Over fears about the development of a new Covid strain, Canada banned foreign travelers from seven African countries on Friday: Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.
After the World Health Organization classified the recently found B.1.1.529 strain of Covid-19 to be a “variant of concern,” dubbing it Omicron, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos made the announcement, joining a step taken by several other countries, including the United States and the European Union.
“We are acting quickly in order to protect the health and safety of Canadians,” Duclos told a news conference.
“We know very little about this variant right now,” said Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam, “including how transmissible it is and whether it increases the severity of illness or what the impact is on the vaccine.
“But because of so many mutations in specific areas of the genome, we’re taking this precautionary measure,” she said.
There are no direct flights from the seven countries named in the travel ban to Canada.
Canadians traveling indirectly from the region will be required to get a pre-flight negative Covid test and will be quarantined for 14 days upon arrival in the country.
Travel restrictions will be in effect until January 31 as officials “assess the evolving situation,” according to Transport Minister Omar Alghabra.
AFP
