Ontario Might Make COVID-19 Tests Mandatory For All International Arrivals At Pearson

Health officials are reportedly considering a mandatory order.
Ontario Might Make COVID-19 Tests Mandatory For All International Arrivals At Pearson
Shawn Goldberg | Dreamstime
Contributor

International travellers arriving in Toronto may soon be required to take a mandatory COVID-19 test at Pearson Airport.

According to reports by CP24, Ontario's chief medical officer of health, Dr. David Williams, is looking into issuing an order for mandatory testing for all passengers arriving from outside the country.

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We're asking the federal government to adopt mandatory testing upon arrival for all international travellers. Premier Doug Ford

This could be implemented using a Section 22 order under the Health Promotion and Protection Act, the outlet reports.

Right now, Pearson is offering a voluntary testing pilot program and officials spoke about its results on Tuesday.

Of the 6,580 tests conducted, 146 came back positive, including four potential U.K. variants. 

The new potential mandate comes as Ford implores the federal government to implement stricter measures at Pearson International.

The premier is calling for a temporary ban on all flights to Ontario originating from countries where new COVID-19 variants are being detected.

As of January 27, Public Health Ontario has recorded 51 cases of the U.K. variant in Ontario.

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  • Abby Neufeld
    Abby Neufeld was a writer at Narcity Canada. She received her Bachelor of Arts in English and Professional Communications at the University of Victoria. Her past work has been published in The Toronto Star, Bitch Media, Canadian Dimension, This Magazine, and more. In 2019, Abby co-founded The New Twenties, an environmentally-focused literary and arts magazine.

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