Cost of mandatory quarantine for newly arrived refugees to be covered by government

OTTAWA -- Newly arriving refugees will have the cost of their mandatory hotel quarantines covered by the federal government.

The federal government is also covering the cost of mandatory COVID-19 testing on arrival.

As of Monday, most incoming travellers to Canada are required to stay for up to three nights in government-approved hotels while they await the results of COVID-19 tests.

The new rules are meant to guard against further spread of COVID-19 and discourage travel.

But the fact travellers must pay out of pocket had refugee groups in particular concerned about how they'd find the money.

Despite widespread travel restrictions, refugees do continue to arrive in Canada -- about 9,000 came in 2020.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 18, 2021.