OTTAWA—Canada’s new COVID-19 testing and quarantine rules for international air travellers appear to have convinced even more would-be travellers to stay put in recent weeks. In the last two weeks of January international arrivals fell to 106,000 people, and in the first two weeks of February, the figure fell further to 94,000 people, according to data from Canada Border Services Agency. The drop in international arrivals in early February is about four times the decline seen between early January and early February in 2019 and 2020. It came after Ottawa started making all international air travellers show proof of negative COVID-19 tests before boarding their planes. Since Feb. 22, international air travellers also must quarantine in specified hotels for three days after landing, pending the results of second COVID-19 tests. “That’s a very strong disincentive for people to fly,” said John Gradek, an aviation expert and McGill University lecturer. “They …
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