Canada to drop rule that some returning travelers take PCR COVID-19 test -source
OTTAWA, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Canada is set to announce on Friday that it is no longer obliging Canadian travelers returning from short foreign trips to take PCR COVID-19 tests, a government source said on Wednesday.
The travel industry complains that the requirement to take the tests, the most reliable commonly-used method of detecting COVID-19, is deterring tourism.
The announcement affects those taking trips of 72 hours or less, said the source, who requested anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation.
The news was first reported by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
The PCR test requirement was decried as a major impediment by business and travellers on both sides of the U.S/Canada border because it deterred short trips by cross-border day-trippers, many looking for shopping deals.
Three-quarters of Canadian trips to the United States in 2019 were by car, according to Statistics Canada. That year, Canadians made 21.5 million car trips across the border that involved less than a day's stay.
On Nov. 8, the United States lifted an early 2020 travel ban in response to the coronavirus pandemic that barred access to most non-U.S. citizens traveling from 33 countries and restricted overland entry from Mexico and Canada.
Most travelers are required to show proof of vaccination in both directions but Canada had also required a negative PCR test, which is more time-consuming and costly to get. (Reporting by Steve Scherer, writing by David Ljunggren; Editing by David Gregorio)
