Canada to provide Covid swab tests at US border

Montreal (AFP) - Canada will provide mandatory swab tests at over a hundred land crossings on its border with the US from Monday, Ottawa said, as concerns over the spread of new coronavirus variants grow.

"Travellers entering Canada at land borders, unless exempt, will be required to take a test using a self-swab kit," a statement from Canada's Public Health Agency said Saturday. 

"This test can be taken either at the traveller's quarantine location or at a border testing site."

The border is currently closed to all but essential travel, a policy which is due to last until 21 March after it was extended on Friday. 

Travellers entering Canada, unless exempt, must undergo two Covid-19 tests, one on their first day of arrival and one later in their 14-day quarantine period.

From Monday, air passengers arriving in Canada will have to undergo a three-day hotel quarantine at their own expense while they wait for the results of a coronavirus test.

Canadian media reported the telephone reservation system for the government-approved hotels was experiencing long delays on Saturday. 

The country's Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam on Friday underlined the danger that a growing number of coronavirus variants posed to Canadians, stressing the need for continued vigilance in the face of the pandemic.

Canada on Saturday listed over 840,000 Covid-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic, with more than 21,000 deaths.