The federal government announced brand new travel restrictions last month aimed at mitigating virus spread, especially of new COVID-19 variants of concern, including a mandatory three-day quarantine period at an approved hotel while waiting for PCR test results.

The new rule is set to officially come into effect for all travellers entering Canada on Monday, Feb. 22, and the government has finally released the list of approved quarantine hotels for the four cities permitted to accept international travellers: Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver.

In Toronto, four hotels near Pearson International Airport have been approved so far, though the government notes that "the list of hotels is incomplete and will be finalized in the coming days."

As of Friday afternoon, Alt Hotel Pearson Airport, Four Points by Sheraton and Element Toronto Airport, Holiday Inn Toronto International Airport and Sheraton Gateway Hotel in Toronto International Airport have all been designated government-authorized hotels for the mandatory quarantine period. 

When announcing the new restriction at the end of January, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau explained that travellers would have to pay out of pocket for the hotel stay, adding that costs could amount to more than $2,000 when taking into account the private PCR test and required hotel health and safety measures. 

According to the government's quarantine hotel webpage, prices of these hotel stopovers may vary by location and include costs associated with the food, room, security, transportation and infection prevention and control measures. 

The feds say travellers will be required to follow a number of rules during their hotel quarantine, including self-monitoring for symptoms of COVID-19 and reporting back daily through ArriveCAN, following the code of conduct of the hotel and paying for all costs associated with the three-night stay including any damage to the hotel room or property.

Returning travellers will also have to remain in their assigned rooms unless escorted by an official, limit face-to-face contact with others, and always wear a non-medical mask when opening the door to receive meals, speaking face-to-face with hotel personnel or being escorting outside their room.

Unlike rapid testing, PCR tests take multiple days to process, which explains the three-day duration of the hotel stay, and anyone whose test comes back negative after the short period will be free to go home to quarantine under what Trudeau referred to as "increased surveillance and enforcement" until the end of the 14-day period. 

Those who test positive, on the other hand, will not be permitted to return home and will instead have to wait out the remainder of their quarantine period in a designated government facility to prevent further spread.