also able to detect most symptomatic and asymptomatic infections. An antigen test is more likely to miss a COVID-19 infection compared to a molecular test, such as a PCR test. Therefore, molecular tests are more accurate for use in pre-departure screening.

Available science demonstrates that, as is the case with many other viruses, a person may continue to obtain a positive molecular test result up to 180 days after their infection, even though they are no longer considered infectious. Positive test results of previously infected individuals, for tests performed up to 180 days prior, should not be considered as evidence of a new infection posing risk, but rather that a person has recovered from a prior COVID-19 infection. Since a positive test result may inadvertently prevent a recovered patient from entering Canada, acceptable proof of prior infection from an asymptomatic traveller is accepted as an alternative to the requirement to test upon arrival. Requiring that prior positive test results be obtained no sooner than 10 days before the initial scheduled departure (by air) or arrival (by land) allows for the time needed to become non-infectious, thus preventing those persons who may be infectious from travelling and possibly transmitting COVID-19 upon travel to Canada.

Vaccination

Another technological development assisting in pandemic control measures is COVID-19 vaccines. The COVID-19 vaccines are effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalization and death from COVID-19. Against earlier variants of concern such as Delta, two doses of the vaccine decreased symptomatic and asymptomatic infection and hence, there was a decline in transmission of SARS-CoV-2; however, effectiveness varied depending on the COVID-19 vaccine product received, and decreased with time since vaccination. Despite the proven efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines, Omicron has been reported to have a high number of concerning mutations, including mutations to the spike protein, which is the target of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, as well as in locations thought to be potential drivers of transmissibility. The concerns about these mutations and the potential risks are that this variant of concern is able to spread faster than previous variants (e.g. Delta). Against Omicron, two doses of COVID-19 vaccine are less effective at decreasing symptomatic or asymptomatic infection, but still offer reasonable protection against severe disease. A booster dose increases protection against severe disease, as well as against infection, but protection remains lower than the protection against earlier variants such as Delta.

Globally, 60.1% of the world population has received at least one dose, and 50.4% is fully vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine, as of January 18, 2022. While 71.2% of people in high-income countries have been fully vaccinated, only 9.6% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose. Vaccine accessibility remains a challenge, also especially for children and adolescents.

The United States has announced that, as of January 22, 2022, all inbound foreign national travellers seeking to enter the United States via land ports of entry or ferry terminals — whether for essential or non-essential reasons – must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and provide related proof of vaccination. This is in addition to the December 21, 2021, requirements for all inbound foreign nationals entering the United States by air to be fully vaccinated. There are some exceptions for unvaccinated non-U.S. citizens arriving by air, and these include, but are not limited to, persons on diplomatic or official foreign government travel, children under 18 years of age, persons with documented medical contraindications to receiving a COVID-19 vaccine and persons issued a humanitarian or emergency exception.

As of January 17, 2022, 75.2% of the total U.S. population has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, 62.9% is fully vaccinated, and 24.0% has received a booster dose (38.1% of the fully vaccinated population has received a booster dose). By comparison, as of January 17, 2022, 82.9% of the Canadian population has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose and 77.1% is fully vaccinated. As of January 18, 2022, over 12.7 million Canadians have received a third dose.

The Government of Canada has sought to align exemptions available for international and domestic vaccination-related requirements. In terms of domestic measures, on August 13, 2021, the Government of Canada announced its intent to require COVID-19 vaccination for federal employees and domestic travellers. As of October 30, 2021, the Government of Canada requires employers in the federally regulated air, rail, and marine transportation sectors to establish vaccination policies for their employees.

Also effective October 30, 2021, air passengers departing from Canadian airports, travellers on VIA Rail and Rocky Mountaineer trains, and travellers 12 years of age and older on non-essential passenger vessels on voyages of 24 hours or more, such as cruise ships, need to be vaccinated or show a valid COVID-19 molecular test within 72 hours prior to travel. As of November 30, 2021, all domestic travellers were required to be fully vaccinated, with very limited exceptions to address specific situations such as emergency travel, and those medically unable to be vaccinated. Aligned with this shift in Government of Canada policy, the emergency Orders in Council in effect as of November 21, 2021, introduced prohibitions on entry for unvaccinated foreign national travellers unless otherwise exempt, as well as phased-in measures for similar prohibitions and removal of quarantine measures for previously exempt cohorts (such as the trade and transportation sector) to allow time to adapt business models. The Government of Canada is continuing this phased examination of cohorts that are otherwise vaccination-exempt to minimize the risk of the introduction of COVID-19 into Canada.

Canada’s current list of accepted vaccines for the purposes of entry, requirement for quarantine and other exemptions, includes 8 of the current 10 COVID-19 vaccines that have completed the WHO Emergency Use Listing (EUL) process. To date, 5 of those have been authorized by Health Canada for sale and use in Canada. WHO EUL review of new COVID-19 vaccines is an ongoing process as part of efforts to increase vaccine availability and access worldwide. Canada accepts new WHO EUL COVID-19 vaccines for border entry purposes based on the available scientific data and review undertaken by the WHO.

Other measures

Even at current levels of vaccination coverage, core public health and personal protective measures, such as limiting travel and contacts in public places, continue to be important for managing the increase in COVID-19 cases, protecting the vulnerable, and reducing the risk of overwhelming health care capacity.

Wearing masks in public places is an effective public health measure to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. Evidence suggests that mask use decreases transmission in the community when adherence levels are good and when masks are worn in accordance with public health guidance.

COVID-19 situation globally

The cumulative number of COVID-19 cases reported globally is now over 330 million and the number of deaths exceeds 5.5 million. For the week of January 10 to 16, 2022, the global number of new cases reported was over 18 million, a 20% increase as compared to the previous week. The large and increasing number of weekly case counts appears to be driven by the circulation of the more transmissible Omicron variant, easing of domestic public health and border measures coupled with increased social mixing and low global vaccine coverage.

According to the WHO weekly report, as of January 18, 2022, five regions reported an increase in the incidence of weekly cases (Region of the Americas, Europe, South-East Asia, Eastern Mediterranean, Western Pacific), while Africa reported a 27% decrease in cases over the last week. South-East Asia reported the highest increase in case reporting (145%), with over 1.7 million new cases, representing 9% of the cases reported in the previous week. Europe, reporting over 8.2 million cases in the previous week, accounted for 44% of all new cases.

Despite efforts to extend vaccination coverage, many countries across all six WHO Regions continue to experience surges in COVID-19 cases. As of January 16, 2022, the countries reporting the highest number of cases in the previous seven days were France (2.0 million new cases; 26% increase), India (1.6 million new cases; 150% increase), Italy (1.3 million new cases; 25% increase), and the United Kingdom (0.8 million new cases; 33% decrease). The United States also continues to experience very high Omicron-driven COVID-19 activity across the country with 4.90 million new cases reported in the week of January 14 to 21, 2022. While this represents an 8% decrease from the previous week, the monthly change rate is very high at a 390% increase. The domestic test positivity rate within the United States also remains very high at 32.4%.

In many countries, the spread of more contagious variants of concern has contributed to increased transmission. Since fall of 2020 and throughout 2021, more transmissible variants of the virus were detected in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Brazil, and India and spread to many countries around the globe, including the United States and Canada. Of 265 791 sequences uploaded to the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data, with specimens collected from December 21, 2021, to January 18, 2022, the proportion of Omicron ranged from 72.1% to 96.4% of sequences in each of the six continents, while Delta ranged from 3.3% to 27.1%. All other variants combined were less than 1.5% in all continents.

On December 15, 2021, the Government of Canada reinstated a Level 3 Omicron-SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern global travel health notice to advise against any non-essential travel abroad, due to travellers’ increased risk of being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 when travelling internationally, as well as the risk of facing difficulties returning to Canada or of having to remain abroad due to travel restrictions by foreign governments. The increased transmission associated with these variants increases the risk of accelerated spread. There remains the potential for a resurgence of travel-related cases in Canada.

The WHO has published an interim guidance document providing national authorities with a step-by-step approach to decision-making for calibrating risk mitigation measures and establishing policies to allow for safe international travel, but currently, there is no internationally accepted standard for establishing travel thresholds or assessing a country’s COVID-19 risk. At this time, it is the view of the Government of Canada that travel continues to present a risk of importing cases, including cases of new variants of the virus that causes COVID-19, and increases the potential for onward community transmission of COVID-19. With inequities globally with regard to vaccine access, efforts to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19 and variants of concern continue.

COVID-19 situation in Canada

The spread of COVID-19 due to Omicron has surpassed all other waves of the virus previously observed in Canada, and as a result of these unprecedented case levels, testing capacity has been challenged or exceeded in many jurisdictions. Despite case surveillance, data significantly underestimates the true incidence of disease. National daily case counts remain strikingly high, with a seven-day moving average of 37 530 cases on January 12, 2022. The number of tests performed is also high; an average of 148 810 daily tests were performed between January 4 to 10, 2022. The national incidence of COVID-19 cases has decreased, with weekly incidence down 10.1% from the previous week (January 5 to 12, 2022). Although the weekly percent positivity and daily average of tests remain very high, both indicators have decreased from the previous week for the same period (down by 4.4% and 6.8%, respectively). While there are early indications that cases may have peaked or will peak shortly at the national level, hospitalizations and deaths are continuing to increase.

While Omicron is more transmissible than previous variants, and reduces the effectiveness of vaccines against symptomatic disease, vaccination continues to provide a level of protection against severe illness. As of January 8, 2022, over 85% of the eligible Canadian population aged 12 and older had received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, with 46% of those aged 5 to 11 years having received at least one dose. As of January 18, 2022, over 12.7 million Canadians have received a third dose.

Canada has seen a 161% increase in the number of travellers arriving from the United States in December 2021 compared to December 2020, and a 289% increase among international travellers arriving from all other countries for the same period due to the gradual easing of Canada’s border restrictions. Evidence demonstrates that higher volumes of travellers result in increased positivity rates, particularly for those travelling from countries with high domestic infection rates.

Additional evidence demonstrates that a combination of pre-departure and post-arrival testing facilitates the detection of persons with COVID-19 entering Canada. Identification of cases permits genetic sequencing and the identification of variants of concern to support public health efforts to reduce COVID-19 spread.

A certain proportion of travellers will require the use of clinical resources for care. In addition, infected travellers can cause secondary transmission to household members or in the community. If travellers are to continue to enter Canada, it is important to reduce the risk of travellers introducing cases of COVID-19, including new variants of concern into Canada as much as possible. Based on current review of international experience with new variants, maintaining measures that leverage the availability of testing technologies, combined with aggressive vaccination programs, can help further reduce the spread of COVID-19 or introduction and spread of new variants of concern in Canada.

Government of Canada response to COVID-19 pandemic

The Government of Canada’s top priority is the health and safety of Canadians. To limit the introduction and spread of COVID-19 in Canada, the Government of Canada has taken unprecedented action to implement a comprehensive strategy with layers of precautionary measures.

Between February 3, 2020, and December 21, 2021, 72 emergency orders were made under the Quarantine Act to minimize the risk of exposure to COVID-19 in Canada — to reduce the risk of importation from other countries, to repatriate Canadians, and to strengthen measures at the border to reduce the impact of COVID-19 in Canada. Some provinces and territories have implemented their own restrictions. Together, these measures have been effective in reducing the number of travel-related cases.

Changes to international travel restrictions and advice are based on national and international evidence-based risk assessments. The Government of Canada recognizes that entry prohibitions, mandatory quarantine requirements, vaccination programs, and testing protocols place significant burdens on the Canadian economy, Canadians, and their immediate and extended families.

The Government of Canada’s phased approach to easing border measures for fully vaccinated travellers is grounded in meeting specific public health criteria, and based on scientific evidence and the epidemiological situation in Canada and globally. On July 5, 2021, fully vaccinated travellers eligible for entry were granted an exemption from quarantine subject to meeting the applicable requirements, including providing proof of vaccination. Then, on August 9, 2021, fully vaccinated American citizens and permanent residents arriving from the United States were allowed to enter Canada for optional or discretionary purposes and exempted from quarantine, subject to certain conditions, and as of September 7, 2021, fully vaccinated foreign nationals from all countries were allowed to enter Canada for optional or discretionary purposes and exempted from quarantine, subject to conditions. However, with the November 21, 2021, emergency orders, the Government of Canada introduced additional measures to limit the entry of unvaccinated foreign nationals.

