Canada lifts border restrictions due to COVID on October 1

SEATTLE – The Canadian government announced Monday that it will no longer require people to wear masks on airplanes to protect against COVID-19. Transport Canada said the existing rules for masks will expire on October 1

Government officials also confirmed that Canada waiver of vaccine requirements for people entering the country at the end of the month.

Canada, like the United States, requires foreign nationals to be vaccinated when entering the country. No changes in the US mandate are expected in the near future.

Unvaccinated foreign travelers who are allowed to enter Canada are currently subject to mandatory arrival tests and a 14-day quarantine.

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has agreed to allow a cabinet order to enforce mandatory border vaccination against COVID-19 to expire on September 30.

The government is also ending random testing for COVID-19 at airports. Filling out information in what has become unpopular The ArriveCan app will also no longer be needed. Some blame it on airport delays.

The government will also no longer require passengers to undergo pre-boarding tests on cruise ships.

“A number of factors contributed to the lifting of border measures, including modeling showing that Canada has largely passed the peak of the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 waves, Canada’s high vaccination rates, lower hospitalization and death rates, and the availability and the use of vaccine boosters (including the new bivalent form), rapid tests and methods of treatment for COVID-19,” the government said in a release.

The lifting of the vaccine mandate for non-citizens entering Canada means that unvaccinated professional athletes, such as Major League Baseball players, will be allowed to play for Toronto in the playoffs if the Blue Jays reach the postseason.

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This also applies to the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League. Currently, unvaccinated players are prohibited from crossing the border into Canada. The Public Health Agency of Canada still strongly recommends that people wear masks, especially in crowded places like airplanes and trains.

Cancellation of requirements occurs in a few days Amtrak service between Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia has been restored after being suspended since March 2020 due to the pandemic.

Return service is slower, starting with one daily round-trip flight departing Seattle at 7:45 a.m. and departing Vancouver at 5:45 p.m.

The route between Seattle and Vancouver will stop in five cities: Edmonds, Everett, Stanwood, Mount Vernon and Bellingham.

A second daily trip will be added in the future as Amtrak personnel and equipment permit. The service was due to launch earlier this year, but staff shortages have hampered its launch.