Reminder: Know the 14-day rule and other international travel restrictions

January 6, 2022

With some students returning from international holidays, the district would like to remind parents to regularly check the federal government's website to stay up to date on the latest travel rules and restrictions, including quarantine and testing requirements.

Quarantine Requirements

IMPORTANT: Students who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated CANNOT attend school for 14 days following their return, regardless of who they travel with or if they receive a negative PCR test result before and/or after an international flight, according to federal travel guidance around COVID-19.

This 14-day attendance restriction also applies to:

day cares and camps
settings with vulnerable people (i.e. long-term care facilities)
large crowded indoor or outdoor settings (i.e. amusement parks, sporting events)
crowded public transportation that does not ensure physical distancing

There are exemptions for travel as part of cross-border custody agreements. For more information on this exemption, check here.

To quality as a fully vaccinated traveller to Canada, you must:

have received at least 2 doses of a vaccine accepted for travel, a mix of 2 accepted vaccines or at least one dose of the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson vaccine
have received your second dose at least 15 calendar days before you enter Canada (For example, if your second dose was on Feb. 1, then Feb. 16 would be the first day that you meet the 15-day condition)

Testing Requirements

The federal government also requires all travellers five and up flying into Canada from countries other than the United States to take a COVID-19 test upon arrival at Canadian airports and self-isolate until they receive a negative result, whether or not they are fully vaccinated.

The arrival test is in addition to the already required pre-entry PCR test that must be taken within 72 hours of scheduled flights into Canada. If an arrival test is not available, travellers will be given a take-home test.

Fully vaccinated students can return to school after receiving a negative result from their arrival test, as long as they also received a negative pre-entry PCR test and their second vaccination was at least two weeks prior to their return.

Unvaccinated travellers must isolate for the full 14 days and test on Day 1 and Day 8 of their quarantine.

As long as travellers have a safe place to isolate, they do not have to stay in a government quarantine hotel.

For more information on federal guidance and restrictions, visit travel.gc.ca/travel-covid and canada.ca/coronavirus. See also the district's International Travel and School fact sheet.

For information on provincial measures, visit bccdc.ca/covid19 or call 811.