Vaccines are a critical tool in supporting the resumption of fuller societal functioning and to safely achieve widespread immunity. Full vaccination is associated with decreases in hospitalizations and deaths (and corresponding decreased strain on critical care resources) and a reduction in severe outcomes of infection. Restricting the entry of unvaccinated travellers remains an important strategy for preventing the introduction of new variants and the spread of COVID-19 in Canada and to reduce the potential burden on the health care system. As access to vaccination has increased, Canada will be seeking to further reduce entry of non-vaccinated foreign nationals, including those travelling for non-discretionary purposes. This is consistent with the evidence of the effectiveness of vaccination and the greater public health risks associated with the entry of unvaccinated travellers. In addition, the Government of Canada intends to align, where appropriate, rules for domestic and international travel, particularly with respect to exemptions, in order to streamline border processes.

Many countries continue to experience COVID-19 transmission and have different levels of vaccination coverage. In November 2021, the Government introduced the Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 in Canada Order (Prohibition of Entry into Canada — Specified Countries), which prohibited entry of foreign national travellers, with limited exceptions, who had, in the prior 14 days, been in a country with an outbreak or at risk of having an outbreak of the Omicron variant. The Order expired on January 31, 2022. The Government of Canada recently reinstated its global travel health notice to advise against any non-essential travel abroad. The increased transmission associated with these variants increases the risk of accelerated spread, and there remains the potential for a resurgence of travel-related cases in Canada.

With more transmissible variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 in countries around the world, the Government of Canada continues to take a data-driven, scientific evidence and precautionary approach to its border measures for travellers entering Canada. To minimize the risk of further importation or spread of new variants of concern into the country, the Government of Canada is maintaining measures to help limit introduction and community transmission of COVID-19 and its variants of concern.

Implications

Key impacts for travellers

The new Order in Council merges and replaces the two entry Orders, P.C. 2021-961 and P.C. 2021-962, while maintaining consistency in application of the previous differentiation in requirements for foreign national travellers entering Canada from the United States versus any country other than the United States.

As was the case under the previous entry Orders, foreign nationals travelling for any purpose will continue to be prohibited entry into Canada from any country if they have COVID-19, have reasonable grounds to suspect they have COVID-19 or are exhibiting signs and symptoms of COVID-19, subject to certain narrow exceptions. The enforcement of the prohibition on entry for foreign nationals who arrive exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms, despite having appeared healthy prior to boarding an aircraft or vessel, may be deferred to the extent required to maintain public health and ensure the safety of the commercial transportation system.

The Order will continue to permit the entry of fully vaccinated foreign nationals arriving for any purpose, as long as they have complied with all applicable measures under the Quarantine Order. These include, unless otherwise exempt, the requirement to obtain a negative COVID-19 molecular test result before entering Canada (or proof of prior infection as described in the Quarantine Order).

Fully vaccinated foreign nationals must provide their pre-entry COVID-19 molecular test evidence before boarding a flight to Canada, and when entering by land or water. They must also submit evidence of COVID-19 vaccination with a vaccine dosage regimen accepted by the Minister of Health. This evidence of vaccination must generally be provided to the Minister of Health by the electronic means specified by the Minister, namely ArriveCAN, the official application/web portal for electronic submissions required under the Quarantine Order. Fully vaccinated foreign nationals seeking to enter Canada for discretionary purposes remain prohibited from entry if they fail to submit the required proof of vaccination in advance of travel to Canada. Unvaccinated foreign nationals remain prohibited from entering unless they qualify for a specific exemption from the prohibitions.

The Order grants authority to the Minister of Health to temporarily prohibit entry of foreign nationals, irrespective of vaccination status, if in the 14 days prior to entering Canada they were in a country identified as having an outbreak, or where there are reasonable grounds to believe that there is an outbreak of a variant of concern as identified by the WHO. The countries affected by this prohibition would be included in a publicly available list informed by epidemiological data, public health assessments, and public interest criteria. Countries may be added to or removed from the list based on evolving scientific information. The limited exceptions from this prohibition include foreign nationals who were in airborne or marine transit at the time the country was added to the list of variant of concern–affected countries; travellers with reasons of entry determined by the Minister of Health to be in the national interest; as well as persons seeking to enter Canada because of a medical emergency. These exempt travellers will be permitted entry but remain subject to the requirements of the Quarantine Order to quarantine or isolate as appropriate, undergo pre- and post-border testing measures, and any other applicable obligations.

Exemptions to the prohibition on entry have not changed since the previous Orders, other than in several limited cases. It is clarified in the Order that habitual residents of remote U.S. communities and Alaska will continue to be permitted entry into Canada, regardless of vaccination status, to access the mainland United States or Alaska, respectively, or to return to their place of residence if they remain in their conveyance while in Canada. The Order also clarifies that unvaccinated operators delivering medically necessary supplies are exempt from the prohibition on entry.

The Order does not apply to Canadian citizens, permanent residents of Canada, protected persons, persons with status under the Indian Act, nor to those only transiting through Canadian airspace or waters. Protected persons entering under a temporary resident permit, such as recognized Convention refugees, will also be exempt from the requirements under this Order.

The new Order will be in effect until February 28, 2022.

Penalties

Failure to comply with this Order and other related measures under the Quarantine Act is an offence under the Act. The maximum penalties are a fine of up to $1,000,000 or imprisonment for three years, or both. Non-compliance is also subject to fines under the federal Contraventions Act.

Consultation

The Government of Canada has engaged provinces and territories to coordinate efforts and implementation plans. In addition, given linkages to departmental mandates and other statutory instruments, there has been consultation across multiple government agencies, including the Canada Border Services Agency; Indigenous Services Canada; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada; Transport Canada; Public Safety Canada; Health Canada; Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada; Employment and Social Development Canada; Fisheries and Oceans Canada; the Canadian Armed Forces; Canadian Heritage; and Global Affairs Canada.

Contact

Kimby Barton
Public Health Agency of Canada
Telephone: 613‑960‑6637
Email: kimby.barton@phac-aspc.gc.ca

PUBLIC HEALTH AGENCY OF CANADA

QUARANTINE ACT

Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 in Canada Order (Quarantine, Isolation and Other Obligations)

P.C. 2022-42 January 28, 2022

Whereas the Governor in Council is of the opinion, based on the declaration of a pandemic by the World Health Organization, that there is an outbreak of a communicable disease, namely coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), in the majority of foreign countries;

Whereas the Governor in Council is of the opinion that the introduction or spread of COVID-19 would pose an imminent and severe risk to public health in Canada;

Whereas the Governor in Council is of the opinion that the entry of persons into Canada who have recently been in a foreign country may introduce or contribute to the spread in Canada of COVID-19 or of new variants of the virus causing COVID-19 that pose risks that differ from those posed by other variants but that are equivalent or more serious;

And whereas the Governor in Council is of the opinion that no reasonable alternatives to prevent the introduction or spread of COVID-19 are available;

Therefore, Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Health, pursuant to section 58 of the Quarantine Actfootnote a, makes the annexed Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 in Canada Order (Quarantine, Isolation and Other Obligations).

TABLE OF PROVISIONS

Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 in Canada Order (Quarantine, Isolation and Other Obligations)

PART 1

General

1.1 Definitions

1.2 Non-application

1.3 Exempted persons — conditions or requirements

PART 2

Molecular Tests

2.1 Entering by aircraft — pre-boarding

2.2 Entering by land — pre-arrival

2.21 Entering by water — pre-arrival

2.22 Alternative testing protocol — pre-arrival

2.3 Tests in Canada

2.4 Alternative testing protocol — on entry

2.5 Evidence of COVID-19 molecular test — retention

PART 3

Suitable Quarantine Plan and Other Measures

3.1 Suitable quarantine plan

3.2 Suitable quarantine plan — requirement

3.3 Information — countries

3.4 Mask

PART 4

Quarantine of Asymptomatic Persons

4.1 Requirements — quarantine

4.2 Additional requirements

4.3 Unable to quarantine

4.4 Unable to quarantine — additional requirements

4.5 Exempted persons — quarantine

4.6 Exempted persons — medical reason

4.7 Exempted persons — compassionate grounds

4.8 Exempted persons — fully vaccinated persons

4.9 Exempted persons — less than 12 years of age

4.91 Contraindication

4.92 Signs and symptoms or positive test result

4.93 Exception — leaving Canada

PART 5

Isolation of Symptomatic Persons

5.1 Requirements — isolation

5.2 Additional requirements

5.3 Unable to isolate

5.4 Unable to isolate — additional requirements

5.5 Exempted persons — medical reason

5.6 Positive result – requirements

5.7 Exception — leaving Canada

PART 6

Powers and Obligations

6.1 Powers and obligations

PART 7

Cessation of Effect, Repeal and Coming into Force

Cessation of Effect

7.1 February 28, 2022

Repeal

7.2

Coming into Force

7.3 January 31, 2022

SCHEDULE 1

SCHEDULE 2

Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 in Canada Order (Quarantine, Isolation and Other Obligations)

PART 1

General

Definitions

1.1 (1) The following definitions apply in this Order.

accredited person
means a foreign national who holds a passport that contains a valid diplomatic, consular, official or special representative acceptance issued by the Chief of Protocol for the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development. (personne accréditée)
Canadian Forces
means the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada. (Forces canadiennes)
Chief Public Health Officer
means the Chief Public Health Officer appointed under subsection 6(1) of the Public Health Agency of Canada Act. (administrateur en chef)
COVID-19 molecular test
means a COVID-19 screening or diagnostic test carried out by an accredited laboratory, including a test performed using the method of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP). (essai moléculaire relatif à la COVID-19)
crew member
means
  • (a) a crew member as defined in subsection 101.01(1) of the Canadian Aviation Regulations or a person who enters Canada only to become such a crew member;
  • (b) a member of a crew as defined in subsection 3(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations or a person who enters Canada only to become such a member of a crew; or
  • (c) a person who is re-entering Canada after having left to participate in mandatory training in relation to the operation of a conveyance and who is required by their employer to return to work as a crew member within the meaning of paragraph (a) or (b) on a conveyance within the 14-day period that begins on the day on which they return to Canada. (membre d’équipage)
dependent child
has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations. (enfant à charge)
evidence of a COVID-19 molecular test
means evidence that contains the following information:
  • (a) the name and date of birth of the person whose specimen was collected for the test;
  • (b) the name and civic address of the laboratory that administered the test;
  • (c) the date the specimen was collected and the test method used; and
  • (d) the test result. (preuve d’essai moléculaire relatif à la COVID-19)
fully vaccinated person
means a person who completed, at least 14 days before the day on which they entered Canada, a COVID-19 vaccine dosage regimen if
  • (a) in the case of a vaccine dosage regimen that uses a COVID-19 vaccine that is authorized for sale in Canada,
    • (i) the vaccine has been administered to the person in accordance with its labelling, or
    • (ii) the Minister of Health determines, on the recommendation of the Chief Public Health Officer, that the regimen is suitable, having regard to the scientific evidence related to the efficacy of that regimen in preventing the introduction or spread of COVID-19 or any other factor relevant to preventing the introduction or spread of COVID-19; or
  • (b) in all other cases,
    • (i) the vaccines of the regimen are authorized for sale in Canada or in another jurisdiction, and
    • (ii) the Minister of Health determines, on the recommendation of the Chief Public Health Officer, that the vaccines and the regimen are suitable, having regard to the scientific evidence related to the efficacy of that regimen and the vaccines in preventing the introduction or spread of COVID-19 or any other factor relevant to preventing the introduction or spread of COVID-19. (personne entièrement vaccinée)
isolation
means the separation of persons who have reasonable grounds to suspect that they have COVID-19, who exhibit signs and symptoms of COVID-19 or who know that they have COVID-19, in such a manner as to prevent the spread of the disease. (isolement)
mask
means any mask, including a non-medical mask, that meets all of the following requirements:
  • (a) it is made of multiple layers of tightly woven material such as cotton or linen;
  • (b) it completely covers a person’s nose, mouth and chin without gaping;
  • (c) it can be secured to a person’s head with ties or ear loops. (masque)
permanent resident of Canada
has the meaning assigned by the definition permanent resident in subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. (résident permanent du Canada)
protected person
has the same meaning as in subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. (personne protégée)
quarantine
means the separation of persons in such a manner as to prevent the possible spread of disease. (quarantaine)
quarantine facility
means a place that is designated under section 7 of the Quarantine Act or that is deemed to be designated under subsection 8(2) of that Act, and that is chosen by the Chief Public Health Officer. (installation de quarantaine)
signs and symptoms of COVID-19
include a fever and a cough or a fever and difficulty breathing. (signes et symptômes de la COVID-19)
temporary resident
means a temporary resident within the meaning of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. (résident temporaire)
vulnerable person
means a person who
  • (a) has an underlying medical condition that makes the person susceptible to complications related to COVID-19;
  • (b) has a compromised immune system from a medical condition or treatment; or
  • (c) is 65 years of age or older. (personne vulnérable)

Interpretation — fully vaccinated person

(2) For greater certainty, for the purposes of the definition fully vaccinated person, a COVID-19 vaccine that is authorized for sale in Canada does not include a similar vaccine sold by the same manufacturer that has been authorized for sale in another jurisdiction.

