On Wednesday, officials announced that the mandatory hotel quarantine rule in Canada will soon be lifted for fully vaccinated Canadian arrivals. With Covid-19 cases on the decline, officials say the hotel quarantine rule can be lifted as early as next month.

In February, the government introduced the institutional quarantine rule which require international arrival to stay at a government-approved hotel for three days on arrival and at their own expense. This decision was taken to prevent the introduction of variants, amid a rise in Canadians travelling abroad on vacations despite warnings against non-essential trips.

Health Minister Patty Hajdu said border restrictions will soon be phased out as the rollout of Covid-19 vaccinations is now picking up speed.

At a news conference, Ms. Hajdu said, “What is currently being considered as the first step in this approach is to allow fully vaccinated individuals currently permitted to enter Canada to do so without the requirement to stay in government-authorized accommodations.”

She said, “Travellers would have to be fully vaccinated 14 days or more prior to their arrival”, adding that this was expected to happen in “early July”.

Proof of a Covid-19 PCR test will still be required by Canadian citizens, permanent residents, international students, and essential workers arriving in Canada. Passengers will be tested again for Covid-19 upon arrival and must self-isolate at home while awaiting their test results.

As of now, the country’s airspace and borders remain closed to most of the world, including tourists.

Canada had recorded nearly 600 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday. The numbers have drastically reduced since April when the daily record was over 10,000 cases.

Almost 24 million Canadians or 63 percent of the residents have already received at least one vaccine dose, as of Wednesday. However, according to the Covid-19 tracker website, only three million people in Canada have been fully vaccinated.