To the point
International travellers will be required to stay in a three-day quarantine at a hotel selected by Ottawa beginning February 22, 2021.
COVID-19 - Hotel quarantine effective February 22, 2021
A few days ago, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the implementation, in the coming weeks, of a mandatory three-day quarantine in a hotel, at the expense of travellers, which could cost more than $2,000.
On 8 February 2021, the Government of Canada issued a call for tenders to hotels interested in hosting travellers (see below for details).
On February 12, Justin Trudeau announced that the mandatory hotel quarantine will be implemented as of February 22, 2021.
These measures will be in place for those returning to Canada by air:
- 72 hours before arrival: COVID-19 screening test
- One COVID-19 test upon arrival AND at the end of the 14-day quarantine period.
- Stay of up to 3 nights in the hotel, located less than 10 km from the Airport of the city where they arrive, while waiting for the test result (the list will be revealed on February 18 online). After a negative result, the traveller will be able to reach his final destination with a connecting flight. If the result arrives before 3 nights, you will need to check with the hotel to see if a refund can be obtained.
- The cost of the stay will vary depending on the hotel (approximately $2,000) and will include room, meals, cleaning, infection prevention and control measures, security and transportation.
- Remaining home quarantine (14 days in total)
Over the land border:
- 72 hours prior to arrival: COVID-19 screening test OR present proof of a positive test result within 14 and 90 days prior to arrival. Exemptions exist.
- 14-day home quarantine
- As of February 22nd:
- A border entry test
- A test at the end of the quarantine
Vaccinated persons will also have to comply with these measures.
Whether by air or land, all travellers will be required to submit their travel and contact information and quarantine plan to the ArriveCan application before crossing the border or boarding their flight.
For more information on the list of land ports of entry with testing facilities, please see the following link.
Selected hotels near Montreal-Trudeau International airport YUL
Here is the list of the 10 hotels that Ottawa would have selected near Montreal-Trudeau International Airport. This list will be subject to change as the situation evolves.
- Montreal Airport Marriott In-Terminal Hotel
- Aloft Montreal Airport
- Fairfield Inn & Suites Montreal Airport
- DoubleTree by Hilton Montreal Airport
- Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton
- Comfort Inn Dorval
- Holiday Inn Express and Suites Montreal Airport
- Crowne Plaza Montreal Airport
- Baymont by Wyndham Montreal Airport
- Comfort Inn Pointe-Claire
According to the JDM, travellers will be able to order their food from the hotel or from third party services such as Uber Eats.
This raises the question of the final cost for these hotel nights: the answer will be known on February 18, when the booking portal goes online.
It would, therefore, be possible for banner hotels to earn points and elite nights (provided that the reservation can be made directly on the hotel’s website, such as Marriott.com or hilton.com). Maybe even get 5 points per dollar with the Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express® Card!
A small compensation!
The hotel selection process
Operational guidelines
The selection criteria to become a listed hotel fall under 10 key areas:
- Location of the hotel
- Access Considerations
- Ventilation capacity
- Basic infrastructure and functional requirements
- Space requirements for the facility
- Traveller Services
- Infection Prevention and Control Infrastructure
- Cleaning
- Food Safety
- Data reporting
The Government of Canada wants to reassure hoteliers who would like to participate in this initiative:
Generally, these hotels will be for people who are asymptomatic, have provided a negative pre-departure COVID-19 molecular test result, and are not close contacts of confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19. Travellers staying at these hotels while they await their test results may have symptoms of COVID-19 but previously tested negative on their pre-departure test or may have symptoms that are not related to COVID-19.
To summarize, the Government of Canada admits here in half-words that these travellers would not pose a great risk to Public Health or the hotels that would participate in this initiative.
1. Location of the hotel
- Located no more than 10 km from an international airport; proximity to a designated quarantine facility is an asset
- Clear and congestion-free access to hotel room
- Accessible to a tertiary care hospital facility
2. Access Considerations
- Compliant with the provincial fire code regulations
- Accessibility for wheelchairs and other assistive devices
- Provide appropriate transportation from airport to hotel
- Parking space for travellers arriving by private vehicle
3. Ventilation capacity
- Compliant with Standard Practice for Inspection and Maintenance of Commercial Building HVAC Systems (ASHRAE Standard 180 “Standard Practice for Inspection and Maintenance of Commercial Building HVAC Systems“)
- Compliant with Indoor Air Quality Standards for optimal humidity levels (ASHRAE 62.1 “Ventilation for acceptable Indoor Air Quality“)
4. Basic infrastructure and functional requirements
- Online registration, check-in and check-out procedures
- Note: Travellers will be required to use a 3rd party centralized booking system to reserve and pre-pay their hotel stay
- Able to load proposed rate for this initiative in the Apollo Global Distribution System (GDS) with a unique rate code. Alternatively, if the property is not on the Apollo GDS, it must be able to provide a unique rate code in order for the identified travel management company to book the rate.
- Secured, controlled, and monitored entry and exit points
- 24/7 reception desk service and availability of hotel staff
- Measures in place to monitor compliance with mandatory isolation requirements (e.g. traveller movement within hotel)
- Individual rooms with bathroom; accessible rooms should be available
- Functional telephone system for providing communications
5. Space requirements for the facility
- Laundry facilities (on- or off-site)
- Meal preparation (on- or off-site) and food maintained at appropriate temperature before delivery
6. Traveller Services
- Contactless meal delivery to traveller rooms
- Functional television and radio
- Free Wifi access
7. Infection prevention and control (IPC) infrastructure
- Physical separation between regular clients and travellers. This also includes separate floors, elevators/staircases
- One way circulation for entry and exit of travellers
- Staff trained on all appropriate personal preventive and occupational health and safety measures.
- Establish a process for essential and short outside time (e.g. smoke break) that minimizes contact with others and includes mask use and physical distancing (2m)
- Alcohol-based hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol to be provided in each traveller room, throughout common areas and at all entry/exit points.
8. Cleaning
- Staff are trained on COVID-19 Cleaning and disinfecting guidelines and know how to apply these best cleaning practices for public spaces
- Provision of appropriate disinfectants for travellers to clean high-touch surfaces in their own rooms (e.g. bedside tables, toilets, light switches).
- Frequently touched surfaces are cleaned and disinfected in all hotel common areas twice daily and more often when visibly dirty (e.g. elevator buttons, stair cases hand rails, door knobs, countertops) with an approved hard-surface disinfectants that have a Drug Identification Number (DIN) or if an approved disinfectant product is not available, use a diluted bleach solution.
- Staff and public bathroom and toilet surfaces are cleaned and disinfected at least twice daily with appropriate disinfectant
- Clean linens provided at beginning of stay and exchanged upon request.
- Laundry — clean bedding and hand towels, etc., — using regular laundry soap and water or machine wash at 60-90 °C with common laundry detergent and dry thoroughly
- Waste generated during quarantine should be placed in plastic garbage bags and sealed before disposal
- Rooms must be thoroughly cleaned and properly disinfected after each traveller/family stay
9. Food Safety
- Meals delivered must follow Canada’s food guide and take into account the travellers dietary restrictions (allergies, religious and dietary needs)
- Caterer or food service provider must be compliant with the Safe Food for Canadians Act, the Food and Drugs Act as well as the all required provincial and municipal food safety legislations
- Water must be potable by meeting the requirements of Health Canada’s Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality
10. Data reporting
- Capacity to report daily the number of travellers
- Capacity to generate daily list of travellers (check-in, check-out)
- Capacity to report non-compliant travellers to PHAC
Cover: Marriott Montreal Airport Terminal YUL – Credit: Marriott.com
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