3.5 Million People Have Entered Canada Since March Without Actually Quarantining

That’s a lot of exemptions! Although Canada’s borders have travel restrictions in place right now, it hasn’t stopped millions of people from entering the country since March.

In fact, according to new data shared with The Canadian Press, more than 4.6 million people have come into Canada since the beginning of the pandemic.

Of those, less than a quarter were actually required to quarantine for two weeks. The rest were considered to be essential visitors and were therefore exempt from the fourteen-day isolation.

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3.5 million Entered Canada without quarantining

Of those who’ve entered Canada since March 21, when the borders first closed to non-essential visitors, 3.5 million did not have to isolate for two weeks upon entry.

This includes truck drivers, airline crew, frontline health care workers, military members and more.

Conversely, 1.1 million people did have to remain isolated for two weeks upon arrival in the country, per the government’s Quarantine Act.

While many people have come into Canada for essential purposes, many thousands have also attempted to visit for sightseeing, tourism and shopping.

Earlier this week, the Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) told Narcity that over 24,000 travellers have been stopped since March, for attempting to take discretionary trips to Canada.

*This article's cover image is for illustrative purposes only.