CanadawillremoveallCOVID-19restrictionsfor inboundtravelers on Saturday (October1), as well as testing, quarantine, and isolation requirements, the government said on Monday (September 26).
The decision to drop therestrictionswas based onCanada's vaccination rate, availability of newer vaccines and treatments, as well as scientific modeling that shows the country had passed the peak of the latest wave of coronavirus infections, the government said.
More than 90 per centof Canadians over 12 have taken the primary series of aCOVIDvaccine and earlier this month,Canadaauthorized Moderna Inc's bivalentCOVID-19 shots for adults, in the country's first Omicron-adapted vaccine.
Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said the government was prepared to reinstaterestrictionsif the need arises.
"Obviously we have no hope to reintroduce some of these measures but if we need to protect the safety of Canadians, we will have to," he told reporters in Ottawa.
Travelers, regardless of citizenship, will not have to submit health information through the ArriveCAN app or provide proof of vaccination from Saturday.
A requirement fortravelers to wear masks on planes and trains would also be dropped, according to the statement.