Lennard Skead says he felt like heB次元官网网址檇 been put in jail for a crime he didnB次元官网网址檛 commit when he returned to Canada from South Africa on Thursday.

Skead, who lives in Brandon, Man., said he wasnB次元官网网址檛 allowed to leave a Toronto quarantine hotel until the day after he received a negative result on the COVID-19 test he completed when he arrived in Canada.

B次元官网网址淥ur negative results came out on Saturday, but we are not allowed to leave until the quarantine officer calls us and tells us you can leave now. Nobody called us. Nobody called us until Sunday,B次元官网网址� said Skead, who was travelling with his wife, Charlotte.

Skead, who is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, said in an interview Monday that by the time he was told he could leave, he had already cancelled a flight back to Manitoba, keeping him in the hotel for another day. It was SkeadB次元官网网址檚 third negative COVID-19 test of the trip.

Canadians travelling from one of 10 African countries, including South Africa and Egypt, are required to obtain a COVID-19 test in the country theyB次元官网网址檙e travelling from, obtain a second test while in transit and get a third after arrival in Canada. They are required to stay at a designated facility on arrival.

Health Canada said in an email Monday that the requirement for testing in transit B次元官网网址渋s in place so that the risk of the traveller being exposed to the virus and its variants between the time of testing and boarding the plane, which can take up to 72 hours, is reduced.B次元官网网址�

Tiffany Gaura, who returned to Calgary from Cairo on Saturday, said she felt after landing in Canada that she was being punished for travelling to Africa.

B次元官网网址淔rom the time you give them your passport, they call somebody immediately who then stays with you, takes you through to a separate secondary screening area where they question you extensively, read you your rights, tell you you have a right to a lawyer and youB次元官网网址檙e being transported by the federal government to an isolation facility,B次元官网网址� she said in an interview Monday.

While the quarantine facility is in a hotel, she said, it doesnB次元官网网址檛 have any of the usual hotel services, like a restaurant, cleaning or room service.

Gaura, who was travelling with her two children, aged five and eight, said she doesnB次元官网网址檛 understand why she had to stay in a quarantine hotel instead of returning to her nearby home to isolate there.

B次元官网网址淭his is absurd for a family with a solid quarantine plan, who has no history of not following public health directives, whoB次元官网网址檚 fully vaccinated, whoB次元官网网址檚 following all the rules, who has done all the PCR tests,B次元官网网址� she said.

Asked about reports of poor conditions in federal quarantine facilities, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said Monday the requirement is B次元官网网址渁 necessary and fair trade-off.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e not going to spare any expense or resources when it comes to protecting Canadians, including at the border. WeB次元官网网址檙e going to continue to provide clear travel guidance to all Canadians and others who are travelling to Canada,B次元官网网址� he told reporters in Ottawa.

Gaura said she thinks CanadaB次元官网网址檚 decision to place additional restrictions only on African nations at a time when the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus is present in Europe and the United States is B次元官网网址渙pportunistic and xenophobic.B次元官网网址�

She said she was lucky she was able to clear German customs and get a PCR test while transiting in Frankfurt, because while Canada has put restrictions on Egypt, Germany has not.

Epidemiologist Dr. Prabhat Jha of St. MichaelB次元官网网址檚 Hospital in Toronto says CanadaB次元官网网址檚 travel restrictions are counterproductive.

B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e not fully informed by what we know about the science. WeB次元官网网址檝e known that it didnB次元官网网址檛 really help slow the introduction of Delta.B次元官网网址�

Jha says testing before boarding a plane and on arrival is reasonable and should be done at a larger and more rapid scale.

He adds the only other way to prevent new variants from spreading across the world is to accelerate vaccines for everyone.

B次元官网网址淲e canB次元官网网址檛 keep playing Whac-A-Mole with different variants and travel restrictions. Vaccinating the world would fully protect us. B次元官网网址�

On Saturday, the federal government announced that travellers coming from South Africa and transiting through Frankfurt would be exempt from the in-transit testing requirement until Dec. 13.

Tasha-ann Bussell of Rossland, B.C., whose husband was in South Africa for his brotherB次元官网网址檚 wedding, said he was able to use that new exemption to get on a flight home, due to land in Calgary Monday.

B次元官网网址淗eB次元官网网址檚 exhausted and stressed,B次元官网网址� Bussell said in an interview Monday. B次元官网网址淲e have three small children and my youngest and the middle child have birthdays in December so heB次元官网网址檒l miss that B次元官网网址� at least heB次元官网网址檚 gonna be home for Christmas.B次元官网网址�

She adds sheB次元官网网址檚 not angry with the government for implementing the regulations because one of her children is immunocompromised.

B次元官网网址淚 really appreciate the fact that they are trying their best,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 just hard. ThatB次元官网网址檚 all it is.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址擩acob Serebrin, The Canadian Press