Non-application

1.2 This Order does not apply to a person who

Exempted persons — conditions or requirements

1.3 (1) The Chief Public Health Officer may take immediate public health measures to minimize the risk of introduction or spread of COVID-19 by imposing conditions or requirements on any person or member of a class of persons exempt under this Order from any requirement set out in it, including

Compliance — conditions or requirements

(2) A person who is exempted from any requirement under this Order and on whom the conditions or requirements are imposed under subsection (1) must comply with them in order to remain exempted from the applicable requirement.

Factors to consider

(3) For the purposes of subsection (1), the Chief Public Health Officer must consider the following factors:

PART 2

Molecular Tests

Entering by aircraft — pre-boarding

2.1 (1) Every person who enters Canada by aircraft must, before boarding the aircraft for the flight to Canada, provide to the aircraft operator evidence of a COVID-19 molecular test indicating that they received

Exempted persons

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to

Entering by land — pre-arrival

2.2 (1) Every person must, when entering Canada by land,

Exempted persons

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to

Entering by water — pre-arrival

2.21 (1) Every person must, before and when entering Canada by water,

Exempted persons

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to

Alternative testing protocol — pre-arrival

2.22 A person or any member of a class of persons who is required to provide or have in their possession evidence under paragraph 2.1(1)(a) or subparagraph 2.2(1)(a)(i) or 2.21(1)(a)(i) and who is designated by the Chief Public Health Officer must, before or when entering Canada, in the case the person enters by land or water, or before boarding the aircraft for the flight to Canada, in the case the person enters by air, and in accordance with the instructions of the Chief Public Health Officer,

Tests in Canada

2.3 (1) Subject to subsections (1.1) and (3) to (5), every person who enters Canada must, in accordance with the instructions of a quarantine officer or the Minister of Health, undergo a COVID-19 molecular test

Exempted persons — asymptomatic persons

(1.1) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), the Chief Public Health Officer may, having regard to the factors set out in subsection 1.3(3), exempt a person referred to in subsection (1), or any member of a class of those persons, who is not referred to in subsection 5.1(1) or in Item 15 of Table 1 of Schedule 1 from the requirements set out in paragraph (1)(a) or (b), or both.

COVID-19 molecular test — on request

(1.2) On the request, made in a randomized manner, of the Chief Public Health Officer, a person referred to in subsection (1.1) must, during the 14-day period that begins on the day on which the person enters Canada, undergo a COVID-19 molecular test in accordance with the instructions of a quarantine officer or the Minister of Health.

Expense

(2) For greater certainty, the person who must undergo the COVID-19 molecular tests must do so at their expense or at the expense of another person on behalf of that person unless the COVID-19 molecular tests are provided or paid for by Her Majesty in right of Canada or an agent of Her Majesty in right of Canada or by Her Majesty in right of a province.

Extraordinary circumstances

(3) A quarantine officer may, in extraordinary circumstances, release any person from the requirement to undergo, when or after entering Canada, the COVID-19 molecular test, in which case the person must follow the instructions of the quarantine officer.

Exempted persons — subsections (1) and (1.2)

(4) Subsections (1) and (1.2) do not apply to

Exempted persons — fully vaccinated persons

(5) Paragraph (1)(b) does not apply to a fully vaccinated person who provides the evidence of COVID-19 vaccination that they are required to provide under this Order.

Alternative testing protocol — on entry

2.4 (1) The persons referred to in subsection (2) who enter Canada must, subject to subsection (3) and in accordance with the instructions of a quarantine officer, undergo a test in accordance with an alternative testing protocol to screen or diagnose COVID-19 for the purpose of minimizing the risk of introduction or spread of COVID-19 and that takes into account the following factors:

Persons subject to alternative testing protocol

(2) The persons undergoing a test in accordance with an alternative testing protocol under subsection (1) are

Extraordinary circumstances

(3) A quarantine officer may, in extraordinary circumstances, release any person from the requirement to undergo a test in accordance with the alternative testing protocol, in which case the person must follow the instructions of the quarantine officer.

Exempted persons — positive result

(4) This section does not apply to a person who receives a positive result for any type of COVID-19 test.

Evidence of COVID-19 molecular test — retention

2.5 (1) Every person who enters Canada must

Designation

(2) The Chief Public Health Officer may designate any person as a public health official for the purposes of paragraph (1)(c).

PART 3

Suitable Quarantine Plan and Other Measures

Suitable quarantine plan

3.1 (1) A suitable quarantine plan must meet the following requirements:

Place of quarantine — conditions

(2) The applicable conditions for the place of quarantine are the following:

Suitable quarantine plan — requirement

3.2 (1) Subject to subsection (2), every person who enters Canada must provide to the Minister of Health, screening officer or quarantine officer a suitable quarantine plan that meets the requirements set out in section 3.1.

Exception — contact information

(2) Instead of providing the suitable quarantine plan, a person referred to in Table 1 of Schedule 2 must provide to the Minister of Health, screening officer or quarantine officer their contact information for the 14-day period that begins on the day on which they enter Canada.

Timing

(3) The person who provides their suitable quarantine plan or their contact information must do so,

Electronic means

(4) A person who enters Canada must provide their suitable quarantine plan or their contact information by electronic means specified by the Minister of Health, unless they are a member of a class of persons who, as determined by the Minister of Health, are unable to provide their plan by those electronic means for a reason such as a disability, inadequate infrastructure, a service disruption or a natural disaster, in which case the plan must be provided in the form and manner and at the time specified by the Minister of Health.

Persons in transit

(5) Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to a person who plans to arrive at a Canadian airport on board an aircraft in order to transit to another country and to remain in a sterile transit area, as defined in section 2 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, until they leave Canada.

Information — countries

3.3 (1) Every person who enters Canada must disclose to the Minister of Health, screening officer or quarantine officer the countries that they were in during the 14-day period before the day on which they enter Canada.

Information and evidence of vaccination

(2) Every person who enters Canada must

Extraordinary circumstances

(3) A quarantine officer may, in extraordinary circumstances, release any person from the requirements referred to in subsection (2), in which case the person must follow the instructions of the quarantine officer.

Elements — evidence of vaccination

(4) Subject to subsection (5), the evidence of COVID-19 vaccination means evidence issued by a non-governmental entity that is authorized to issue the evidence of COVID-19 vaccination in the jurisdiction in which the vaccine was administered, by a government or by an entity authorized by a government, and must contain the following information:

Evidence of vaccination — translation

(5) The evidence of COVID-19 vaccination must be in English or French and any translation into English or French must be a certified translation.

Timing — countries

(6) A person who is required to provide the information referred to in subsection (1) must do so,

Timing — COVID-19 vaccination

(7) A person who is required to provide the information referred to in paragraph (2)(a) or the evidence of COVID-19 vaccination referred to in paragraph (2)(b) must do so,

Electronic means

(8) A person who enters Canada must provide the information referred in subsection (1) and paragraph (2)(a) and the evidence of COVID-19 vaccination referred to in paragraph (2)(b) that they are required to provide by electronic means specified by the Minister of Health, unless they are a member of a class of persons who, as determined by the Minister of Health, are unable to provide their information by those electronic means for a reason such as a disability, inadequate infrastructure, a service disruption or a natural disaster, in which case the information must be provided in the form and manner and at the time specified by the Minister of Health.

Evidence of vaccination — retention

(9) Every person who enters Canada and who is required to provide evidence of COVID-19 vaccination must, during the applicable period referred to in paragraph 2.5(1)(a),

Answers, information and records

(10) Every person who enters Canada must, for the purposes of the administration of this Order, before entering Canada and during the applicable period referred to in 2.5(1)(a),

Designation

(11) The Chief Public Health Officer may designate any person as a public health official.

Mask

3.4 (1) Every person who enters Canada and who is required to quarantine or isolate themselves must, during the applicable period referred to in 2.5(1)(a), wear a mask that a screening officer or quarantine officer considers suitable to minimize the risk of introduction or spread of COVID-19,

Persons not subject to quarantine

(2) Every person who enters Canada and who, under section 4.5, subsection 4.7(1), section 4.8, subsection 4.9(1) or section 4.91, is not required to enter or remain in quarantine must, during the 14-day period that begins on the day on which they enter Canada,

Exempted persons

(3) This section does not apply to

PART 4

Quarantine of Asymptomatic Persons

Requirements — quarantine

4.1 Every person who enters Canada and who does not exhibit signs and symptoms of COVID-19 must quarantine themselves without delay in accordance with the instructions provided by a screening officer or quarantine officer, and remain in quarantine until the expiry of the 14-day period that begins on the day on which the person enters Canada, in a place

Additional requirements

4.2 A person who is required to quarantine under this Order must

Unable to quarantine

4.3 (1) A person who is required to quarantine under this Order is considered unable to quarantine themselves if

Quarantine facility or other suitable place

(2) A person who, at the time of entry into Canada or at any other time during the 14-day period referred to in section 4.1 or subsection 4.92(3), is considered unable to quarantine themselves must

Change of place

(3) A person may, with the authorization of a quarantine officer, leave a quarantine facility before the expiry of the 14-day period that begins on the day on which the person enters Canada or the period referred to in subsection 4.92(3), in order to quarantine themselves in a place that meets the conditions set out in section 4.1 and must, if applicable, meet the requirements set out in section 4.2.

Choice of quarantine facility

(4) In choosing a quarantine facility for the purposes of subsection (2), the Chief Public Health Officer must consider the following factors:

Unable to quarantine — additional requirements

4.4 A person referred to in subsection 4.3(2) or (3) must,

Exempted persons — quarantine

4.5 Sections 4.1 to 4.4 do not apply to a person referred to in Table 1 of Schedule 2 if

Exempted persons — medical reason

4.6 (1) Sections 4.1 to 4.4 do not apply to a person

Accompanying person

(2) If the person exempted from the quarantine requirements under subsection (1) is a dependent child or requires assistance in accessing medical services or treatments, the exception set out in that subsection extends to one other person who accompanies the dependent child or the person requiring assistance.

Other cases

(3) The requirements set out in sections 4.1 to 4.4 do not apply to a person if

Exempted persons — compassionate grounds

4.7 (1) Subject to subsection (3), sections 4.1, 4.3 and 4.4 do not apply to a person if the Minister of Health

Conditions

(2) Subsection (1) applies while the person engages in one of the activities referred to in paragraph (1)(a) and if the person complies with all conditions imposed on them by the Minister of Health to minimize the risk of introduction or spread of COVID-19.

Exempted persons

(3) Subsection (1) does not apply to a person who

Orders made under Quarantine Act

(4) For the purposes of any order made under section 58 of the Quarantine Act, the non-application of sections 4.1, 4.3 and 4.4 under this section is a limited release from the requirement to quarantine on compassionate grounds.

Exempted persons — fully vaccinated persons

4.8 Sections 4.1 to 4.4 do not apply to a fully vaccinated person who enters Canada if

Exempted persons — less than 12 years of age

4.9 (1) Sections 4.1 to 4.4 do not apply to a person who is not a fully vaccinated person, who is less than 12 years of age and who meets the conditions set out in subsection (2).

