The rapid increase in the number of COVID-19 cases produced by the omicron variant around the world has brought particular stress on health care areas related to testing, with the exception of intensive care units thanks to vaccination campaigns.
In response to limited testing capacity, Drs. Jim Chung, Edward Wasser, and Tammy McKnight, who serve as Chief Medical Officers for Air Canada, Toronto-Pearson Airport, and Westjet respectively, published an open letter this week requesting that the Canadian government should lift the requirement that all international passengers undergo a PCR test upon arrival so that resources can be directed to other sectors of the community.
The letter states that there is a growing discrepancy between the resources allocated to testing asymptomatic passengers and those who need it more than anyone else, citing official data showing that out of more than 123,000 PCR tests performed at Canadian airports, 3% were found to be positive, when the national average is around 30%.
«A recent study prepared for the Manchester Airports Group found that, at best, in-travel testing delayed the peak of cases by no more than 5 days, and made the total case count only 3% lower. This was because Omicron was already prevalent in communities long before it was detected as a variant of concern in South Africa. In fact, here in Canada, we have also known that Omicron was present and circulating in our communities long before the first official case was reported in Canada,» they said.
The doctors further stated that since all passengers taking a flight to Canada must undergo a PCR test at origin in addition to being fully vaccinated, there is no good public health rationale for a second test upon arrival.
The specific requests are to eliminate mandatory testing on arrival at airports, return to the random monitoring system, and require mandatory isolation of international passengers if they have symptoms or test positive on a spot test.
«Collectively, our organizations have worked hard to keep travel safe, and we have achieved a positivity rate ten times lower than what is present in the community. Now is the time to move testing resources to where they are needed the most. Removing PCR testing at arrivals at Toronto Pearson Airport alone would free up 8,000 tests a day for the Greater Toronto Area, helping to keep our most vulnerable – those in long-term care, hospitals and our school-going children – safe. Now is the time to put scarce testing resources where Canadians need them most: in our communities, not at our airports,» they concluded.
