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Canada and the United States have seized hundreds of fake COVID-19 and vaccine cards from border officials.
The Toronto Starreported. While more than 300 fraudulent cards have been reported by the Canada Border Services Agency, only a few people have been assessed. The Public Health Agency of Canada has issued 17 fines relating to the reports thus far.
In the US the United States, a woman was caught by American border guards wearing her sister’s passport as well as proof of COVID-19 vaccination as she was trying to enter the US from Canada, according to The Star. According to US Customs and Border Protection the woman has not been charged.
The Star was informed by law enforcement experts that using fake or fake documents to travel across the border is a serious offence. There are severe penalties for violating the law, including possible jail time as well as travel bans and thousands of dollars in fines.
Citizens also are allowed to travel. This means that those who have fake COVID-19 documents are permitted to enter the country. But border officials then pass the information of the traveler to the Public Health Agency of Canada who can investigate and issue fines.
Health experts have expressed concern about what the fraudulent records could be a sign for the spread of the disease, especially as the Omicron variant continues to spread.
“I am curious about the percentage that segment represents of the total number of people who are coming in not being tested or vaccinated,” Lorian Hardcastle, an expert in health policy at the University of Calgary, told CBC.
“We need to keep these enforcement efforts going and make sure that we are weeding out as many falsified and fraudulent records as we can,” she said.
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