Canada Issues Travel Bans to 7African Countries Over New Covid-19 Strain

Canada Issues Travel Bans to 7African Countries Over New Covid-19 Strain

Canada has banned foreign travellers from seven African countries. The countries affected by the ban are Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe over concerns about the spread of a new Covid strain.

Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos made the announcement, joining a step taken by several other countries, including the United States as well as the European Union, after the World Health Organization declared the recently discovered B.1.1.529 strain of Covid-19 to be a “variant of concern,” renaming it Omicron.

Canada Issues Travel Bans to 7African Countries Over New Covid-19 Strain

“We are acting quickly in order to protect the health and safety of Canadians,” Duclos told a news conference.

“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 to Canada from the seven nations listed in the travel ban.

Canadian travellers arriving indirectly from the region will be required to obtain a pre-flight negative Covid test and quarantine for 14 days on arrival in the country.

The travel restrictions will be in place until January 31, while officials “assess the evolving situation,” said Transport Minister Omar Alghabra.