Conditions

(2) The applicable conditions for the person referred to in subsection (1) are that

Contraindication

4.91 (1) For the purposes of this section, a contraindication to a COVID-19 vaccine dosage regimen is a medical reason that prevents a person in a class of persons from completing a COVID-19 vaccine dosage regimen according to

Exempted persons — persons with contraindications

(2) Sections 4.1 to 4.4 do not apply to a person 12 years of age or older and who is not a fully vaccinated person if

Evidence — translation

(3) The evidence referred to in paragraph (2)(a) must be in English or French and any translation into English or French must be a certified translation.

Evidence — retention

(4) Every person who enters Canada and who is required to have in their possession the evidence referred to in paragraph (2)(a) must, during the applicable period referred to in paragraph 2.5(1)(a),

Signs and symptoms or positive test result

4.92 (1) Every person, other than a person referred to in subsection 4.9(1), who develops signs and symptoms of COVID-19 or receives a positive result for any type of COVID-19 test before the expiry of the 14-day period that begins on the day on which the person enters Canada must

Persons less than 12 years of age

(2) If the person referred to in subsection 4.9(1) develops signs and symptoms of COVID-19 or receives a positive result for any type of COVID-19 test before the expiry of the 14-day period that begins on the day on which the person enters Canada,

Exposure to a person

(3) Every person who enters Canada after travelling with a person who exhibits signs and symptoms of COVID-19 or receives a positive result for any type of COVID-19 test, before the expiry of the 14-day period that begins on the day on which the person enters Canada, must quarantine themselves in a place that meets the conditions set out in section 4.1 and must meet the requirements set out in Part 4 during the 14-day period that begins on the day on which the person was most recently exposed to the other person.

Exception — leaving Canada

4.93 A person to whom section 4.1 or 4.3 or subsection 4.92(3) applies may leave Canada before the expiry of the 14-day period set out in those provisions only if they quarantine themselves until they depart from Canada.

PART 5

Isolation of Symptomatic Persons

Requirements — isolation

5.1 (1) Every person who enters Canada and who has reasonable grounds to suspect they have COVID-19, exhibits signs and symptoms of COVID-19, knows that they have COVID-19 or has received a positive result for any type of COVID-19 test that was performed on a specimen collected within a period of 10 days before the day on which they enter Canada or on the day on which they enter Canada must isolate themselves without delay in accordance with the instructions provided by a screening officer or quarantine officer in a place that meets the conditions set out in subsection (2) and remain in isolation until the expiry of the 10-day period that begins on the day on which the person enters Canada or any other applicable isolation period.

Place of isolation — conditions

(2) The applicable conditions for the place of isolation are the following:

Additional requirements

5.2 A person who is required to isolate under this Order must

Unable to isolate

5.3 (1) A person referred to in subsection 4.92(1) or (2), or 5.1(1) is considered unable to isolate themselves if

Quarantine facility or other suitable place

(2) A person who, at the time of entry into Canada or at any other time during the applicable isolation period referred to in subsection 4.92(1) or (2), or 5.1(1), is considered unable to isolate themselves must

Change of place

(3) A person may, with the authorization of a quarantine officer, leave a quarantine facility before the expiry of the applicable isolation period, in order to isolate themselves in a place that meets the conditions set out in subsection 5.1(2) and must, if applicable, meet the requirements set out in section 5.2.

Choice of quarantine facility

(4) In choosing a quarantine facility for the purposes of subsection (2), the Chief Public Health Officer must consider the factors set out in subsection 4.3(4), with any necessary modifications.

Unable to isolate — additional requirements

5.4 The person referred to in subsection 5.3(2) or (3) must

Exempted persons — medical reason

5.5 (1) Sections 5.1 to 5.4 do not apply to a person who meets the requirements set out in subsection (3)

Accompanying person

(2) If the person to whom isolation requirements do not apply under subsection (1) is a dependent child, the exception in that subsection extends to one other person who accompanies the dependent child.

Requirements

(3) For the purposes of subsection (1) and (2), the person must

Other cases

(4) The requirements set out in sections 5.1 to 5.4 do not apply to a person if

Positive result — requirements

5.6 If the person receives a positive result for any type of COVID-19 test while they isolate themselves for a reason other than having received a positive result for any type of COVID-19 test, the associated requirements continue to apply and the period in progress is replaced by a new 10-day isolation period that begins on

Exception — leaving Canada

5.7 A person who must isolate themselves in accordance with this Order cannot leave Canada before the expiry of the applicable isolation period, except in a private conveyance and at the discretion of and in accordance with the instructions of a quarantine officer.

PART 6

Powers and Obligations

Powers and obligations

6.1 For greater certainty,

PART 7

Cessation of Effect, Repeal and Coming into Force

Cessation of Effect

February 28, 2022

7.1 This Order ceases to have effect at 23:59:59 Eastern Standard Time on February 28, 2022.

Repeal

7.2 The Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 in Canada Order (Quarantine, Isolation and Other Obligations)footnote 3 is repealed.

Coming into Force

January 31, 2022

7.3 This Order comes into force at 00:01:00 Eastern Standard Time on January 31, 2022.

SCHEDULE 1

(Subsections 2.1(2), 2.2(2), 2.21(2) and 2.3(1.1))

Exempted Persons — COVID-19 Molecular Test Before Entering Canada

TABLE 1

Entering by Aircraft

Item

Persons

1

A person who is less than five years of age

2

A crew member, excluding an operator of a commercial motor vehicle for the transport of goods by land who is not a fully vaccinated person

3

A person or any member of a class of persons who complies with all conditions imposed on them by the Chief Public Health Officer to minimize the risk of introduction or spread of COVID-19 and if, as determined by the Chief Public Health Officer,

  • (a) there are compelling reasons, based on public interest, for their entry to provide an essential service; and
  • (b) the requirement referred to in subsection 2.1(1) of this Order would adversely affect the ability of the person or member of a class of persons to provide the essential service

4

A person who is permitted to work in Canada as a provider of emergency services under paragraph 186(t) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations and who enters Canada for the purpose of providing those services

5

An emergency service provider, including a firefighter, peace officer or paramedic, who returns to Canada after providing emergency services in a foreign country and who is required to provide their services within the 14-day period that begins on the day on which they enter Canada

6

An official of the Government of Canada or a foreign government, including a border services officer, immigration enforcement officer, law enforcement officer or correctional officer, who is escorting an individual entering or leaving Canada pursuant to a legal process such as an international transfer of an offender or deportation or extradition of a person

7

An official of the Government of Canada, the government of a province or a foreign government, including a border services officer, immigration enforcement officer, law enforcement officer or correctional officer, who enters Canada for the purposes of border, immigration or law enforcement, or national security activities, that support active investigations, ensure the continuity of enforcement operations or activities or enable the transfer of information or evidence pursuant to or in support of a legal process

8

A person or any member of a class of persons for whom the release from the requirement set out in subsection 2.1(1) of this Order to provide evidence of a COVID-19 molecular test is, as determined by the Minister of Health, in the national interest, if the person complies with all conditions imposed on them by the Minister of Health to minimize the risk of introduction or spread of COVID-19

9

A member of the Canadian Forces, who enters Canada for the purpose of performing their duties as a member of those forces

10

A member of an air crew of a visiting force, as defined in section 2 of the Visiting Forces Act, who enters Canada for the purpose of performing mission-essential duties as a member of that force

11

A person who returns to Canada after suffering hardship in a foreign country, as determined by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, if the person complies with all conditions imposed on them by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and developed in consultation with the Minister of Health to minimize the risk of introduction or spread of COVID-19

12

A Canadian citizen, permanent resident of Canada, temporary resident, protected person or person registered as an Indian under the Indian Act who resides in Canada and who received essential medical services or treatments in a foreign country, if the person has

  • (a) written evidence from a health care practitioner in Canada who is licensed to practise their profession in Canada, indicating that the medical services or treatments outside Canada are essential, unless the services or treatments are for primary or emergency medical services under an agreement with another jurisdiction; and
  • (b) written evidence from a health care practitioner in the foreign country who is licensed to practise their profession in the foreign country, indicating that the services or treatments were provided in that country

13

A person who, as determined by the Minister of Transport, will respond to, investigate or prevent significant disruptions to the effective continued operation of the national transportation system, transportation undertakings or transportation infrastructure, if the person complies with all conditions imposed on them by the Minister of Transport and developed in consultation with the Minister of Health to minimize the risk of introduction or spread of COVID-19

14

A person who, as determined by the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, will respond to, investigate or prevent events related to national security, if the person complies with all conditions imposed on them by the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness and developed in consultation with the Minister of Health to minimize the risk of introduction or spread of COVID-19

15

A person who enters Canada by aircraft and who is not required under the Aeronautics Act to provide the evidence referred to in subsection 2.1(1) of this Order

16

Any person who takes a medical evacuation flight for medical purposes, if the urgency of the medical situation does not permit a COVID-19 molecular test to be administered to the person before boarding the aircraft for the flight to Canada

17

A Canadian citizen, permanent resident of Canada, temporary resident, protected person or person registered as an Indian under the Indian Act who resides in Canada, who has been denied entry into a foreign country and who must board a flight destined to Canada

18

A person who plans to arrive at a Canadian airport on board an aircraft in order to transit to another country and to remain in a sterile transit area, as defined in section 2 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, until they leave Canada

19

A person who enters Canada regularly to go to their normal place of employment or returns from their normal place of employment in another country and who, if they are not a fully vaccinated person, does not directly care for persons 65 years of age or older within the 14-day period that begins on the day on which the person enters Canada

20

A person who made a claim for refugee protection when entering Canada from the United States

21

An operator of a commercial motor vehicle who seeks to enter Canada for the purpose of delivering by land medically necessary supplies, equipment or devices

TABLE 2

Entering by Land

Item

Persons

1

A person who is less than five years of age

2

A crew member, excluding an operator of a commercial motor vehicle for the transport of goods by land who is not a fully vaccinated person

3

A person or any member of a class of persons who complies with all conditions imposed on them by the Chief Public Health Officer to minimize the risk of introduction or spread of COVID-19 and if, as determined by the Chief Public Health Officer,

  • (a) there are compelling reasons, based on public interest, for their entry to provide an essential service; and
  • (b) the requirements referred to in subsection 2.2(1) of this Order would adversely affect the ability of the person or member of a class of persons to provide the essential service

4

A person who is permitted to work in Canada as a provider of emergency services under paragraph 186(t) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations and who enters Canada for the purpose of providing those services

5

An emergency service provider, including a firefighter, peace officer or paramedic, who returns to Canada after providing emergency services in a foreign country and who is required to provide their services within the 14-day period that begins on the day on which they enter Canada

6

An official of the Government of Canada or a foreign government, including a border services officer, immigration enforcement officer, law enforcement officer or correctional officer, who is escorting an individual entering or leaving Canada pursuant to a legal process such as an international transfer of an offender or deportation or extradition of a person

7

An official of the Government of Canada, the government of a province or a foreign government, including a border services officer, immigration enforcement officer, law enforcement officer or correctional officer, who enters Canada for the purposes of border, immigration or law enforcement, or national security activities, that support active investigations, ensure the continuity of enforcement operations or activities or enable the transfer of information or evidence pursuant to or in support of a legal process

8

A person or any member of a class of persons for whom the release from the requirements set out in subsection 2.2(1) of this Order is, as determined by the Minister of Health, in the national interest, if the person complies with all conditions imposed on them by the Minister of Health to minimize the risk of introduction or spread of COVID-19

9

A member of the Canadian Forces, who enters Canada for the purpose of performing their duties as a member of those forces

10

A person who returns to Canada after suffering hardship in a foreign country, as determined by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, if the person complies with all conditions imposed on them by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and developed in consultation with the Minister of Health to minimize the risk of introduction or spread of COVID-19

11

A Canadian citizen, permanent resident of Canada, temporary resident, protected person or person registered as an Indian under the Indian Act who resides in Canada and who received essential medical services or treatments in a foreign country, if the person has

