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Ottawa follows B.C. cue on mandatory quarantine plan

A new order part of Canada's Quarantine Act is focused on those returning to Canada from abroad
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Photo: Government of Canada

The federal government is taking a cue from B.C. and requiring all travellers entering its borders to have a quarantine plan in place.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday (April 14) anyone who cannot present a plan upon entering the country will be required to quarantine inside a hotel.

The plan goes into effect at midnight.

“The order that goes into effect tonight is a strengthening of the Quarantine Act orders,” Trudeau said during his daily briefing outside his home in Ottawa.

“If it is inadequate, they will be required to quarantine at a hotel.”

Trudeau said the government now has the authority to require travellers to self-isolate for two weeks.

He pointed to examples of “inadequate” plans as people coming from outside the country who may find themselves in close contact to the elderly upon re-entering Canada, or else Canadians who’ve been living outside the country for years and may not have a home in which to live.

B.C. introduced its own plan April 8, ordering those returning to B.C. to present officials with a plan upon arrival.

Those who do not present a plan will be sent to a hotel quarantine site.

More to come ...

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