How Are Travellers To Canada Tracked By Quarantine Rules? An Inside Look At The Numbers
OTTAWA — At least 22 tickets — for fines ranging from $250 to $1,000 — have been levied on travellers not respecting the mandatory 14-day quarantine upon their return to Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada says.
In response to questions from HuffPost Canada, the agency said that as of July 29, nine people in British Columbia and 13 in Ontario had been fined for offences under the Quarantine Act. Thirty-nine verbal warnings were also given to residents of at least seven provinces, and eight written warnings were issued to residents in Alberta, B.C., Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Ontario.
Since the end of March, travellers coming into Canada must provide their contact information to border officials and show they have a quarantine plan: a place to go and the ability to fulfil 14 days of self-isolation. Those with no place to safely isolate can be sent to a federal quarantine facility to wait out the mandatory two-week period.
Watch: Fines, arrests possible for quarantine rule breakers, PM says
Then it is up to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) to verify that people are respecting the law. For most, it begins with a phone call.
Designated screening officers start calling incoming travellers on the fifth day of their isolation period, and attempts continue for three consecutive days.
“Most people, from what I’ve seen from the data that’s come in, have been very good in terms of compliance,” deputy chief public health officer Howard Njoo told reporters on July 14. “They accept the calls. They recognize we’re doing it not to badger or hound them but as a gentle reminder to continue doing what’s in their best interest in terms of their health but also to protect others.”
Despite the live calls, and emails sent on the fourth, eighth and 11th days of a traveller’s quarantine period, and recorded phone messages also sent on the eighth and 11th days with reminders and suggestions on how to maintain compliance with the law,...
