Travel Guidelines
All international travelers understand and accept the risk of travel during a global pandemic that evolves in ways that are not predictable. Therefore PGME learners are accountable for any outcomes resulting from their decision to travel internationally.

Government of Canada Guidelines
All learners are asked to thoroughly review all Government of Canada travel and COVID -19 guidelines at the links provided before travel.

• Temporary border restrictions and measures have been put in place to address the Omicron COVID-19 variant. Fully vaccinated travelers entering Canada who have been in any country other than Canada and the United States in the 14 days prior to entry to Canada will be subject to arrival testing and enhanced public health measures.
• Requirements for unvaccinated travellers remain unchanged.
• Travelers must quarantine in a suitable place until they receive a negative test result.
• Please review the Government of Canada’s travel guidance and advisories regarding requirements on re-entering Canada .

HHS and SJHH Travel Information and Guidelines
This information has been provided by Employee Health Services, HHS and Occupational Health and Safety, SJHH. Any differences in guidelines have been identified by the hospital acronym (HHS/SJHH).

International Travel Requirements
Most notably, the federal government has implemented arrival testing for international travelers returning to Canada. Results from arrival testing may take a few to several days post entry. Anyone awaiting test results from arrival testing will be required to isolate until test results are available. Learners who are directed and required to isolate upon re-entry into Canada, will not be permitted to return to work until they are officially released from their isolation period. The hospital will not intervene with federal recommendations related to isolations for HHS/SJHH employees.

Learners are responsible for any outcomes related to the federal requirement for quarantining upon return to Canada. Additional days away from work must be incorporated into the employees planned vacation time and may result in additional vacation days used.

Booking vacations for travel outside of Canada
For healthcare workers booking vacations and travelling outside of Canada, a reminder that the hospital only approves vacation time, and not where an individual chooses to spend their vacation time. Personal travel decisions are up to an individual and their own judgement. If you are travelling to a country where there is a federal requirement for quarantining upon your return to Canada, please incorporate this into your planned vacation time.

Requirements for vacation time:

• Get approval from your manager for your vacation time.
• Staff are encouraged to notify their manager, if they are planning to travel outside of Canada.
• Be able to attend to the first schedule shift upon expected return from approved vacation. If employee is experiencing delays in returning to Canada and are unable to attend any scheduled shift, this may have significant operational issues for the work team. It is the employees responsibility notify the program director, program administrator, supervisor or manager as quickly as possible to avoid any undue hardship to the team and patient care.
• SJHH only- Should you not take all reasonable efforts to report for your schedule shift(s), your missed time may be considered an unauthorized absence from work.
• Those working remotely must follow these same guidelines.

Meetings and Gathering

HHS
Guidelines for meetings and gatherings, and information regarding sharing food during the holidays are available in the updates section on our website

SJHH
We are asking that there be no holiday celebration gatherings on site. This is a new direction based on the increasing rates of infection due to the Omicron variant. Similarly, we are asking that any gatherings be done with full masking, and without food or drink. Please review the Safety Protocols for SJHH staff, physicians, and learners

For off-site gatherings, we suggest following the advice of Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario’s Medical Officer of Health, that Ontarians opt for small holiday gatherings this year and keep social contacts to a minimum. To listen to Dr. Moore’s comments.