Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos announced today, 26NOV, that Canada will be limiting travel from seven countries in southern Africa due to reports of a new COVID-19 variant.
Effective 26NOV, all foreign nationals who have travelled through South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini or Mozambique in the last 14 days will be barred from entering Canada, the CBC reports.
Canadians and foreign nationals who arrived in the country in the past two weeks will have to self-isolate immediately and get tested before leaving their 14-day quarantine.
In addition, travellers must take a molecular test in any country they connect through on their way to Canada as there are no direct flights from the southern Africa region. Canadians will have to be tested immediately upon returning from southern Africa and will have to be tested again on their eighth day of quarantine.
According to the CBC, countries such as Britain, Israel and Singapore have already restricted travel from same areas of Africa in an effort to contain the newly identified "omnicron" COVID-19 variant.
On 26NOV, the U.K. Health Security Agency said that the new strain found in southern Africa is the "most complex" and the "most worrying we've seen." European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is proposing that EU member states pull the "emergency brake" on travel from some countries in Africa to limit the spread of the variant.
Earlier today, Ontario Premier Doug Ford called on Ottawa to ban all flights and passengers from countries linked to the new variant.
“Anyone arriving before the ban is implemented should be tested and quarantined, including the many passengers arriving today. Out of an abundance of caution, we must also reintroduce point-of-arrival testing for all passengers arriving to Canada, regardless of where they’re coming from,” he said.
On 25NOV, South Africa's health minister said the omnicron variant is a concern because of its high number of mutations and rapid spread among young people.
