While Canada is doing a commendable job at controlling the spread of COVID-19, there are a few cases that are sneaking into Canada via international passengers and other travel activity. This week, The World Health Organization (WHO) highlighted Canada as one of the countries that have done well in its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Government of Canada has also issued travel advisories and updates if anyone may have been exposed to COVID-19 during recent travel, such as by airplane, cruise ship or train (any public conveyance).
As per the travel advisory, if you have recently returned to Canada, you must quarantine for 14 days from the date you arrived in Canada. This is mandatory, whether or not you have symptoms. Refer to the government’s travel restrictions, exemptions and advice for up-to-date information.
The government has also posted a list of 34 international flights that have landed in Canada, with confirmed COVID-19 cases in the last two weeks. The list includes flights from New Delhi, Paris, London Heathrow, Amsterdam, Mexico City and more. The most recent international flight entry on this list flew in from New Delhi on July 25, 2020. The full list is available here, information reported before July 15, 2020, is not reflected on this page.
In the meantime, we looked at flightradar.com to view a real-time pulse of the number of flights being tracked over the US and Canadian airspace, and it shows a stark contrast in terms of the number of flights flying in and out of the US vs Canada.
Globally, over 17 million cases of COVID-19 have been identified, and more than 670,000 people have died since the virus first emerged. The US has recorded over 4.5 million cases as of yesterday, whereas Canada has reported 115,470 cases so far. Yesterday, the number of new cases recorded in the US was 66,921, whereas, during the same period, Canada reported 476 new cases.
Travel between Canada and the US is also restricted until August 21.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is reminding all travellers ahead of the upcoming August 3, 2020, Civic Holiday and long weekend, travel restrictions are still in place at all Canadian international border crossings.
These measures remain in place until at least August 21, 2020, at 11:59 pm EDT and may be extended.
