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More than five million arrivals in Canada were allowed to skip the 14-day quarantine requirement set when the country closed its borders to non-essential travel in late March, the Canada Border Services Agency estimates.
The data – which was compiled by CBSA at the request of CBC News – shows that more than 80% of the 6.5 million total arrivals in Canada between March 31 and November 12 were exempted from quarantine designed to fight COVID. -19 pandemic.
Arrival numbers include repeated entries from the same person.
The federal government exempts travelers from quarantine when they provide services deemed “essential”. Those exempt include flight crew and emergency services officers as well as truck drivers who cross the border multiple times.
Truck drivers alone accounted for nearly half of Canada’s total entries.
5.3 million exemptions is the best guess
The CBSA calculated a total of 5.3 million quarantine-free entries, but said the number is only an estimate because the federal government didn’t begin tracking everyone in that group until July 31.
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) said that before July 31 the CBSA collected data on quarantine-free travelers crossing the border for statistical purposes, but only when it had the “operational capability” to do so.
As of July 31, PHAC changed its policy and required all members of that group to be tracked, so their contact information could be collected for enforcement purposes.
“Individuals with a federal quarantine exemption must continue to comply with existing public health measures,” spokesperson Tammy Jarbeau said in an email.
Such measures include wearing a mask, social distancing, and rules set by local health authorities.
Epidemiologist Colin Furness said that, ideally, the government should have been monitoring all quarantine-free travelers since the border was closed in late March.
“I don’t think we needed COVID on our shores before thinking about how to manage our borders,” said Furness, an infection control epidemiologist and professor at the University of Toronto. “There is just a lack of imagination and a lack of preparation.”
PHAC did not explain why it waited four months after the border was closed before starting to collect contact information for quarantine-exempt travelers.
The agency has collected contact information for travelers required to quarantine, for application purposes, since March 31. They include Canadians on vacation abroad and foreigners visiting close relatives in Canada.
Over the past seven months, the percentage of COVID-19 cases related to international travel it fluctuated from 0.4% in May to 2.9% in July, according to PHAC.
For the past two weeks, 47 international flights entering Canada had at least one confirmed COVID-19 case on board.
“Fundamental to our economy” exemptions
Jarbeau said the large number of people exempt from quarantine is necessary for workers “critical to our economy and infrastructure” to do their jobs after they cross the border.
He said only those essential workers who claim they have no symptoms of COVID-19 can skip quarantine.
Furness said she understands why essential workers are exempt from quarantine, but does consider some cases, such as corporate executives who manage to bypass the requirement.
Over the past two months, CBC News has uncovered three cases where a senior executive of a large American or global company traveling to Canada on business was exempt from quarantine.
The federal government said two of these exemptions were in error and promised to fix the problem. He declined to comment a third case involving the president of US operations for the global shipping giant UPS, citing federal privacy law.
“It’s unacceptable,” Furness said. “I don’t understand why we need business travel. We have Zoom. We have the Internet.”
Testing of the pilot project
Epidemiologist Raywat Deonandan said it only takes one infected traveler to trigger an outbreak.
“It is possible that a traveler could show up, attend as a church or something and then be the trigger for a major event,” said Deonandan, a professor at the University of Ottawa.
Both he and Furness suggest that routine COVID-19 testing of essential workers crossing the border would help mitigate potential risks. The test is not currently a requirement for travelers entering Canada.
“If we detect some positives this way and stop someone from becoming a spreader, that would be great,” Deonandan said.
PHAC said it is currently exploring the concept as part of a pilot project offering COVID-19 tests to travelers at two designated border crossings in Alberta.
The agency said travelers who need to be quarantined and those exempted are being offered tests. Essential workers who cross the border regularly, such as truck drivers, will be offered a test every three to four weeks.
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