TORONTO (AP) – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned on Friday that his government could impose stricter restrictions on travelers at any time in response to new and probably more contagious variants of the coronavirus – possibly making it mandatory to quarantine at a hotel at at their own expense when they arrive in Canada.
Trudeau said at a news conference that such measures could be imposed suddenly and bluntly warned against non-essential trips abroad.
“Nobody should take a vacation abroad now. If you still have a plan, cancel it. And don’t book a spring break trip, ”said Trudeau.
Canada already requires those entering the country to isolate themselves for 14 days and submit a negative COVID-19 test done three days before arrival. The suggested measure would require isolation in a hotel rather than at home.
Recent variants of the virus that have emerged in the UK, South Africa and Brazil appear to spread more easily and scientists say this will lead to more cases, deaths and hospitalizations. They are also concerned about any potential ability to eventually reduce vaccine effectiveness.
There is also evidence that the new variant first identified in southeastern England poses a greater risk of death than the original strain, British government chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance told a news conference on Friday.
Dr. Andrew Morris, professor of infectious diseases at the University of Toronto and medical director of the Sinai-University Health Network’s Antimicrobial Stewardship Program, said he was in favor of making it mandatory for travelers to be quarantined in a hotel on their own.
“It is inconvenient for travelers, but we are in a pandemic,” said Morris. “If you want to protect the borders and do your best to avoid importing other problematic strains, and you want your cases to fall, then this is what you have to do. In my head this is good. This afternoon. It is months late. “
Morris said the move would discourage holidays abroad, as people would not want to be quarantined in a hotel at their own expense on return.
He said that more and more governments are thinking of ways to be more aggressive because of the new variants, delays in vaccines, the challenges to vaccinate the population and tensions in health systems.