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Airport tests should be moved to communities that need them the most.
The healthcare workers are at the Pearson airport.
The photo was taken by REUTERS/Carlos Osorio.
Canada's two main airlines and its biggest airport are calling on the Canadian government to end mandatory COVID-19 testing at airports and shift those resources to communities where they are needed most.
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There is no good public health reason for a second test upon arrival in Canada, as every person travelling to Canada must take a PCR test prior to getting on a plane, according to an open letter from the chiefs of Air Canada, WestJet and Toronto Pearson International.
The government began ramping up testing of fully-vaccinated travellers last month. The capacity to test more than 20,000 arrivals daily has been reported by the CBC.
The government pays for these tests, which range from a low of 14 to a high of $188.
The letter states that in the most recent week of reported data, more than 123,000 tests were taken at Canada's airports with an average positivity rate of 3 per cent. The number of cases could be higher because of the lack of tests, as the positivity rate in communities is 30 per cent.
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The demand for tests has increased because of Omicron. Many provinces have had to ration tests for high risk people.
The airlines say that the government should do things differently.
Revert to testing international air passengers.
If a person arrives from an international location and tests positive for a disease, they should be isolated.
The letter said that removing arrivals testing from Toronto Pearson airport would free up 8,000 tests a day for the region, which would help keep vulnerable people safe.
Last week, the health minister said the government will continue mass-arrival testing.
He said at the news conference that they have the responsibility to make sure that there is as little importation as possible.
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