Unvaccinated truckers delivering vaccines, COVID devices exempt from border rules
Global News
Unvaccinated truckers bringing COVID-19 vaccines and medical devices into Canada to combat the pandemic are exempt from testing and quarantine requirements at the border.
Unvaccinated truckers bringing COVID-19 vaccines and medical devices into Canada to combat the pandemic are exempt from testing and quarantine requirements at the border, a government order says.
The exemption is due to the “urgent public health necessity” of the supplies they are transporting, Health Canada states.
The government has given exemptions from testing and quarantine rules for certain people crossing the border into Canada to help tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.
They include unvaccinated and vaccinated people invited by the health minister to help with the COVID-19 “response.”
A spokeswoman for Health Canada said in a statement that this exemption requires a ministerial invitation and had been “rarely used.” She said it had been used, for example, to help with the supply of ventilators.
The exemption is one of a number set out in an order-in-council published last month that outlines decisions made by cabinet, such as regulations or appointments.
Drivers dropping off students on either side of the U.S.-Canada border at a college, school or university are also exempt from quarantine and testing requirements, the order says.
The order makes clear that unvaccinated truckers are not exempt from the testing and quarantine requirement in other circumstances. They must obtain a pre-arrival COVID-19 test, quarantine and undergo COVID-19 molecular testing in Canada.