As part of travel restrictions on entry, the Canadian government’s quarantine hotels became a mandatory stopover for travelers this week.

The required isolated stay comes after the announcement in December of new rules for international travelers who need a negative PCR test (polymerase chain reaction) Result three days before arrival for passengers on flights to Canada. Similar to initiatives in Australia, the measures aim to prevent occasional or non-essential travel. Upon arrival in Canada, passengers, with few exceptions, must take another PCR test and remain isolated from an approved list at a pre-booked quarantine hotel at their own expense until those results are returned.

A health care professional directs travelers to a mandatory Covid-19 testing area in Toronto Pearson … [+] International Airport (YYZ) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on Monday, February 1, 2021. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau introduced extensive new restrictions on international travel to curb the spread of new variants of Covid-19 in the country. Photographer: Cole Burston / Bloomberg

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The criticism, to put it politely, was devastating. Enforcement difficulties mean travelers are for the most part free to self-policing at the airport, and some choose to violate. “Unless there are serious or aggravating circumstances that threaten public safety, we will not … detain anyone who does not comply with the quarantine law,” said Akhil Mooken, spokesman for the Peel Regional Police The national post. However, there is the possibility that the authorities and a Fine of $ 750,000 or six months’ imprisonment the rules should not be followed.

Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario is under the jurisdiction of the Peel Police and is Canada’s busiest airport with 49.5 million passengers and 473,000 flights in 2018. “There is no comprehensive, controlled plan for moving international travelers from the airport to their quarantine hotels,” wrote Robyn Urback in an article in T.The globe and the post Name the program “leaky and half-baked”. “They can take their own cars with them when they are parked at the airport, and they also promise not to stop anywhere along the way. Or they can take taxis or limos and potentially drop a new person on the route. Or, they can take a municipal shuttle service from the airport to government-approved hotels that can accommodate both regular (domestic) travelers and quarantined travelers, as long as the cohorts are on separate floors and elevators. “

RICHMOND, BRITISH COLUMBIA – FEBRUARY 20: An exterior view of the Westin Wall Center Vancouver Airport … [+] on February 20, 2021 in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. Air travelers arriving on February 22 or later are now required to stay three nights in a government-approved hotel and take a COVID-19 test upon arrival at their own expense to enter Canada. (Photo by Andrew Chin / Getty Images)

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Though travelers recognize the restrictions as theoretically necessarySome question the actual practice. Passengers complain of long waits or difficulty booking the hotel stay, which was originally valued at $ 2,000 and has been around since then corrected downwardsalthough the delays were attributed to people using the system incorrectly. “A significant proportion of the calls made to booking management come from people inquiring about hotel room bookings in March and April,” said André Gagnon, spokesman for the Canadian health authority CTV News Toronto“Travelers should not call to reserve a government authorized hotel as they plan to travel in the future. If your flight to Canada is scheduled within the next 48 hours, call to reserve and pay for your mandatory three-day hotel layover. “CTV News reports that more than 45,000 calls have been made to the phone booking system since February 19, and only 2,277 rooms have been booked to date, with the federal government cited as the source.

Although Statistics Canada reports that US and overseas travelers to Canada are down 93% compared to December 2019, people are still flying. “Despite a notice against non-essential travel outside Canada and a mandatory 14-day quarantine period for Canadians returning from abroad, over 170,700 Canadians flew home from abroad in December, an increase of a third (+ 33.7%) compared to November, “reports Statistics Canada.