Canadian Snowbirds heading home-Antigen Rapid Tests required

[Canuck_Travelle]

Seeing that soon there will be a swell of Canadian Snowbirds heading home and seeing the protocol at the border is a requirement of a certified Rapid Test (Antigen) test not more than 24 hours prior to crossing has anyone crossed yet or know of anyone crossing?

Anyone have any more info on this like did they or do they know of anyone crossing, where did they get the test, costs, was it certified, was there any problem at the border showing the Border personnel the test and acceptance.

Really appreciate any info, thanks....

[JaxDad]

silversand wrote:

Jaxdad wrote:
By January 29th they (Denmark) had a daily case count of over 41,000 new cases.

Our World in Data: Denmark has a massive drop off on confirmed, only 2662 cases per million! New Zealand: 4008 confirmed per million :E

But both these numbers are really meaningless, as the vast majority of those countries are fully vaxed 😄

Imagine: Denmark has no Covid mitigation in place since what? Beginning of January? New Zealand has the strictest on Earth; look at where that got New Zealand today. New Zealand is competing with Hong Kong as one of the top most infected countries/places on Earth.

New Zealand is in a part of the world experience ing a massive surge in cases, comparing the two isn’t even as close as apples vs pineapples.

COVID may be of much less concern in the Western Hemisphere but make no mistake, there are still 40,000 to 50,000 people a week dying of it in other areas of the world.

This is precisely the problem, and the reason we still have testing protocols at borders, in this day and age a person can cross the globe in hours. Potentially bringing something deadly back with them, probably without their even knowing it.

[Canuck_Travelle]

pianotuna wrote:

magicbus wrote:
Our Canadian neighbors flying home tomorrow had to get a PCR test yesterday afternoon. They said it needed to be a PCR within 3 days of the border crossing.

Dave

The most recent information still says 24 hours.

A PCR TEST timeline is 72 hours, Rapid Test ie Antigen is 24 hours but read the Government info as shown below on stretching the 24 hour timeline, PCR test no longer required unless you need or feel safer with more time to get results back, usually PCR Test is much more expensive....and more reliable....but both are Canadian government oversights and should be halted, everyone as a Snowbird should contact their MP on this, I have and he is working on it.

From the Government website;
"the one day window does not depend on the time of day the test was taken or the time of your flight or entry
for example, if your flight is scheduled to leave or you enter by land any time on Friday, you could provide proof of a negative result from an antigen test taken any time on Thursday, or on Friday"

So if you really wanted to stretch it you could get the test at 1201am Tuesday and show up at the Canadian border on Wednesday at 1159PM....don't think I would stretch it that far but according to the Government info they do give flexibility of the 24 hours, doing the above might just stretch their patience a tad far BUT its in their info for Rapid Tests.....LOL

[pianotuna]

magicbus wrote:
Our Canadian neighbors flying home tomorrow had to get a PCR test yesterday afternoon. They said it needed to be a PCR within 3 days of the border crossing.

Dave

The most recent information still says 24 hours.

[silversand]

Jaxdad wrote:
By January 29th they (Denmark) had a daily case count of over 41,000 new cases.

Our World in Data: Denmark has a massive drop off on confirmed, only 2662 cases per million! New Zealand: 4008 confirmed per million :E

But both these numbers are really meaningless, as the vast majority of those countries are fully vaxed 😄

Imagine: Denmark has no Covid mitigation in place since what? Beginning of January? New Zealand has the strictest on Earth; look at where that got New Zealand today. New Zealand is competing with Hong Kong as one of the top most infected countries/places on Earth.

[silversand]

Pianotuna wrote:
There are lots of places with low vaccination rates. Africa comes to mind. IIRC it is about 7% vaccination rate.

Yes; absolutely!

But what should drive policy world-wide is the following: .....what ratio of the entire population has had acquired natural immunity, and what ratio has acquired vaccine immunity, and finally, what ratio of the population has acquired both natural infection AND immunity from vaccination. Take a look at Our World in Data (pretty well the only reliable source for global Covid data now; only exception: the UK and Denmark are exceptionally good). The entire Planet's population is approaching all three (from 80+ % to 98% acquired gross population immunity just in the UK! Imagine in countries where NO vaccine was deployed?). What the World needs now is: genomic identification of anything more dangerous than Omicron (so far, nada).

