OTTAWA—The federal government is bringing in domestic travel restrictions on any passengers exhibiting symptoms associated with COVID-19, barring them from domestic flights and some inter-city train trips.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Saturday that beginning on Monday at noon, anyone presenting COVID-19 like symptoms — such as fever, coughing, or difficulty breathing — will not be permitted to board domestic flights or inter-city train services like Via Rail.

Provincially-regulated inter-city trains and buses, like those operated by Metrolinx in Ontario, are not affected by the new federal rules.

Meanwhile, Westjet said seven of its employees, not limited to flight staff, have tested positive for COVID-19 across the organization. The Calgary-based airline said they have taken extra precautions to limit the spread of COVID-19, including loading all aircraft with gloves, masks, hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes.

Westjet spokesperson Lauren Stewart said they have recently introduced aircraft fogging, where high-grade disinfectant is distributed through a fog machine, and are placing hand sanitizing wipes on every seat prior to customers boarding.

Workers in the transportation sector are exempted from the 14-day isolation requirement when flying in and out of the country, as they are designated as “essential to the movement of goods and people” by federal authorities.

The ramping up of travel restrictions comes as the country begins to see some hopeful signs that Canadians’ efforts to self-isolate and social distance are having an impact on the rate of COVID-19’s spread.

“We need you to continue to stay home. We need you to do everything we can to flatten the curve. Obviously there are sacrifices we’re all making, but it’s beginning to work,” Trudeau told reporters outside his residence at Rideau Cottage Saturday morning.

“We see promising news out of B.C. that over the past couple of weeks, the measures taken … by so many Canadians, the choices that Canadians have made, have had an impact on the overall numbers. But we need to keep it up.”

Figures released by the federal government show that as of Friday night, the number of new cases of COVID-19 across the country appear to have slowed down from a high of 160 reported on March 20 to 35 last Thursday.

The government noted, however, that there is a “lag time” of over a week where new cases have not yet been reported. That means those numbers could change, on reporting from public health authorities in the provinces and territories. The numbers also don’t include asymptomatic cases, where Canadians are carrying and potentially spreading the virus, but have not been tested.

“In addition, at any point in time there are many other people under investigation, awaiting laboratory results or not yet tested,” said Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, on Saturday. “Even if you are not hearing of cases in your community, it doesn’t mean there are no cases or that there are no exposures waiting to happen.”

While the numbers are encouraging, Canada is not “out of the woods yet,” Trudeau said.

“People need to know that the decline in the rate of transmission happened because two weeks ago, people started heeding these instructions and started self-isolation, started engaging in social distancing,” Trudeau said.

“And that is an excellent sign. But if we’re seeing a reduction in the spikes, that means what we are doing is working and we therefore need to continue what we are doing.”

The ban on domestic air and rail travel for people exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms means all passengers will be asked a series of health questions, be monitored for potential symptoms before boarding, and will be advised of recent advice from local health authorities.

The compliance is largely voluntary, though, and Dr. Howard Njoo noted that people can hide their symptoms.

“At the end of the day, it comes down to our collective understanding and collective motivation and approach to do the right thing,” Njoo, Canada’s deputy chief public health officer, told reporters at the daily COVID-19 briefing in Ottawa.

“It’s not just the responsibility of governments, airline companies, train companies. It’s the responsibility of every Canadian. If you are sick, stay at home. Don’t take the chance of exposing others to the infection you have.”

In a brief statement to the Star on Saturday afternoon, a spokesperson for Air Canada said the airline was seeking “clarification and more information” from Ottawa, but that it intends to be “fully compliant with any new requirements.”

Via Rail, meanwhile, was moving “immediately” to communicate with existing ticket holders about the new rules.

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“The new measures we are implementing will reinforce our efforts to protect the health and safety of our passengers and employees … (while providing) the public service in the best possible conditions under those difficult circumstances,” said Via Rail CEO Cynthia Garneau in a statement.

While Metrolinx and the GO Transit system are not covered by the new federal rules, the transit provider has seen an 80 per cent decline in ridership in recent weeks — suggesting many people in Ontario are voluntarily staying home.

“Based on the fact that Union Station is empty so much of the time, many people are following the advice. So that’s the good news,” Metrolinx senior manager of media relations Anne Marie Aikins told the Star in an interview.

With files from Omar Mosleh.

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