Canada is dropping COVID travel restrictions and will start allowing people to enter the country without demanding that people get vaccinated against the virus.
Starting Oct. 1, travelers on their way to locations in Canada will no longer need to present any proof of vaccination against COVID, and will no longer need to get themselves tested for the virus, BBC reported.
The ArriveCan app, which is used to upload health documents such as vaccination records prior to travel to Canada, will no longer be required. Travelers will also no longer need to be isolated and/or quarantined upon their arrival in the country.
Furthermore, travelers onboard planes and trains will no longer be required to wear face masks as the mask mandate will be lifted.
These changes in Canada's travel requirements comes as the country finds itself "in a much better position" than it did, federal health minister Jean-Yves Duclos said in an announcement Monday.
The nation's health minister claims the improvement is brought about by the abundance of treatment options and vaccines.
Other factors that contributed to the decision to lift travel requirements are the country's vaccination rate as well as the decrease in fatality rates.
Duclos noted, however, that there appears to be a slow increase in the number of COVID cases in the country, but explained that this is not caused by the arrival of travelers. Rather, the new cases are "largely explained by the domestic transmission of the virus."
As of writing, Canada has had recorded more than 4.2 million COVID cases, and 44,992 deaths, as per Worldometers.
Vaccine Mandate
It could be well remembered that Canada strictly mandated that travelers should get vaccinated before going in and out of the country. Many who did not want to get vaccinated against COVID opposed this mandate.
Truckers taking supplies from Canada to America and vice-versa previously held "Freedom Convoys" in protest of the said vaccine mandate. These truckers were supported by many Canadians and even people from outside the country, who were also against the said government mandate.
Earlier reports indicate that tens of thousands of truckers joined the Freedom Convoy, which happened across Canada. Supporters also raised millions of dollars in support of the said protest, which was meant to push back against COVID mandates, forced vaccinations, and so on.
The protests, which took place earlier this year, were eventually met with government opposition as well. The Canadian government threatened the truckers with hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau even invoked the Emergencies Act, which was never used before.
