China News Agency, Toronto, January 29 (Reporter Yu Ruidong) The Canadian government announced on January 29 a series of upgraded anti-epidemic measures for cross-border travel, including the suspension of Canadian airlines’ routes to and from Mexico and the Caribbean countries. Air passengers are compulsory to go to the hotel at their own expense for isolation and testing.

  The Canadian federal government has reached an agreement with the country’s airlines to suspend all flights to and from Mexico and the Caribbean countries from January 31 to April 30.

Data map: Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau.

Photo by China News Service issued by MSC/Kuhlmann

  Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau emphasized to the media in Ottawa that now is not the time for people to travel.

He once again called on Canadians to cancel or postpone any non-essential cross-border travel plans.

  The Canadian government will implement new measures in the near future for inbound air passengers traveling across borders for "non-essential" reasons, requiring them to undergo molecular testing for the new coronavirus when they arrive in Canada, and to isolate them in an officially approved hotel for 3 nights to wait for the test results .

Passengers must bear the expenses related to testing, accommodation, cleaning and safety.

The Canadian government will announce the details of this measure in the near future.

Trudeau said the cost per person could exceed $2,000.

  At the same time, inbound passengers still need to complete a 14-day quarantine.

To this end, the Canadian Public Health Agency will cooperate with security companies to conduct inspections on the isolation of incoming passengers.

Violators may be disciplined, warned, and even prosecuted. If found violating the law, they can be sentenced to up to six months in prison and a fine of 750,000 Canadian dollars.

The Canadian Public Health Agency now checks the isolation of more than 6,500 travelers by phone every day.

As of January 26, law enforcement agencies have carried out a total of nearly 49,000 interventions, 99% of which resulted in travellers complying with regulations, but a small number of people were warned, fined or prosecuted.

  The provincial government of Ontario, Canada's most populous province, has stated that it will conduct mandatory inspections on international passengers entering Toronto Pearson International Airport from February 1.

  In addition, the Canadian government requires that from midnight on February 3, regular international commercial passenger flights, private, business or charter flights from all countries must be concentrated to Montreal Trudeau International Airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport, Calgary International The four major airports of the airport and Vancouver International Airport landed.

The exemptions previously available for scheduled commercial passenger flights from the United States, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and South America have been cancelled this time, but flights to and cargo flights to the French Saint Pierre and Miquelon are still not subject to this restriction.

On January 14, local time, a merchant in downtown Toronto, Canada temporarily refused to allow customers to enter, providing customers with an appointment pick-up service.

Ontario, Canada's most populous province, where Toronto is located, implemented the "home order" from that day.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Yu Ruidong

  The Canadian government stated that it will also implement the requirement for viral molecular testing within 72 hours before arrival for passengers seeking to enter by land, and will continue to cooperate with the US to strengthen border epidemic prevention measures.

  Canada has already required all passengers to undergo a new coronavirus test and obtain a negative certificate before departing for Canada on January 7.

  As of the evening of January 29, Canada had reported a total of nearly 770,800 cases, nearly 695,700 recovered, 19,801 deaths, and 55,313 active cases.

The country has reported nearly 100 cases of mutated new coronavirus infection, of which about half are in Ontario.

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