MONTREAL -- Starting Monday, international travellers coming to Canada will have to quarantine in a hotel for three days at their own expense while they wait for the results of a COVID-19 test.
On Thursday, Health Canada is expected to release a list of the approved hotels but a day earlier, CTV Montreal was able to visit one of the sites.
The Baymont Hotel, located near Trudeau Airport, has experienced a drop in business of near 90 per cent since the pandemic began, according to manager George Chamy. But that will change on Monday, when the hotel expects to be so busy that 12 staff members have been hired back.
“We're going to monitor them for security with the cameras, they are not going to be allowed out of their rooms,” said Chamy.
Each guest will be given a sanitizing kit and will have three meals a day delivered to their room, with a selection that includes vegetarian, kosher, halal and other options.
Chamy said the only reason guests will be allowed out of their rooms it go outside to smoke.
In normal times, a three-day stay at the hotel would cost less than $500, but the Canadian government has warned those entering the country to expect to pay around $2,000.
Chamy said he hasn't been informed of pricing specifics yet but said there will be extra fees.
“We have to add the transportation, the meals, the security guards,” he said.
He added that expects guests receiving a negative COVID test quicker than three days to be allowed to leave earlier, but did not know whether the full three days will still be charged.
