Canada to provide Covid swab tests at US border

Canada will provide mandatory swab tests at over a hundred land crossings on its border with the US from Monday, authorities said.

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

"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 March 21 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.