TORONTO — It looks as though the federal government is extending the mandatory 14-day quarantine order through to at least April 21, 2021.

On the federal government’s site outlining Orders in Council, the cessation for the quarantine order is now 11:59:59 p.m. EDT on April 21, 2021.

The quarantine order has been extended many times since the pandemic started in March 2020.

Most recently Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Jan. 21 that the quarantine order would be extended until Feb. 21, just a few days away.

The extension to April 21 has yet to be announced by the Prime Minister or Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair.

Several new travel restrictions have come into effect in recent days, or will come into effect next week.

As of Feb. 15, all travellers returning to or arriving in Canada via land border crossings are now required to show proof of a 72-hour negative PCR test. The PCR test requirement is already in place for air travellers, as of Jan. 7.

Meanwhile the new hotel quarantine measures go into effect Feb. 22. Last week Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu said that hotel quarantine booking information will be available online starting Feb. 18. Travellers are responsible for reserving the hotel quarantine stay prior to their departure to Canada, for a stay of up to three nights at a designated hotel in one of the 4 cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary or Montreal) currently receiving international flights. Proof of booking must be submitted via the ArriveCAN app.

And on Jan. 29 Trudeau announced that all four of Canada’s major airlines had agreed to a request from the government to suspend operation of winter sun flights to Mexico and the Caribbean until April 30.