About a week after Tope Akindele returned to Edmonton from Nigeria, the Canadian government presented a comprehensive list of new COVID-19 travel restrictions.
“I don’t think it was thought through,” Akindele said.
He returned to Canada on November 22, and eight days later, Ottawa announced a strict set of rules for travelers from 10 African countries where the Omicron variant was first identified.
Foreign nationals who have been in these countries in the past 14 days are not allowed to enter Canada and any Canadian returning from these countries will be required to be tested at the airport and self-quarantined pending their results.
“Some people were randomly selected to be tested. When we entered, I was not. We were not chosen at random, ”Akindele explained.
Akindele took his mother to Canada. When the two arrived in Calgary before connecting to Edmonton, they were told that quarantine was not necessary.
“When I returned, I went back to work. I worked from home – no need to go anywhere, ”he said.
But days later, he said Health Canada called him to tell him he needed to self-quarantine.
“I said ‘no’, when I got back I didn’t have to quarantine, but still, I came home,” he explained.
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Health Canada has also asked him to take a COVID test, which must be booked via 811.
Akindele says he couldn’t get through. He doesn’t drive either.
Adding to the stress, he says a security guard showed up at his door to make sure he was home and that he had booked a test.
“The guy knocked on the door so aggressively. I was like, who does that? Who is it? ”Akindele said.
“In my head, I was like, why send (security) when you could have sent someone to come and take a sample?” Same trip.
The new rules, especially around testing, have created a lot of confusion and frustration.
Travel agent Lesley Paull said she answers many questions, but her clients do not cancel their trips.
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“A lot of people are tired. They want to go, they’re double vaccinated or triply vaccinated and they’re going, ”Paull said.
“It’s more, what is this variant going to do in the future?” Is it going to be something or not?
Paull said that in the end it was just a matter of getting another PCR test on arrival.
“You don’t pay for it, it’s just the inconvenience of having another test and waiting for the results,” she said.
“It’s still mass confusion that’s the biggest problem with all of this, I think.”
As for Akindele, he thinks that at this stage of the pandemic the system must be better.
“It’s a little stressful if you’re traveling during this time of COVID and that’s why I understand when they say don’t travel if it’s not essential,” he said.
Health Canada has said it will take a few days before all targeted travelers are tested, but it is rapidly increasing capacity and testing more and more travelers every day.
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