Any other Covid endeavor (other than new vaccine research) is a waste of resources. The world was ready to completely open up at the end of February. Border shutdowns were totally ineffective against spread (look up the research; there is a lot of it).

[moisheh]

The test cannot be a self test. It has to be sent to a lab where they certify the results. Just more ridiculous regs. I supported all the mandates and restrictions when Covid was rampant and very few people were vaccinated. But not now. I wish I could expand in another post but it would be deleted.

[JaxDad]

silversand wrote:
Look to Denmark for sane policy at this stage in the pandemic.

Denmark might not be the best place to use as an example when it comes to COVID policy.

On October 31st they had a daily case count of 1,500 new cases.

Shortly thereafter they dropped the Vax passport and a host of other restrictions.

By January 29th they had a daily case count of over 41,000 new cases.

[Canuck_Travelle]

charlestonsouthern wrote:
We have four Rapid Test Kits (two tests to a kit) left over from the Christmas holidays; can those be used instead, 24 hours before crossing the Canadian border?

How I wish that was possible.....there would be no problem, you see our Government does not trust us, that's quite apparent...in many ways...

COVID-19 vaccinated travellers entering Canada - Travel restrictions in Canada – Travel.gc.ca
https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/covid-vaccinated-travellers-entering-canada#pre-entry-testing

"Starting February 28: proof of a professionally administered or observed negative antigen test taken outside of Canada no more than 1 day before your scheduled flight or entry to Canada by land or water
the one day window does not depend on the time of day the test was taken or the time of your flight or entry
for example, if your flight is scheduled to leave or you enter by land any time on Friday, you could provide proof of a negative result from an antigen test taken any time on Thursday, or on Friday
it must be administered or observed by a pharmacy, laboratory, healthcare entity or telehealth service
the test must be authorized for sale or distribution in Canada or in the jurisdiction in which it was obtained
the test must be performed outside of Canada"

[magicbus]

Our Canadian neighbors flying home tomorrow had to get a PCR test yesterday afternoon. They said it needed to be a PCR within 3 days of the border crossing.

Dave

[jetboater454]

I would think the home rapid tests would not work at the border. How would they know it was actually you who did the test.

And are the test kits expired yet? The ones the post office/gov't sent me are only good for about 4 months. And amazed where they are actually made at.:E

[valhalla360]

Guthaways wrote:
We did this last week. The test has to be done the day before you cross the border, so we did it in Oregon at a shopping mall. Cost was $129 US each, and results were emailed to us within half an hour.

Wow, couple months ago, got the antigen test with emailed official hospital certificate for $12...of course it was in Istanbul.

You can buy the tests for self use for $1-6, someone is making a mint of the certificate game.

UK and a few other European countries have dropped the testing requirements. Hopefully by April, the USA will drop it's test requirements when we fly back in.

[charlestonsouth]

We have four Rapid Test Kits (two tests to a kit) left over from the Christmas holidays; can those be used instead, 24 hours before crossing the Canadian border?

[OkieGene]

^^^ There's no reason for it, it's just government policy ^^^

I kid, I kid.... or not. LOL

[pianotuna]

Silversand,

There are lots of places with low vaccination rates. Africa comes to mind. IIRC it is about 7% vaccination rate.

[silversand]

Moisheh wrote:
That test also discourages cross border shoppers. Both ways. Lots of Canadians have a mail box service in the USA. They retrieve parcels. Now you have to add the cost of a test. Crazy. I cold give a reason for that test but it would be political. American tourists will have to have a test for the whole family. Not only a PIA it is costly.

Our friends just crossed into Canada with RV yesterday. They got $$$ antigen tests 3 hours drive before crossing, and got their results in plenty of time.

We do this too, sometime later in March. Still enjoying Florida. 86F yesterday. A few thunderstorms today, 74F.

Asking for every Canadian citizen returning by road to get any Covid lab test is ludicrous. Considering virtually every living human being on Earth in 2022 already has either natural, or vaccine induced immunity, or BOTH already. Canada may be the last country on Earth presently requiring returning fully vaxed CITIZENS to undergo (potentially) expensive Covid tests just before arriving at customs in their private vehicle(s). Senseless. Unnecessary, and in post-Omicron times, an utter waste of resources; it is throwing money out the window. Money SHOULD instead be put into genomic testing (Canada is doing virtually ZERO genomic testing for variants). Look to Denmark for sane policy at this stage in the pandemic.