  • (a) written evidence from a health care practitioner in Canada who is licensed to practise their profession in Canada, indicating that the medical services or treatments outside Canada are essential, unless the services or treatments are for primary or emergency medical services under an agreement with another jurisdiction; and
  • (b) written evidence from a health care practitioner in the foreign country who is licensed to practise their profession in the foreign country, indicating that the services or treatments were provided in that country

12

A person in the trade or transportation sector who is important for the movement of goods or people, who enters Canada for the purpose of performing their duties as a member of that sector, excluding an operator of a commercial motor vehicle for the transport of goods by land who is not a fully vaccinated person

13

A person who enters Canada at a land border crossing in either of the following circumstances:

  • (a) the person was denied entry into the United States at the land border crossing;
  • (b) the person entered the territory of the United States but did not seek legal entry into the United States at the land border crossing

14

A person who enters Canada regularly to go to their normal place of employment or returns from their normal place of employment in the United States and who, if they are not a fully vaccinated person, does not directly care for persons 65 years of age or older within the 14-day period that begins on the day on which the person enters Canada

15

A habitual resident of the remote communities of Northwest Angle, Minnesota or Point Roberts, Washington, who enters Canada to access the mainland United States or to return to their place of residence if neither they nor any other person in the conveyance leave the conveyance while in Canada

16

A habitual resident of the remote communities of Hyder, Alaska, Northwest Angle, Minnesota or Point Roberts, Washington, who seeks to enter Canada to carry out everyday functions within neighbouring communities of their community, if the person intends to remain in those communities while in Canada and does not intend to transit from Canada to a community in the United States other than their community or to another country

17

A habitual resident of the remote community of Campobello Island, New Brunswick who returns to Campobello Island after carrying out everyday functions within neighbouring communities of their community that are in the United States, if the person remains in those communities while in the United States

18

A fully vaccinated person who enters Canada from the remote communities of Hyder, Alaska, Northwest Angle, Minnesota or Point Roberts, Washington

19

A fully vaccinated person who

  • (a) enters the remote community of Campobello Island, New Brunswick by land via the United States after having left mainland Canada; or
  • (b) enters mainland Canada by land via the United States after having left Campobello island, New Brunswick

20

A habitual resident of Akwesasne, which is an integrated transborder community that exists on both sides of the Canada-United States border, who enters Canada within the boundaries of that community, if entering Canada is necessary for carrying out everyday functions within that community

21

A person who enters Canada to return to their habitual place of residence in Canada after carrying out everyday functions that, due to geographical constraints, necessarily involve entering the United States

22

A student who is enrolled at a listed institution within the meaning of any order made under section 58 of the Quarantine Act, who attends that institution regularly and who enters Canada to go to that institution, if the government of the province and the local health authority of the place where that institution is located have indicated to the Public Health Agency of Canada that the institution is authorized to accommodate students who are exempted from sections 4.1 and 4.3 of this Order

23

A driver of a conveyance who enters Canada to drop off a student enrolled in an institution referred to in item 22 or to pick the student up from that institution, if the driver leaves the conveyance while in Canada, if at all, only to escort the student to or from that institution and they wear a mask while outside the conveyance

24

A student who is enrolled at an educational institution in the United States, who attends that institution regularly and who enters Canada to return to their habitual place of residence after attending that institution and who, if they are not a fully vaccinated person, does not directly care for persons 65 years of age or older within the 14-day period that begins on the day on which the person enters Canada

25

A driver of a conveyance who enters Canada after dropping off a student enrolled in an institution referred to in item 24 or picking the student up from that institution and who enters Canada to return to their habitual place of residence after dropping off or picking up that student, if the driver left the conveyance while outside Canada, if at all, only to escort the student to or from that institution and they wore a mask while outside the conveyance

26

A dependent child who enters Canada under the terms of a written agreement or court order regarding custody, access or parenting

27

A driver of a conveyance who enters Canada to drop off or pick up a dependent child under the terms of a written agreement or court order regarding custody, access or parenting, if the driver leaves the conveyance while in Canada, if at all, only to escort the dependent child to or from the conveyance and they wear a mask while outside the conveyance

28

A driver of a conveyance who enters Canada after dropping off or picking up a dependent child under the terms of a written agreement or court order regarding custody, access or parenting, if the driver left the conveyance while outside Canada, if at all, only to escort the dependent child to or from the conveyance and they wore a mask while outside the conveyance

29

A habitual resident of the remote community of Stewart, British Columbia who enters Canada after having been in the United States only to access the necessities of life from the closest American community where such necessities of life are available

30

A person who, as determined by the Minister of Transport, will respond to, investigate or prevent significant disruptions to the effective continued operation of the national transportation system, transportation undertakings or transportation infrastructure, if the person complies with all conditions imposed on them by the Minister of Transport and developed in consultation with the Minister of Health to minimize the risk of introduction or spread of COVID-19

31

A person who, as determined by the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, will respond to, investigate or prevent events related to national security, if the person complies with all conditions imposed on them by the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness and developed in consultation with the Minister of Health to minimize the risk of introduction or spread of COVID-19

32

A person who, in extraordinary circumstances, is released by a quarantine officer from the requirements referred to in subsection 2.2(1) of this Order, in which case the person must follow the instructions of the quarantine officer

33

A habitual resident of a place in Alaska who enters Canada via Yukon to access another place in Alaska or to return to their place of residence if neither they nor any other person in the conveyance leave the conveyance while in Canada

34

A person who made a claim for refugee protection when entering Canada from the United States

35

An operator of a commercial motor vehicle who seeks to enter Canada for the purpose of delivering by land medically necessary supplies, equipment or devices

TABLE 3

Entering by Water

Item

Persons

1

A person who is less than five years of age

2

A crew member, excluding an operator of a commercial motor vehicle for the transport of goods by land who is not a fully vaccinated person

3

A person or any member of a class of persons who complies with all conditions imposed on them by the Chief Public Health Officer to minimize the risk of introduction or spread of COVID-19 and if, as determined by the Chief Public Health Officer,

  • (a) there are compelling reasons, based on public interest, for their entry to provide an essential service; and
  • (b) the requirements referred to in subsection 2.21(1) of this Order would adversely affect the ability of the person or member of a class of persons to provide the essential service

4

A person who is permitted to work in Canada as a provider of emergency services under paragraph 186(t) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations and who enters Canada for the purpose of providing those services

5

An emergency service provider, including a firefighter, peace officer or paramedic, who returns to Canada after providing emergency services in a foreign country and who is required to provide their services within the 14-day period that begins on the day on which they enter Canada

6

An official of the Government of Canada or a foreign government, including a border services officer, immigration enforcement officer, law enforcement officer or correctional officer, who is escorting an individual entering or leaving Canada pursuant to a legal process such as an international transfer of an offender or deportation or extradition of a person

7

An official of the Government of Canada, the government of a province or a foreign government, including a border services officer, immigration enforcement officer, law enforcement officer or correctional officer, who enters Canada for the purposes of border, immigration or law enforcement, or national security activities, that support active investigations, ensure the continuity of enforcement operations or activities or enable the transfer of information or evidence pursuant to or in support of a legal process

8

A person or any member of a class of persons for whom the release from the requirements set out in subsection 2.21(1) of this Order is, as determined by the Minister of Health, in the national interest, if the person complies with all conditions imposed on them by the Minister of Health to minimize the risk of introduction or spread of COVID-19

9

A member of the Canadian Forces, who enters Canada for the purpose of performing their duties as a member of those forces

10

A person who returns to Canada after suffering hardship in a foreign country, as determined by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, if the person complies with all conditions imposed on them by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and developed in consultation with the Minister of Health to minimize the risk of introduction or spread of COVID-19

11

A person in the trade or transportation sector who is important for the movement of goods or people who enters Canada for the purpose of performing their duties as a member of that sector, excluding an operator of a commercial motor vehicle for the transport of goods by land who is not a fully vaccinated person

12

A person who enters Canada regularly to go to their normal place of employment or returns from their normal place of employment in the United States and who, if they are not a fully vaccinated person, does not directly care for persons 65 years of age or older within the 14-day period that begins on the day on which the person enters Canada

13

A habitual resident of the remote communities of Hyder, Alaska, Northwest Angle, Minnesota or Point Roberts, Washington, who seeks to enter Canada to carry out everyday functions within neighbouring communities of their community, if the person remains in those communities while in Canada and does not intend to transit from Canada to a community in the United States other than their community or to another country

14

A habitual resident of the remote community of Campobello Island, New Brunswick who returns to Campobello Island after carrying out everyday functions within neighbouring communities of their community that are in the United States, if the person remained in those communities while in the United States

15

A habitual resident of Akwesasne, which is an integrated transborder community that exists on both sides of the Canada-United States border, who enters Canada within the boundaries of that community, if entering Canada is necessary for carrying out everyday functions within that community

16

A person who enters Canada to return to their habitual place of residence in Canada after carrying out everyday functions that, due to geographical constraints, necessarily involve entering the United States

17

A habitual resident of the remote community of Stewart, British Columbia who enters Canada after having been in the United States only to access the necessities of life from the closest American community where such necessities of life are available

18

A person who, as determined by the Minister of Transport, will respond to, investigate or prevent significant disruptions to the effective continued operation of the national transportation system, transportation undertakings or transportation infrastructure, if the person complies with all conditions imposed on them by the Minister of Transport and developed in consultation with the Minister of Health to minimize the risk of introduction or spread of COVID-19

19

A person who, as determined by the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, will respond to, investigate or prevent events related to national security, if the person complies with all conditions imposed on them by the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness and developed in consultation with the Minister of Health to minimize the risk of introduction or spread of COVID-19

20

A person who, in extraordinary circumstances, is released by a quarantine officer from the requirements referred to in subsection 2.21(1) of this Order, in which case the person must follow the instructions of the quarantine officer

21

A habitual resident of a place in Alaska who enters Canada via Yukon to access another place in Alaska or to return to their place of residence if neither they nor any other person in the conveyance leave the conveyance while in Canada

22

A person who enters Canada by water on board a Safety Convention vessel as defined in section 2 of the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, that is not a pleasure craft as defined in that section, nor a vessel that carries passengers, if the Safety Convention vessel has been travelling for more than 72 hours before arriving at its destination in Canada

23

A person who made a claim for refugee protection when entering Canada from the United States

24

An operator of a commercial motor vehicle who seeks to enter Canada for the purpose of delivering by land medically necessary supplies, equipment or devices

SCHEDULE 2

(Subsections 2.3(4) and 3.2(2) and section 4.5)

Exempted Persons — Various Requirements

TABLE 1

Quarantine

Item

Persons

1

A person referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) of the definition crew member in section 1.1 of this Order, excluding an operator of a commercial motor vehicle for the transport of goods by land who is not a fully vaccinated person

2

A person who enters Canada at the invitation of the Minister of Health for the purpose of assisting in the COVID-19 response

3

A member of the Canadian Forces or a visiting force, as defined in section 2 of the Visiting Forces Act, who enters Canada for the purpose of performing their duties as a member of that force

4

A person or any member of a class of persons who complies with all conditions imposed on them by the Chief Public Health Officer to minimize the risk of introduction or spread of COVID-19 and if, as determined by the Chief Public Health Officer,

  • (a) there are compelling reasons, based on public interest, for their entry to provide an essential service; and
  • (b) the requirement to quarantine themselves in accordance with section 4.1 of this Order would adversely affect the ability of the person to provide the essential service

5

A person or any member of a class of persons for whom the release from the requirements set out in section 4.1 of this Order to quarantine themselves, as determined by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration or the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, is in the national interest, if the person complies with all conditions imposed on them by the relevant Minister and developed in consultation with the Minister of Health to minimize the risk of introduction or spread of COVID-19

6

A person who is permitted to work in Canada as a provider of emergency services under paragraph 186(t) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations and who enters Canada for the purpose of providing those services

7

A person who enters Canada for the purpose of providing medical care, transporting or collecting essential medical equipment, supplies or means of treatment, or delivering, installing, maintaining or repairing medically necessary equipment or devices and who, if they are not a fully vaccinated person, does not directly care for persons 65 years of age or older within the 14-day period that begins on the day on which the person enters Canada

