International students entering Canada are required by the government of Canada to go through the process of a minimum of 14 days mandatory quarantine. If students show symptoms during the quarantine, are exposed to another traveller with symptoms, or test positive for COVID-19, the student must begin an additional 14 days of isolation. The initial 3 days must be spent at a government designated hotel. The following 11 days or longer can be spent at a place that's "suitable" for quarantine. So are homestays suitable places for quarantine? Government of Canada set up the following general guidelines of whether a place is suitable for quarantine. Note students may be asked by the officers at the border to verify such information. 1. stay for 14 days or possibly longer 2. have access to the necessities of life, including water, food, medication and heat without leaving quarantine 3. can avoid contact with others who did not travel with you 4. have no visits from family or guests Most homestay hosts who agree with students living there are able to meet the above criteria 1, 2, and 4. The only challenge is: Can student avoid contact with others who did not travel with him/her in a homestay setting? More specifically, government of Canada gives a few examples of shared living places NOT suitable for quarantine: source: https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/isolation
While some homestays are able to offer private living space to the student, and avoid contact with others not travelled with him/her, other homestays are only able to offer the place in a shared setting. If students decide to quarantine in a homestay, here are our recommended steps to take. 1. Contact hosts on homadorma.com. Communicate with the host about the quarantine plan. 2. Verify with the host that he/she allows students to quarantine in the homestay 3. Verify with the host that he/she is able to provide the quarantine place that meets the requirements published on government of Canada website. 2. After booking the homestay, ask the host to issue a letter of statement in the following format: "I, John Doe, is willing to accommodate the traveller, Jane Doe, at 123 ABC avenue. I confirm that the place of accommodation is a suitable place for quarantine where the traveler: 1. stay for 14 days or possibly longer 2. have access to the necessities of life, including water, food, medication and heat without leaving quarantine 3. can avoid contact with others who did not travel with you 4. have no visits from family or guests I confirm that the place of accommodation is not a Congregate living settings, including settings with vulnerable populations. Name Date Signature: It is our understanding that by issuing such statement, you are able to give the border officer an extra layer of confidence that the place is ideal for quarantine. However, please note Homadorma does not have authority to determine whether the place is suitable for quarantine, and that the student is at his/her own risk when choosing a homestay as a place for quarantine. Homadorma assumes no liability should the student not allowed to enter the Canadian border due to not able to meet the quarantine criteria set by the government of Canada. Comments are closed.
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AuthorA blog where Homadorma team share information with our hosts and students. |