Canada fines two air passengers for false COVID-19 tests

Canada has fined two passengers for presenting a false or misleading COVID-19 test before boarding a flight to the country, the first time travelers have been hit since the introduction in January of mandatory pre-departure negative tests, the Canadian transport regulator said on Thursday.

Canada has fined two passengers for presenting a false or misleading COVID-19 test before boarding a flight to the country, the first time travelers have been hit since the introduction in January of mandatory pre-departure negative tests, the Canadian transport regulator said on Thursday. One of the passengers was fined C$10,000 ($7,871) while the other was fined C$7,000 for falsifying the COVID-19 test when they traveled from Mexico on January 23, Transport Canada said in a statement.

The travelers also made a false declaration about their health status before boarding a flight to Canada, after having tested positive for novel coronavirus a few days before the flight, the regulator said. More countries, like Canada, are introducing mandatory COVID-19 test requirements for travelers. Canada already has some of the toughest travel rules in the world aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus, including a mandatory 14-day quarantine.

($1 = 1.2705 Canadian dollars) (Reporting By Allison Lampert in Montreal. Editing by Jane Merriman)