‘My nine-year-old son was ordered to take a Covid test after entering Canada’

Exclusive: Random hotel quarantine policy has been heavily criticised

All clear: Quebec City airport, where random testing does not apply (Simon Calder)

Canada’s new random Covid testing policy is being heavily criticised by travellers.

A father has told The Independent that his nine-year-old son was selected for the procedure, leading to a worrying 48 hours in which the child could have been ordered into hotel quarantine.

International arrivals to the four biggest Canadian airports – Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver – may be randomly selected for a Covid test.

The selected traveller is notified within 15 minutes of clearing airport formalities by email – which assume that the passenger is checking them while on holiday.

The PCR test, which is paid for by the Canadian authorities, must be taken on the day of arrival or the following day. The traveller has to book a test in their locality.

If it is positive, the international arrival must go into 10 days of hotel quarantine, again at the Canadian government’s expense.

“We arrived Thursday night, only my nine-year-old son got selected for testing,” says the father.

”No signs of where to go, ended up being a $25 [£16] each-way taxi to the site in Toronto and missed connection to hotel destination as a result.

“Thankfully negative, but two days of stress.”

Another British traveller to Canada told The Independent: “I am triple-vaccinated and got randomly selected last week.

“I struggled to find a centre ‒ despite the list that is supplied ‒ that could handle the PCR requested within the required time frame.

“Finally got it done, but I have yet to get a result 10 days later. Their problem!”

Many travellers with visits planned to Canada are concerned about the effect of the policy. One told The Independent: ”I’m really worried about this. We’re due to fly into Vancouver in October for a cruise.”

Typically, cruise passengers departing from Vancouver will arrive the evening before their voyage is scheduled to depart.

If they are randomly selected, they will have only a few hours to arrange and take the test – with the result likely to come through while they are at sea.

Grahame Neale was one of many who criticised the policy on social media, tweeting: “Wow, how to kill your tourist industry in one easy go!”

Another social media user tweeted: “Well that is Canada off my list for a very long time. It is hard to comprehend the absurdity of this policy.

“Given that Covid is pretty rampant, quarantining an individual isn’t going to make any difference. And if you must try and restrict entry, require a test prior to travel.”

When announcing the policy, Canadian health ministerJean-Yves Duclos said: “Canada’s border measures will remain flexible and adaptable, guided by science and prudence.

“We need to keep border testing measures in place because that is how we track importation of the Covid-19 virus, and of new variants of concern.

“We will keep adapting our border measures to balance the need to protect Canadians while supporting our economic recovery.”

Random arrival testing can be avoided by flying to a smaller Canadian airport such as Halifax, St John’s or Quebec City.