Canada suspends flights to the DR and the rest of the Caribbean until April 30

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Friday the suspension of all flights to Mexico and the Caribbean until April 30.

In response to the most contagious variants of the coronavirus, the new restrictions include the obligation for all travelers arriving in Canada to keep 14 days of quarantine in a hotel at their own expense.

All persons returning to Canada will be required to undergo the PCR test before boarding their planes and again upon arrival at the airport.

“Travelers will have to wait for the results of their test for three days in an authorized hotel, at their own expense, which is expected to be more than $ 2,000,” said the premier.

“Those who obtain negative results will be able to follow the quarantine at home under strictly guarded surveillance,” he added.

He added that those who test positive must observe the quarantine in government facilities to be sure that they do not carry more dangerous variants.

Trudeau said the Air Canada, WestJet, Sunwing, and Air Transa airlines would cancel all their services to Mexico and the Caribbean from next Sunday until April 30. “They will contact their customers who are traveling to those regions to organize their return flights,” said the premier.

Starting next week, all international passenger flights must land at one of the following four airports: Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, and Montreal.

These measures tend to discourage vacations to avoid spending 14 hotel days upon return.

“It’s excellent. Too bad they waited so long. They should have decided a long time ago, “said Dr. Andrew Morris, professor of infectious diseases at the University of Toronto. “It is certainly a step in the right direction,” he said.