{"id":74140,"date":"2021-01-29T13:56:15","date_gmt":"2021-01-29T18:56:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/?p=74140"},"modified":"2021-01-29T13:56:37","modified_gmt":"2021-01-29T18:56:37","slug":"ontario-to-implement-mandatory-covid-19-tests-for-international-arrivals-at-pearson-airport-source","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/local\/gta\/ontario-to-implement-mandatory-covid-19-tests-for-international-arrivals-at-pearson-airport-source\/","title":{"rendered":"Ontario to implement mandatory COVID-19 tests for international arrivals at Pearson airport: source"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Ontario
Ontario Premier Doug Ford walks through the COVID-19 testing centre in the international arrivals section at Pearson Airport in Toronto on Jan. 26. (Frank Gunn\/The Canadian Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is set to announce mandatory COVID-19 testing for all incoming international travellers at Toronto Pearson International Airport, according to a government source.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ontario wrestles with how to contain more contagious variant of COVID-19<\/a><\/p>\n

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The source said the province will move ahead with the testing program despite an announcement from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this morning that the federal government intends to implement its own requirement for mandatory tests in coming weeks.<\/p>\n

Trudeau said the mandatory tests will be part of a\u00a0suite of new measures aimed at limiting travel-related transmission of the virus and its variants in Canada.<\/p>\n

The provincial government source said Ontario is moving ahead anyway because the\u00a0federal measures may not all be in place until mid-February.<\/p>\n

The news comes as Ontario deals with an increasing number of COVID-19 cases caused by variants of the virus. Revised forecasts released by public health officials on Thursday suggest that by March, the\u00a0B117 variant first identified in the United Kingdom could be the dominant strain in Ontario.<\/p>\n

As of yesterday, there had been 51 cases of B117 confirmed in the province.<\/p>\n

In recent weeks, Ford has repeatedly called for mandatory testing at Pearson\u00a0along with more stringent federal travel restrictions aimed at countries where new variants are detected.<\/p>\n

“We have to test every person that comes into Pearson and any other crossing. It’s absolutely critical. We need to put barriers up every which way we can,” Ford told reporters on Monday.<\/p>\n

“I can’t emphasize enough: close down our borders and make sure anyone that’s coming in gets tested.”<\/p>\n

Despite Ford’s\u00a0focus on international travel, provincial data cited by the government shows that it accounted for\u00a0just 1.8 per cent of all traceable\u00a0COVID-19 cases in Ontario. That figure falls to about 1 per cent for all traceable cases since Sept. 1, 2020, during the second wave of the illness.<\/p>\n

International travel is the only category of likely transmission source that has not grown exponentially over the course of the pandemic.<\/p>\n

The province also plans to expand the availability of rapid COVID-19 tests in priority settings, like long-term care and high-risk retirement homes, essential workplaces and schools, the source said.<\/p>\n

CBC News reported earlier this week that Ontario had deployed\u00a0less than one quarter of the 4.6 million rapid tests distributed by the Public Health Agency of Canada to the province.<\/p>\n

The Ministry of Health said at the time\u00a0that\u00a0more than 159,000 rapid PCR tests have gone to rural and remote communities, including First Nations, the ministry said, and about 850,000 rapid antigen tests have been distributed to long-term care homes and workplaces.<\/p>\n

The Health Ministry also said\u00a0it has distributed rapid tests to more than 150\u00a0workplaces\u00a0\u2014 including Air Canada, Magna and Ontario Power Generation.<\/p>\n

1,837 new COVID-19 cases<\/h2>\n

Meanwhile, Ontario\u00a0reported another 1,837 cases of COVID-19 on Friday and the deaths of 58 more people with the illness.<\/p>\n

The new cases include 595 in Toronto, 295 in Peel Region and\u00a0170 in York Region.<\/p>\n

Other public health units that saw double-digit increases were:<\/p>\n