8

A person who enters Canada for the purpose of receiving essential medical services or treatments, other than services or treatments related to COVID-19, within 36 hours following their entry into Canada, or within 96 hours following their entry into Canada if the person resides in Saint Pierre and Miquelon as long as they remain under medical supervision for the 14-day period that begins on the day on which they enter Canada

9

A Canadian citizen, permanent resident of Canada, temporary resident, protected person or person registered as an Indian under the Indian Act who resides in Canada and who received essential medical services or treatments in a foreign country, if the person has

  • (a) written evidence from a health care practitioner in Canada who is licensed to practise their profession in Canada, indicating that the medical services or treatments outside Canada are essential, unless the services or treatments are for primary or emergency medical services under an agreement with another jurisdiction; and
 
  • (b) written evidence from a health care practitioner in the foreign country who is licensed to practise their profession in the foreign country, indicating that the services or treatments were provided in that country

10

A person who is permitted to work in Canada as a student in a health field under paragraph 186(p) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations and who enters Canada for the purpose of performing their duties as a student in the health field and who, if they are not a fully vaccinated person, does not directly care for persons 65 years of age or older within the 14-day period that begins on the day on which the person enters Canada

11

A health care practitioner licensed to practise their profession with proof of employment in Canada who enters Canada for the purpose of performing their duties as a practitioner and who, if they are not a fully vaccinated person, does not directly care for persons 65 years of age or older within the 14-day period that begins on the day on which the person enters Canada

12

A person, including a captain, deckhand, observer, inspector, scientist and any other person supporting commercial or research fishing-related activities, who enters Canada on board a Canadian fishing vessel or a foreign fishing vessel, as those terms are defined in subsection 2(1) of the Coastal Fisheries Protection Act, for the purpose of carrying out fishing or fishing-related activities, including offloading of fish, repairs, provisioning of the vessel and exchange of crew

13

A habitual resident of Akwesasne, which is an integrated transborder community that exists on both sides of the Canada-United States border, who enters Canada within the boundaries of that community, if entering Canada is necessary for carrying out everyday functions within that community

14

A person who enters Canada to return to their habitual place of residence in Canada after carrying out everyday functions that, due to geographical constraints, necessarily involve entering the United States

15

A person who enters Canada on board a vessel, as defined in section 2 of the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, that is engaged in research and that is operated by or under the authority of the Government of Canada or at its request or operated by the government of a province, a local authority or a government, council or other entity authorized to act on behalf of an Indigenous group, if the person remains on board the vessel

16

A student who is enrolled at a listed institution within the meaning of any order made under section 58 of the Quarantine Act, who attends that institution regularly and who enters Canada to go to that institution, if the government of the province and the local health authority of the place where that institution is located have indicated to the Public Health Agency of Canada that the institution is authorized to accommodate students who are exempted from sections 4.1 and 4.3 of this Order

17

A driver of a conveyance who enters Canada to drop off a student enrolled in an institution referred to in item 16 or to pick the student up from that institution, if the driver leaves the conveyance while in Canada, if at all, only to escort the student to or from that institution and they wear a mask while outside the conveyance

18

A student who is enrolled at an educational institution in the United States, who attends that institution regularly and who enters Canada to return to their habitual place of residence after attending that institution and who, if they are not a fully vaccinated person, does not directly care for persons 65 years of age or older within the 14-day period that begins on the day on which the person enters Canada

19

A driver of a conveyance who enters Canada after dropping off a student enrolled in an institution referred to in item 18 or picking the student up from that institution and who enters Canada to return to their habitual place of residence after dropping off or picking up that student, if the driver left the conveyance while outside Canada, if at all, only to escort the student to or from that institution and they wore a mask while outside the conveyance

20

A dependent child who enters Canada under the terms of a written agreement or court order regarding custody, access or parenting

21

A driver of a conveyance who enters Canada to drop off or pick up a dependent child under the terms of a written agreement or court order regarding custody, access or parenting, if the driver leaves the conveyance while in Canada, if at all, only to escort the dependent child to or from the conveyance and they wear a mask while outside the conveyance

22

A driver of a conveyance who enters Canada after dropping off or picking up a dependent child under the terms of a written agreement or court order regarding custody, access or parenting, if the driver left the conveyance while outside Canada, if at all, only to escort the dependent child to or from the conveyance and they wore a mask while outside the conveyance

23

A habitual resident of the remote communities of Hyder, Alaska, Northwest Angle, Minnesota or Point Roberts, Washington, who enters Canada to carry out everyday functions within neighbouring communities of their community, if the person remains in those communities while in Canada and does not transit from Canada to a community in the United States other than their community or to another country

24

A habitual resident of the remote community of Campobello Island, New Brunswick who returns to Campobello Island after carrying out everyday functions within neighbouring communities of their community that are in the United States, if the person remains in those communities while in the United States

25

A habitual resident of the remote community of Stewart, British Columbia who enters Canada after having entered the United States only to access the necessities of life from the closest American community where such necessities of life are available

26

A person who enters Canada in a conveyance at a land border crossing in either of the following circumstances, if neither the person nor any other person in the conveyance left the conveyance while outside Canada:

  • (a) the person was denied entry into the United States at the land border crossing;
  • (b) the person entered the territory of the United States but did not seek legal entry into the United States at the land border crossing

27

A person who, under an arrangement entered into between the Minister of Health and the minister responsible for health care in the province where the person enters Canada, is participating in a project to gather information to inform the development of quarantine requirements other than those set out in this Order, if the person complies with all conditions imposed on them by the Minister of Health to minimize the risk of introduction or spread of COVID-19

28

A person or any person in a class of persons for whom the release from the requirements set out in section 4.1 of this Order to quarantine themselves, as determined by the Chief Public Health Officer, does not pose a risk of significant harm to public health, if the person complies with all conditions imposed on them by the Chief Public Health Officer to minimize the risk of introduction or spread of COVID-19

TABLE 2

Undergoing Tests in Canada

Item

Persons

1

A person referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) of the definition crew member in section 1.1 of this Order, excluding an operator of a commercial motor vehicle for the transport of goods by land who is not a fully vaccinated person

2

A person who enters Canada at the invitation of the Minister of Health for the purpose of assisting in the COVID-19 response

3

A member of the Canadian Forces or a visiting force, as defined in section 2 of the Visiting Forces Act, who enters Canada for the purpose of performing their duties as a member of that force

4

A person or any member of a class of persons who complies with all conditions imposed on them by the Chief Public Health Officer to minimize the risk of introduction or spread of COVID-19 and if, as determined by the Chief Public Health Officer,

  • (a) there are compelling reasons, based on public interest, for their entry to provide an essential service; and
  • (b) the requirement to undergo a COVID-19 molecular test in accordance with subsection 2.3(1) or (1.2) of this Order would adversely affect the ability of the person or member of a class of persons to provide the essential service

5

A person or any member of a class of persons referred to in item 5 of Table 1 of Schedule 2 for whom the release from the requirement set out in subsection 2.3(1) or (1.2) of this Order to undergo a COVID-19 molecular test is, as determined by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration or the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, in the national interest, if the person complies with all conditions imposed on them by the relevant Minister and developed in consultation with the Minister of Health to minimize the risk of introduction or spread of COVID-19

6

A person who is permitted to work in Canada as a provider of emergency services under paragraph 186(t) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations and who enters Canada for the purpose of providing those services

7

A person who enters Canada for the purpose of providing medical care, transporting or collecting essential medical equipment, supplies or means of treatment, or delivering, installing, maintaining or repairing medically necessary equipment or devices and who, if they are not a fully vaccinated person, does not directly care for persons 65 years of age or older within the 14-day period that begins on the day on which the person enters Canada

8

A person who enters Canada for the purpose of receiving essential medical services or treatments, other than services or treatments related to COVID-19, within 36 hours following their entry into Canada, or within 96 hours following their entry into Canada if the person resides in Saint Pierre and Miquelon as long as they remain under medical supervision for the 14-day period that begins on the day on which they enter Canada

9

A Canadian citizen, permanent resident of Canada, temporary resident, protected person or person registered as an Indian under the Indian Act who resides in Canada and who received essential medical services or treatments in a foreign country, if the person has

  • (a) written evidence from a health care practitioner in Canada who is licensed to practise their profession in Canada, indicating that the medical services or treatments outside Canada are essential, unless the services or treatments are for primary or emergency medical services under an agreement with another jurisdiction; and
  • (b) written evidence from a health care practitioner in the foreign country who is licensed to practise their profession in the foreign country, indicating that the services or treatments were provided in that country

10

A person who is permitted to work in Canada as a student in a health field under paragraph 186(p) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations and who enters Canada for the purpose of performing their duties as a student in the health field and who, if they are not a fully vaccinated person, does not directly care for persons 65 years of age or older within the 14-day period that begins on the day on which the person enters Canada

11

A health care practitioner licensed to practise their profession with proof of employment in Canada who enters Canada for the purpose of performing their duties as a practitioner and who, if they are not a fully vaccinated person, does not directly care for persons 65 years of age or older within the 14-day period that begins on the day on which the person enters Canada

12

A person, including a captain, deckhand, observer, inspector, scientist and any other person supporting commercial or research fishing-related activities, who enters Canada on board a Canadian fishing vessel or a foreign fishing vessel, as those terms are defined in subsection 2(1) of the Coastal Fisheries Protection Act, for the purpose of carrying out fishing or fishing-related activities, including offloading of fish, repairs, provisioning of the vessel and exchange of crew

13

A habitual resident of Akwesasne, which is an integrated transborder community that exists on both sides of the Canada-United States border, who enters Canada within the boundaries of that community, if entering Canada is necessary for carrying out everyday functions within that community

14

A person who enters Canada to return to their habitual place of residence in Canada after carrying out everyday functions that, due to geographical constraints, necessarily involve entering the United States

15

A person who enters Canada on board a vessel, as defined in section 2 of the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, that is engaged in research and that is operated by or under the authority of the Government of Canada or at its request or operated by the government of a province, a local authority or a government, council or other entity authorized to act on behalf of an Indigenous group, if the person remains on board the vessel

16

A student who is enrolled at a listed institution within the meaning of any order made under section 58 of the Quarantine Act, who attends that institution regularly and who enters Canada to go to that institution, if the government of the province and the local health authority of the place where that institution is located have indicated to the Public Health Agency of Canada that the institution is authorized to accommodate students who are exempted from sections 4.1 and 4.3 of this Order

17

A driver of a conveyance who enters Canada to drop off a student enrolled in an institution referred to in item 16 or to pick the student up from that institution, if the driver leaves the conveyance while in Canada, if at all, only to escort the student to or from that institution and they wear a mask while outside the conveyance

18

A student who is enrolled at an educational institution in the United States, who attends that institution regularly and who enters Canada to return to their habitual place of residence after attending that institution and who, if they are not a fully vaccinated person, does not directly care for persons 65 years of age or older within the 14-day period that begins on the day on which the person enters Canada

19

A driver of a conveyance who enters Canada after dropping off a student enrolled in an institution referred to in item 18 or picking the student up from that institution and who enters Canada to return to their habitual place of residence after dropping off or picking up that student, if the driver left the conveyance while outside Canada, if at all, only to escort the student to or from that institution and they wore a mask while outside the conveyance

20

A dependent child who enters Canada under the terms of a written agreement or court order regarding custody, access or parenting

21

A driver of a conveyance who enters Canada to drop off or pick up a dependent child under the terms of a written agreement or court order regarding custody, access or parenting, if the driver leaves the conveyance while in Canada, if at all, only to escort the dependent child to or from the conveyance and they wear a mask while outside the conveyance

22

A driver of a conveyance who enters Canada after dropping off or picking up a dependent child under the terms of a written agreement or court order regarding custody, access or parenting, if the driver left the conveyance while outside Canada, if at all, only to escort the dependent child to or from the conveyance and they wore a mask while outside the conveyance

23

A habitual resident of the remote community of Stewart, British Columbia who enters Canada after having entered the United States only to access the necessities of life from the closest American community where such necessities of life are available

24

A habitual resident of the remote communities of Hyder, Alaska, Northwest Angle, Minnesota or Point Roberts, Washington, who enters Canada to carry out everyday functions within neighbouring communities of their community, if the person remains in those communities while in Canada and does not transit from Canada to a community in the United States other than their community or to another country

