Canada lifts India-specific Covid-19 testing rules for travellers

In a major development, travelling between India and Canada will be a lot easier as Ottawa has removed India-specific Covid-19 testing requirements. In its latest update, the Canadian government’s travel advisory for India has no longer the mandatory requirement for obtaining a negative RT-PCR test prior to boarding from a single lab located at Delhi airport. Also Read | Punjab reports 4,189 Covid-19 cases, 45 deaths in 24 hours However, Canada has restricted the entry to fully vaccinated passengers. It is pertinent to mention that both Covishield and Covaxin are recognised in Canada for travel purposes. Earlier, the norms read, “Passengers who travel from India to Canada via an indirect route still need to provide a pre-departure negative Covid-19 molecular test result from a third country before continuing their journey to Canada.” On Friday noon, Canada confirmed 8,937 new Covid-19 cases taking its national caseload to 3,007,264 with 33,489 deaths. Ontario, the most populous province, reported 5,337 new cases and 68 deaths Friday noon while Quebec, another populous province, confirmed 3,600 new cases of Covid-19 and 48 additional deaths. There are more than 10,800 people with Covid-19 being treated in the country's hospitals each day, with over 1,200 patients in the ICU and an average of 168 COVID-19-related deaths reported daily. Also Read | Coronavirus Update: India reports 2.35 lakh fresh Covid-19 cases in 24 hours -PTC News