Canada suspends all flights to Mexico and the Caribbean until April 30 due to pandemic

Canada has tightened its containment measures in the face of the expansion of new variants of the coronavirus. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Friday that all flights to Mexico and the Caribbean will be suspended from this Sunday until April 30 to stop the spread of the disease. The country will also require a negative covid-19 test for travelers arriving in the country. “Since the onset of the crisis, my priority has been to protect Canadians,” Trudeau said. The country’s major airlines – Air Canada, WestJet, Sunwing and Air Transat – will cancel their services to these destinations, but will organize round trips for their customers. After hearing the news, Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Relations criticized the suspension of flights. “The government of Mexico hopes that the latest measure announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau can be withdrawn as soon as possible to avoid a deep economic crisis in the North American region,” he said in a statement .

In addition, all persons traveling to Canada must present a negative PCR test dated no more than three days before boarding and must undergo another virus test upon arrival at the airport. Travelers will have to wait three days for their test results at a government-approved hotel. The cost of testing and accommodation should be covered by the traveler and should be approximately $ 2,000 Canadian (approximately US $ 1,550). “We know that a single case of the variant could pose significant problems. That is why we must take additional measures, ”said the Canadian Prime Minister. “The percentage of cases linked to international travel is extremely low, but it is not zero,” he added.

In the event that the test is negative, people will be able to conclude their two-week quarantine at home, but under strict surveillance measures, while travelers who test positive will be transferred to a public health facility in Canada.

With more than 769,000 cases of coronavirus and nearly 20,000 deaths, Canada has experienced a sharp acceleration in the pandemic since December. Two of the provinces hardest hit by the virus, Ontario and Quebec, have tightened their lockdowns. Faced with this scenario, the Canadian Prime Minister stressed that the new restrictions seek to discourage travelers. “Due to the challenges we currently face with covid-19, both here at home and abroad, we all agree that now is not the time to fly,” Trudeau said during his conference on the pandemic.

Although the Prime Minister of Canada has not specified a date for the start of mandatory testing at airports, provinces have welcomed the new measures. Ontario Premier Doug Ford stressed, hours after Trudeau’s appearance, that tests at the Toronto airport will be mandatory for international travelers starting at noon next Monday. Travelers who refuse to take the test will be fined $ 750 Canadian (approximately $ 586). For his part, François Legault, Premier of Quebec, described Trudeau’s announcement as “excellent news”.

In the coming days, airlines will be contacting their customers who travel to these areas to arrange their return flights. Starting next week, all international passenger flights will only be able to land at airports in Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary and Montreal.

Since the pandemic began in March, Canada has closed its international borders and discouraged non-essential travel. Mexico, on the other hand, remains one of the only countries without restrictions for tourists to enter its borders. Despite losing 44% of its visitors in the past year, it was the third most visited country in the world in 2020 thanks to a few bureaucratic hurdles in airport control lines as well as its low prices to attract foreign tourism. .