25

A habitual resident of the remote community of Campobello Island, New Brunswick who returns to Campobello Island after carrying out everyday functions within neighbouring communities of their community that are in the United States, if the person remained in those communities while in the United States

26

A person who enters Canada in a conveyance at a land border crossing in either of the following circumstances, if neither the person nor any other person in the conveyance left the conveyance while outside Canada:

  • (a) the person was denied entry into the United States at the land border crossing;
  • (b) the person entered the territory of the United States but did not seek legal entry into the United States at the land border crossing

27

A person who, under an arrangement entered into between the Minister of Health and the minister responsible for health care in the province where the person enters Canada, is participating in a project to gather information to inform the development of quarantine requirements other than those set out in this Order, if the person complies with all conditions imposed on them by the Minister of Health to minimize the risk of introduction or spread of COVID-19

28

A person or any person in a class of persons for whom the release from the requirement set out in subsection 2.3(1) or (1.2) of this Order to undergo a COVID-19 molecular test does not, as determined by the Chief Public Health Officer, pose a risk of significant harm to public health, if the person complies with all conditions imposed on them by the Chief Public Health Officer to minimize the risk of introduction or spread of COVID-19

29

A person who is less than five years of age

30

A person who provides to the screening officer or quarantine officer evidence of a COVID-19 molecular test indicating that they received a positive result for a COVID-19 molecular test that was performed on a specimen collected at least 10 days and no more than 180 days before their entry into Canada or before the aircraft’s initial scheduled departure time

31

Any person who boards a medical evacuation flight for medical purposes, if the urgency of the medical situation does not permit a COVID-19 molecular test on entry into Canada

32

Any person who undergoes a test referred to in subsection 2.4(1) of this Order

33

A habitual resident of Northwest Angle, Minnesota or Point Roberts, Washington, who enters Canada to access the mainland United States or to return to their place of residence if neither they nor any other person in the conveyance leave the conveyance while in Canada

34

A person or any member of a class of persons for whom the release from the requirement set out in subsection 2.3(1) or (1.2) of this Order to undergo a COVID-19 molecular test in Canada is, as determined by the Minister of Health, in the national interest, if the person complies with all conditions imposed on them by the Minister of Health to minimize the risk of introduction or spread of COVID-19

35

A person who, as determined by the Minister of Transport, will respond to, investigate or prevent significant disruptions to the effective continued operation of the national transportation system, transportation undertakings or transportation infrastructure, if the person complies with all conditions imposed on them by the Minister of Transport and developed in consultation with the Minister of Health to minimize the risk of introduction or spread of COVID-19

36

A person who, as determined by the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, will respond to, investigate or prevent events related to national security, if the person complies with all conditions imposed on them by the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness and developed in consultation with the Minister of Health to minimize the risk of introduction or spread of COVID-19

37

An accredited person and a person holding a D1, O1 or C1 visa entering Canada to take up a post and become an accredited person

38

A diplomatic or consular courier

39

A habitual resident of a place in Alaska who enters Canada via Yukon to access another place in Alaska or to return to their place of residence if neither they nor any other person in the conveyance leave the conveyance while in Canada

40

A person who enters Canada by water

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order.)

Proposal

This Order in Council, entitled Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 in Canada Order (Quarantine, Isolation and Other Obligations), is made pursuant to section 58 of the Quarantine Act.

The Order repeals and replaces the Order in Council P.C. 2021-1050 of the same title, which came into force on December 21, 2021.

This Order complements the Order in Council entitled Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 in Canada Order (Prohibition of Entry into Canada), and any related interim order made under the Aeronautics Act to minimize the risk of importing COVID-19.

This Order will be in effect from 00:01:00 EST on January 31, 2022, until 23:59:59 EST on February 28, 2022.

Objective

This Order, like its predecessor, maintains Canada’s focus on reducing the introduction and further spread of COVID-19 and new variants of the virus into Canada by decreasing the risk of importing cases from outside the country.

This Order continues to require all persons who enter Canada, whether by air, land, or water, to provide accurate contact information for the first 14 days in Canada, and to answer questions to determine if they have signs or symptoms of COVID-19. The Order maintains all requirements for unvaccinated travellers, subject to limited exceptions, to have a negative COVID-19 molecular test result before entering Canada (or positive result in some cases), to undergo testing when entering and once again later in the 14-day post-entry period, and to quarantine upon entry into Canada. Under this Order, mandatory traveller declarations on vaccination status, proof of vaccination, symptom monitoring, and testing requirements for fully vaccinated persons remain.

All changes to the Order are described under the “Implications” section. The new Order extends the duration of the measures until February 28, 2022.

Background

COVID-19

COVID-19 is caused by a novel coronavirus capable of causing severe illness, named Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Although it is part of a family of viruses that includes Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), SARS-CoV-2 is more contagious.

COVID-19 was first detected in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease is caused by a new strain of coronavirus never before seen in humans. Information about the virus, how it causes disease, whom it affects, and how to appropriately treat or prevent illness has been developing over the past two years.

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, spreads from an infected person to others through respiratory droplets and aerosols when an infected person breathes, coughs, sneezes, sings, shouts, or talks. The droplets vary in size, from large droplets that fall to the ground rapidly (within seconds or minutes) near the infected person, to smaller aerosols, which linger in the air.

COVID-19 has been clearly demonstrated to be a severe, life-threatening respiratory disease. Patients with COVID-19 present symptoms that may include fever, malaise, dry cough, shortness of breath, and damage to the lungs. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and death. Older individuals and those with a weakened immune system or an underlying medical condition are at a higher risk of severe disease. The time from exposure to onset of symptoms is currently estimated to be up to 14 days, with a median of 5 to 6 days, although evidence suggests this could be shorter for the Omicron variant of concern (Omicron). The time period in which an individual with COVID-19 can transmit the virus is determined to be at a maximum of 10 days after symptom onset for immunocompetent people who have COVID-19.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared an outbreak of what is now known as COVID-19 to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on January 30, 2020, and a pandemic on March 11, 2020. COVID-19 has demonstrated that it can cause widespread illness if not contained. The WHO continues to provide technical guidance and advice to countries for containing the pandemic, including identification of cases and recommendations for measures to prevent further spread. Since September 2020, multiple countries have detected SARS-CoV-2 variants whose mutations may increase pathogenicity and/or transmissibility, and potentially reduce vaccine effectiveness; these are referred to as variants of concern. The introduction of the new, more transmissible variants of concern of the virus causing COVID-19 has further worsened the negative health impacts of COVID-19.

Testing

Testing capabilities advanced significantly in early 2021. Over 197 countries and territories require a negative pre-travel COVID-19 test or medical certificate as a condition of entry into their jurisdictions. The United States (U.S.), for instance, currently requires that all travellers, regardless of vaccination status, arriving by air to the United States produce evidence of a negative pre-departure molecular or antigen test, taken no more than one day prior to boarding a flight to the United States. The United States does not currently require testing for entry at the land border.

COVID-19 molecular testing, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) tests, has a higher sensitivity for detecting COVID-19 over the duration of infection. It is also able to detect most symptomatic and asymptomatic infections. An antigen test is more likely to miss a COVID-19 infection compared to a molecular test, such as a PCR test. Therefore, molecular tests are more accurate for use in pre-departure screening.

Available science demonstrates that, as is the case with many other viruses, a person may continue to obtain a positive molecular test result up to 180 days after their infection, even though they are no longer considered infectious. Positive test results of previously infected individuals, for tests performed up to 180 days prior, should not be considered as evidence of a new infection posing risk, but rather that a person has recovered from a prior COVID-19 infection. Since a positive test result may inadvertently prevent a recovered patient from entering Canada, acceptable proof of prior infection from an asymptomatic traveller is accepted as an alternative to the requirement to test upon arrival. Requiring that prior positive test results be obtained no sooner than 10 days before the initial scheduled departure (by air) or arrival (by land) allows for the time needed to become non-infectious, thus preventing those persons who may be infectious from travelling and possibly transmitting COVID-19 upon travel to Canada.

Vaccination

Another technological development assisting in pandemic control measures is COVID-19 vaccines. The COVID-19 vaccines are effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalization and death from COVID-19. Against earlier variants of concern such as Delta, two doses of the vaccine decreased symptomatic and asymptomatic infection, and hence there was a decline in transmission of SARS-CoV-2. However, effectiveness varied depending on the COVID-19 vaccine product received and decreased with time since vaccination. Despite the proven efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines, Omicron has been reported to have a high number of concerning mutations, including mutations to the spike protein, which is the target of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, as well as in locations thought to be potential drivers of transmissibility. The concerns about these mutations and the potential risks are that this variant of concern is able to spread faster than previous variants (e.g. Delta). Two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are less effective at decreasing symptomatic or asymptomatic infection against Omicron, but still offer reasonable protection against severe disease. A booster dose increases protection against severe disease, as well as against infection, but protection remains lower than the protection against earlier variants such as Delta.

Globally, 60.1% of the world population has received at least one dose, and 50.4% is fully vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine, as of January 18, 2022. While 71.2% of people in high-income countries have been fully vaccinated, only 9.6% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose. Vaccine accessibility remains a challenge, also especially for children and adolescents.

The United States announced as of January 22, 2022, that all inbound foreign national travellers seeking to enter the United States via land ports of entry or ferry terminals — whether for essential or non-essential reasons — must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and provide related proof of vaccination. As of January 17, 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that 75.2% of the total U.S. population has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, 62.9% is fully vaccinated, and 24.0% has received a booster dose (38.1% of the fully vaccinated population has received a booster dose). By comparison, as of January 17, 2022, 82.9% of the Canadian population has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose and 77.1% is fully vaccinated. As of January 18, 2022, over 12.7 million Canadians have received a third dose.

The Government of Canada has sought to align international and domestic requirements on vaccination-related border measures. In terms of domestic measures, on August 13, 2021, the Government of Canada announced its intent to require COVID-19 vaccination for federal employees and domestic travellers. As of October 30, 2021, the Government of Canada requires employers in the federally regulated air, rail, and marine transportation sectors to establish vaccination policies for their employees.

Also, effective October 30, 2021, air passengers departing from Canadian airports, travellers on VIA Rail and Rocky Mountaineer trains, and travellers 12 years of age and older on non-essential passenger vessels on voyages of 24 hours or more, such as cruise ships, need to be vaccinated or show a valid COVID-19 molecular test taken within 72 hours prior to travel. As of November 30, 2021, all domestic travellers are required to be fully vaccinated, with very limited exceptions to address specific situations, such as emergency travel, and those medically unable to be vaccinated. Aligned with this shift in Government of Canada policy, the emergency orders in effect as of November 21, 2021, introduced prohibitions on entry for unvaccinated foreign national travellers, unless otherwise exempt, as well as phased-in measures for similar prohibitions and removal of quarantine measures for previously exempt cohorts (such as the trade and transportation sector) to allow time to adapt business models. The Government of Canada is continuing this phased examination of cohorts that are otherwise vaccination-exempt to minimize the risk of the introduction of COVID-19 into Canada.

Canada’s current list of accepted vaccines for the purposes of entry, requirement for quarantine and other exemptions, includes 8 of the 10 current COVID-19 vaccines that have completed the WHO Emergency Use Listing (EUL) process. To date, 5 of those have been authorized by Health Canada for sale and use in Canada. The WHO EUL review of new COVID-19 vaccines is an ongoing process as part of efforts to increase vaccine availability and access worldwide. Canada accepts new WHO EUL COVID-19 vaccines for border entry purposes based on the available scientific data and review undertaken by the WHO.

Other measures

Even at current levels of vaccination coverage, core public health and personal protective measures, such as limiting travel and contacts in public places, continue to be important for managing the increases in COVID-19 cases, protecting the vulnerable, and reducing the risk of overwhelming health care capacity.

Wearing masks in public places is an effective public health measure to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. Evidence suggests that mask use decreases transmission in the community when adherence levels are good and when masks are worn in accordance with public health guidance.

