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OTTAWA — Asylum seekers crossing by foot into Canada from the U.S. are being screened for COVID-19 and moved to a shelter to accommodate the requirement that all incoming travellers to Canada self-isolate for 14 days, the federal public safety minister said Tuesday.

Efforts to ensure border crossers follow those guidelines come as the federal government ramps up restrictions on entry into Canada in a bid to cut off new sources of infection.

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Starting Wednesday, most international air travel will be routed to four airports, and only Canadians, permanent residents, Americans and a few other groups of people will be allowed into the country. The government hinted Tuesday that cross-border traffic with the U.S. could still be curtailed further.

Around 1,000 people a month have been entering Canada for nearly three years between formal border crossings in order to request refugee status here, crossing over farmers’ fields or well-trod paths to get around the Safe Third Country Agreement with the U.S. The deal doesn’t allow people to request asylum at official land border points, but people can lodge claims once inside the country.

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Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said Tuesday that the asylum seekers are being screened for COVID-19 symptoms, but rather than following the normal protocol of referring them to temporary shelter — most often in Montreal, as the majority are arriving in Quebec — alternative accommodation is being arranged to account for the voluntary isolation period.

Details on that were not immediately available.

“We are doing this because we believe it is necessary and in the best interest of keeping all Canadians healthy and safe,” he said.

Conservative immigration critic Peter Kent said it made no sense to allow the asylum seekers to continue to enter the country.

“This is the perfect time to close the gaping Safe Third Country loophole and apply (the) same restrictions at irregular crossings as at formal border posts,” Kent said on Twitter.