TORONTO, Canada — Canada is easing COVID-19 testing regulations for travellers, the country’s health minister announced on Tuesday.

Starting February 28, the country will no longer require polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for fully vaccinated travellers and will accept rapid tests, according to Federal Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos.

According to a CNN report, rapid tests may be taken the day before arriving in the country, and PCR tests can be taken 72 hours before a scheduled flight or arrival at the border.

Also, the Canadian Government will no longer recommend that Canadians avoid non-essential travel.

“I am happy to announce these changes today, as I know many of us are looking forward to living with fewer restrictions. However, we must continue to exercise prudence,” Duclos said. “Let me be clear: Our fight against the virus is not over.”

CNN also reported that Canada is returning to a randomised testing surveillance programme that was in place before the Omicron variant’s surge.

Moving forward, fully vaccinated travellers who are selected under the randomised testing system will no longer be required to quarantine while awaiting test results.

Restrictions for children 11 and younger who are not fully vaccinated and travelling with fully vaccinated parents will be lifted. Children who fall in this category will no longer need to self-isolate before attending school, daycare or camp. They also will no longer be subject to testing, the CNN report said.

According to the report, Duclos said that while the announcement is “encouraging”, all measures are subject to “constant re-evaluation”.

“Canada needs to be prepared to tackle future waves, future variants, which may or may not be smaller than this Omicron surge, depending on how the virus evolves,” he said.

Unvaccinated travellers to Canada, meanwhile, will still be subjected to testing requirements and a 14-day quarantine. Also, unvaccinated foreign nationals will not be permitted to enter Canada unless they meet one of the few exemptions.

Meanwhile, Randy Boissonnault, Canada’s minister of tourism and associate minister of finance, in a February 15 statement on the Government’s website, said: “We are committed to a safe reopening; one that provides predictability, flexibility and shows the world that Canada is one of the safest places to travel. Travel is safe and will continue to be safe in Canada. Thank you to the tourism industry that has been a leader around the world in ensuring the safety of travellers while weathering one of the most challenging economic crisis.”