Ontario is launching a pilot program at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport that will see travellers tested upon arrival, voluntarily and for free.
Starting Wednesday, eligible passengers arriving at the airport will be able to get a free, self-collected PCR swab test, supervised by a health care provider. Test results will be provided to Ontario’s Lab Information System within 48-hours, and local public health authorities will follow-up on positive test results.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford called the pilot project “a game changer.”
“With over 60,000 international passengers coming into Pearson airport every week, we can’t take any unnecessary risks,” Ford said in a statement Wednesday.
“That’s why we’re putting in place this new pilot program to help stop the spread of COVID-19 and respond to new threats like the recent strain of the virus we’re seeing in an alarming number of countries without the same travel restrictions as the U.K.”
All international travellers will still have to follow the federal government’s 14-day mandatory quarantine, even if they receive a negative test result. However, the province said the next stage of the project will introduce a modified quarantine for passengers who test negative.
Ford had previously lashed out at the federal government, urging it to move faster on COVID-19 testing for international travellers. He compared the way the border was being managed to a leaky roof.
“Let’s get the testing at the airport and stop the leak,” he said in December.
More to come.