COVID-19 situation globally

The cumulative number of COVID-19 cases reported globally is now over 330 million and the number of deaths exceeds 5.5 million. For the week of January 10 to 16, 2022, the global number of new cases reported was over 18 million, a 20% increase as compared to the previous week. The large and increasing number of weekly case counts appear to be driven by the circulation of the more transmissible Omicron variant of concern, easing of domestic public health and border measures coupled with increased social mixing and low global vaccine coverage.

According to the WHO weekly report, as of January 18, 2022, five regions reported an increase in the incidence of weekly cases (regions of the Americas, Europe, South-East Asia, Eastern Mediterranean, and Western Pacific), while Africa reported a 27% decrease in cases over the last week. South-East Asia reported the highest increase in case reporting (145%), with over 1.7 million new cases, representing 9% of the cases reported in the previous week. Europe, reporting over 8.2 million cases in the previous week, accounted for 44% of all new cases.

Despite efforts to extend vaccination coverage, many countries across all six WHO Regions continue to experience surges in COVID-19 cases. As of January 16, 2022, the countries reporting the highest number of cases in the previous seven days were France (2.0 million new cases; 26% increase), India (1.6 million new cases; 150% increase), Italy (1.3 million new cases; 25% increase), and the United Kingdom (0.8 million new cases; 33% decrease). The United States also continues to experience very high Omicron-driven COVID-19 activity across the country with 4.90 million new cases reported in the week of January 14 to 21, 2022. While this represents an 8% decrease from the previous week, the monthly change rate is very high at a 390% increase. The domestic test positivity rate within the United States also remains very high at 32.4%.

In many countries, the spread of more contagious variants of concern has contributed to increased transmission. Since fall of 2020 and throughout 2021, more transmissible variants of the virus were detected in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Brazil, and India and spread to many countries around the globe, including Canada and the United States. Of 265 791 sequences uploaded to the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data, with specimens collected from December 21, 2021, to January 18, 2022, the proportion of Omicron ranged from 72.1% to 96.4% of sequences in each of the six continents, while Delta ranged from 3.3% to 27.1%. All other variants combined were less than 1.5% for all continents.

On December 15, 2021, the Government of Canada reinstated a Level 3 Omicron-SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern global travel health notice to advise against any non-essential travel abroad, due to travellers’ increased risk of being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 when travelling internationally, as well as the risk of facing difficulties returning to Canada or of having to remain abroad due to travel restrictions by foreign governments. The increased transmission associated with these variants increases the risk of accelerated spread. There remains the potential for a resurgence of travel-related cases in Canada.

The WHO has published an interim guidance document providing national authorities with a step-by-step approach to decision-making for calibrating risk mitigation measures and establishing policies to allow for safe international travel, but currently, there is no internationally accepted standard for establishing travel thresholds or assessing a country’s COVID-19 risk. At this time, it is the view of the Government of Canada that travel continues to present a risk of importing cases, including cases of new variants of the virus that causes COVID-19, and increases the potential for onward community transmission of COVID-19. With inequities globally with regard to vaccine access, efforts to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19 and variants of concern continue.

COVID-19 situation in Canada

The spread of COVID-19 due to Omicron has surpassed all other waves of the virus previously observed in Canada, and as a result of these unprecedented case levels, testing capacity has been challenged or exceeded in many jurisdictions. Despite case surveillance, data significantly underestimates the true incidence of disease. National daily case counts remain strikingly high, with a seven-day moving average of 37 530 cases on January 12, 2022. The number of tests performed is also high; an average of 148 810 daily tests were performed between January 4 and 10. The national incidence of COVID-19 cases has decreased, with weekly incidence down 10.1% from the previous week (January 5 to 12, 2022). Although the weekly percent positivity and daily average of tests remain very high, both indicators have decreased from the previous week for the same period (down by 4.4% and 6.8%, respectively). While there are early indications that cases may have peaked or will peak shortly at the national level, hospitalizations and deaths are continuing to increase.

While Omicron is more transmissible than previous variants, and reduces the effectiveness of vaccines against symptomatic disease, vaccination continues to provide a level of protection against severe illness. As of January 8, 2022, over 85% of the eligible Canadian population aged 12 and older had received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, with 46% of those aged 5 to 11 years having received at least one dose. As of January 18, 2022, over 12.7 million Canadians have received a third dose.

Canada has seen a 161% increase in the number of travellers arriving from the United States in December 2021 compared to December 2020, and a 289% increase among international travellers arriving from all other countries for the same period due to the gradual easing of Canada’s border restrictions. Evidence demonstrates that higher volumes of travellers result in increase positivity rates, particularly for those travelling from countries with high domestic infection rates. Additional evidence demonstrates that a combination of pre-departure and post-arrival testing will facilitate detection of persons with COVID-19 entering Canada. Identification of cases permits genetic sequencing and the identification of variants of concern to support public health efforts to reduce COVID-19 spread.

A certain proportion of travellers will require the use of clinical resources for care. In addition, infected travellers can cause secondary transmission to household members or in the community. If travellers are to continue to enter Canada, it is important to reduce the risk of travellers introducing cases of COVID-19, including new variants of concern, into Canada, as much as possible. Based on current review of international experience with new variants, maintaining measures that leverage the availability of testing technologies, combined with aggressive vaccination programs, can help further reduce the spread of COVID-19 or introduction and spread of new variants of concern in Canada.

Government of Canada response to COVID-19 pandemic

The Government of Canada’s top priority is the health and safety of Canadians. To limit the introduction and spread of COVID-19 in Canada, the Government of Canada has taken unprecedented action to implement a comprehensive strategy with layers of precautionary measures.

Between February 3, 2020, and December 21, 2021, 72 emergency orders were made under the Quarantine Act to minimize the risk of exposure to COVID-19 in Canada — to reduce the risk of importation from other countries, to repatriate Canadians, and to strengthen measures at the border to reduce the impact of COVID-19 in Canada. Some provinces and territories have implemented their own restrictions. Together, these measures have been effective in reducing the number of travel-related cases.

Changes to international travel restrictions and advice are based on national and international evidence-based risk assessments. The Government of Canada recognizes that entry prohibitions, mandatory quarantine requirements, vaccination programs and testing protocols place significant burdens on the Canadian economy, Canadians, and their immediate and extended families.

The Government of Canada’s phased approach to easing border measures for fully vaccinated travellers is grounded in meeting specific public health criteria, and based on scientific evidence and the epidemiological situation in Canada and globally. On July 5, 2021, fully vaccinated travellers eligible to enter Canada were granted an exemption from quarantine, subject to meeting the applicable requirements, including providing proof of vaccination. Then, on August 9, 2021, fully vaccinated American citizens and permanent residents arriving from the United States were allowed entry for optional or discretionary purposes, and exempted from quarantine subject to conditions; and as of September 7, 2021, fully vaccinated foreign nationals from all countries were allowed to enter Canada for optional or discretionary purposes and exempted from quarantine, subject to conditions. However, with the November 21, 2021, emergency orders, the Government of Canada introduced additional measures to limit the entry of unvaccinated foreign nationals.

Vaccines are a critical tool in supporting the resumption of fuller societal functioning and to safely achieve widespread immunity. Full vaccination is associated with decreases in hospitalizations and deaths (and corresponding decreased strain on critical care resources) and a reduction in severe outcomes of infection. Restricting the entry of unvaccinated travellers remains an important strategy for preventing the introduction of new variants and the spread of COVID-19 in Canada and to reduce the potential burden on the health care system. As access to vaccination has increased, Canada will be seeking to further reduce entry of non-vaccinated foreign nationals, including those travelling for non-discretionary purposes. This is consistent with the evidence of the effectiveness of vaccination and the greater public health risks associated with the entry of unvaccinated travellers. In addition, the Government of Canada intends to align, where appropriate, rules for domestic and international travel, particularly with respect to exemptions.

Many countries continue to experience COVID-19 transmission and have different levels of vaccination coverage. In November 2021, the Government introduced the Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 in Canada Order (Prohibition of Entry into Canada — Specified Countries), which prohibited entry of foreign national travellers, with limited exceptions, who had, in the prior 14 days, been in a country with an outbreak or at risk of having an outbreak of the Omicron variant. The Order expired on January 31, 2022. The Government of Canada recently reinstated its global travel health notice to advise against any non-essential travel abroad. The increased transmission associated with these variants increases the risk of accelerated spread, and there remains the potential for a resurgence of travel-related cases in Canada.

With more transmissible variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 in countries around the world, the Government of Canada continues to take a data-driven, scientific evidence and precautionary approach to its border measures for travellers entering Canada. To minimize the risk of further importation or spread of new variants of concern into the country, the Government of Canada is maintaining measures to help limit introduction and community transmission of COVID-19 and its variants of concern.

Implications

Key impacts for persons entering Canada

Against the backdrop of increasing global vaccination rates, as well as the more stringent domestic travel measures to further limit the introduction and spread of COVID-19, the Government of Canada will maintain the majority of quarantine and testing exemptions from the previous Order.

As was the case under the previous Order, before entering Canada, all travellers arriving by land, air, and water are generally required to submit information on the countries they were in during the 14 days prior to entry. They are also required to provide accurate contact information and quarantine plans, or only their contact information if they are listed as a person exempted from quarantine in Schedule 2, Table 1, of the Order. This information, and other mandatory electronic information submissions, must generally be provided to the Minister of Health by the electronic means specified by the Minister, namely ArriveCAN, the official application/web portal for all electronic submissions required under the Order. The Order makes an amendment to allow for selective verification of pre-arrival COVID-19 tests by border security officers for travellers entering Canada at land and marine points of entry. The requirement for all travellers arriving by land, air, and water to obtain a negative COVID-19 test result pre-entry, unless otherwise exempt, remains; however, travellers entering by land and marine mode would now only be required to provide proof of their pre-arrival COVID-19 test upon request of a federal officer at the border.

The Order clarifies that no exemption exists for unvaccinated operators of a commercial vehicle transporting, or returning from transporting, goods by land, or travellers entering Canada by any means for the purpose of operating such a vehicle. Such travellers, unless fully vaccinated as defined in the Order, will now be required by the Order to obtain a negative COVID-19 molecular test result before entering Canada (or proof of prior infection as described in the Order), and will be subject to the requirement to quarantine and the requirement to undergo COVID-19 molecular testing in Canada. This obligation was previously in place between January 15 and 31, 2022, through authority exercised by the Chief Public Health Officer (CPHO). The Order also confirms that an operator of a commercial motor vehicle who seeks to enter Canada for the purpose of delivering by land medically necessary supplies, equipment or devices remains exempt from pre-arrival testing; persons transporting these goods also remain exempt from quarantine and post-arrival testing requirements.

To accommodate for limited available flights between Saint-Pierre-and-Miquelon and Newfoundland airports, residents of this French territory entering Canada to receive essential medical services or treatments will be exempt from quarantine and post-arrival COVID-19 molecular testing requirements if they are scheduled to receive their treatment within 96 hours of arriving in Canada. For all other travellers entering Canada for the purpose of receiving essential medical services or treatments, the exemptions are maintained at 36 hours of their arriving into Canada and that travellers are required to quarantine until the time of their medical appointment.

Technical amendments are made under the Order to further reinforce that federal quarantine and isolation measures take precedence over provincial or territorial public health requirements for travellers recently entering or returning to Canada, unless those persons are admitted into a health care facility and is the subject of a provincial or local public health order that is inconsistent with those requirements.

The new Order will be in effect until February 28, 2022.

Penalties

Failure to comply with this Order and other related measures under the Quarantine Act is an offence under the Act. The maximum penalties are a fine of up to $1,000,000 or imprisonment for three years, or both. Non-compliance is also subject to fines under the federal Contraventions Act.

Consultation

The Government of Canada has engaged provinces and territories to coordinate efforts and implementation plans. In addition, given linkages to departmental mandates and other statutory instruments, there has been consultation across multiple government agencies, including the Canada Border Services Agency; Indigenous Services Canada; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada; Transport Canada; Public Safety Canada; Health Canada; Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada; Employment and Social Development Canada; Fisheries and Oceans Canada; Canadian Armed Forces; Canadian Heritage; and Global Affairs Canada.

Contact

Kimby Barton
Public Health Agency of Canada
Telephone: 613‑960‑6637
Email: kimby.barton@phac-aspc.gc.ca