Omicron variant raises question about Canada-U.S. border restrictions
Molecular test requirements will end for fully vaccinated Canadians returning from the United States by land border crossing, but questions remain as to how long the new rules will last, given the rise of a new COVID-19 variant.
David Melamed will be driving to Ogdensburg, N.Y. early Tuesday morning in the hopes of beating what he expects will be a rush of travellers heading across the border.
“Lifting the restrictions is really huge,” says Melamed. “You pay anywhere from $150 to $200 a test every time you go. it adds to your bottom line.”
Melamed needs borders to be open and accessible. His company, OShoot, which sells target shooting supplies, relies on American inventory and when the borders closed because of COVID-19, so did his company.
“It was a flourishing business. To go to a sudden stop like that was disastrous,” says Melamed. “We do our own brokerage and bring it back. We do that through the UPS store in Ogdensburg and we hope that the border isn’t going to get shut down again and that they realize shutting the border down like that really isn’t the answer.”
However, the rising concern of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has health officials watching border-crossings closely. The new strain has already closed off travel from some southern African countries and on Monday, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Kieran Moore said that the province would review border protocols with the federal government.
“Most of this is a federal responsibility, but we’re at the table voicing any concern by the Ontario government to ensure that we are listened to,” said Dr. Moore. “This is a rapidly changing environment. Lots of questions yet about this new strain that we have to have answers for. We need to understand really if this is a virulent infection, if it makes people significantly sick, or leads them to hospitalization.”
U.S. President Joe Biden did not mention re-introducing travel bans at Canadian entry points during his Monday press conference at the White House. Biden instead focused on increasing vaccinations and that current vaccines work against Omicron, but added manufactures will be ready to change the formula of their vaccines if needed.
Presenting a negative COVID-19 test to enter at U.S. and Canadian land borders is not required for fully vaccinated travellers 12 years old and up. However, Canadians who have left the country for more than 72 hours are required to provide a negative molecular test result that has been taken within 72 hours.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.