Canada will ease entry for fully vaccinated international travelers beginning on Feb. 28. Travelers will now have the option of using a COVID-19 rapid antigen test result rather than a  molecular one, which is more expensive and takes longer to get results. Canada will monitor conditions with an eye on dropping coronavirus testing requirements for fully vaccinated Canadians who make short trips – less than 72 hours – abroad, usually to the US., Jean-Yves Duclos, health minister, said. “These changes are possible not only because we have passed the peak of Omicron, but because Canadians across the country have listened to the science.” About 80% of Canadians are fully vaccinated, and over 40% have also taken a booster dose, according to the health ministry. There was criticism of the changes from an industry organization. The Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable said in a statement that “Though today's announcement brings us one step closer to where our industry needs to be, in requiring pre-departure rapid antigen tests, the government missed an opportunity to align with other international jurisdictions that removed pre-departure test requirements for fully vaccinated travelers.”

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