MONTREAL -- The arrival gate at Trudeau International Airport looks a lot different now, as the Montreal airport prepares to test passengers when they land.
"Basically they'll be entering a zone with 16 kiosks, where they will get their COVID tests, so they can start their quarantine back home," explained Patrick Lauzon, the chief innovation officer at Biron Health Group, the company that will be issuing the tests.
The arrivals test is the second of three tests required under new government-enforced quarantine rules set to take effect as of Monday.
"There's one test before you leave, so that test, then a test here, and a third test ten days after," explained Lauzon. Travellers will be required to pay for the tests themselves.
As they await results, travellers will have to stay at one of four hotels near the airport chosen by the government.
There are still details to be worked out regarding the hotel bill, expected to be as high as $2,000, also at the traveller's expense, though some appear to cost much less.
"The hotels are setting the price based on their own their own deliberations on their own expenses," explained Canadian Health Minister Patty Hajdu. "People need to be prepared for the additional expense of quarantining in a federal facility for up to three days."
What's not clear is what happens to that hotel bill if the passenger gets a negative test result back before the average waiting period of three days.
"They're supposed to spend up to three days at the hotel, but they might get relieved from that if they get the test sooner," said Lauzon.
Watch the video above for Billy Shields's TV report from the airport.
