Canada imposed temporary border restrictions and measures referred to as the “third country” testing rule against South Africa to address the Omicron variant.
Why Canada no longer accepts COVID-19 tests done in SA
This comes after a host of countries introduced travel bans against South Africa and other African countries due to concerns over the variant.
The government of Canada has since announced a “third country” rule for its citizens and residents returning from some countries in Africa while closing its borders to non-residents who had been in the region.
According to Business Insider South Africa, in order to be let back in, Canadians from a list of ten countries (South Africa and its immediate neighbours, plus Nigeria, Malawi and Egypt) must show “a valid negative COVID-19 molecular test in a third country before continuing their journey to the country”.
This means that those allowed to travel to Canada must do a PCR test in South Africa to board a plane, travel to another country, pass through border controls in order to get another test, wait for that result, and may only then fly into Canada.
Traveling between Canada and South Africa
The Public Health Agency of Canada responded to questions from the publication, saying that border measures are based on available data, scientific evidence and monitoring of the epidemiological situation both in Canada and internationally.
“The requirement for pre-entry molecular testing in a third country is in place so that the risk of the traveller being exposed to the virus and its variants between the time of testing and boarding the plane, which can take up to 72 hours, is reduced.
“The requirement for pre-entry molecular testing in a third country is in place to reduce the time from when the pre-departure test is done prior to arrival in Canada. The third country testing increases the likelihood of detecting infected individuals who have flight itineraries of longer duration.”
The third country testing rule
The new restriction has raised questions about whether it should be interpreted as a “lack of faith in the integrity of South African testing, and on the ethics of off-shoring risk to stopover countries” as Canada has imposed no similar testing requirements for non-African countries with known occurrences of Omicron.
In order for Canadians to get home for home Christmas, Canada has since announced a “temporary exemption” for travellers from South Africa, as long as they transit via Frankfurt or fly direct via Air Canada – before 13 December.
Flights to Canada
For those flights, an accredited South African PCR test will be accepted. Those travellers will then be required to spend time in a government quarantine hotel in Canada.
After that, the third-country testing requirement is expected to apply again.
The announcement made on 30 November will be reassessed, according to government officials.
Stay connected with us on social media platform for instant update click here to join our Twitter, & Facebook
We are now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@TechiUpdate) and stay updated with the latest Technology headlines.
For all the latest Travel News Click Here
