(Ottawa) Canada is following in the footsteps of countries in Europe and Asia by banning non-essential travel to and from countries on the African continent affected by the transfer of the new species discovered in South Africa, the Omicron.
On Friday, Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos and Minister of Transport Omar Al-Ghubra announced a package of measures to counter the spread of this new type, which is potentially highly contagious and has multiple mutations.
Consequently, all foreign nationals who have resided in South Africa in the past 14 days can no longer enter Canada. Countries include South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Namibia.
In addition, everyone who has arrived in Canada in the past two weeks, whether Canadian or foreign, must self-isolate and get tested for COVID-19. They will be required to wait for a negative result for this COVID test before exiting the isolation period.
In the case of Canadians and permanent residents who intend to return to Canada, they will have to take the test when they arrive at the Canadian border and wait until the test result comes back negative. They will then have to self-quarantine for two weeks and be tested again on the eighth day.
The Department of Foreign Affairs should issue advice to strongly discourage all Canadians from traveling to this part of the world. Finally, Canadians returning to the country after visiting southern Africa will have to be tested at the time of their last layover before returning home.
d saidRe Theresa Tam, director of Public Health Canada.
Minister Duclos did not want to advance on the duration of these measures. “Obviously it can be seen. We are doing this for an approach that I call suspenders and harnesses, to make sure we are as careful as possible, as we have been throughout the COVID-19 crisis. We will continue to assess the situation with the help of scientists of course,” Minister Duclos said.
He said that the Canadian government is imposing the strongest measures to limit the spread of the new alternative. “Compared to what we find elsewhere in the world, we have probably the most solid procedure, even if we are a little further from the African continent.”
Photo by Justin Tang, press archives
Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos
There are no direct flights between Canada and South African countries, Transport Minister Omar Al Ghabra said. He stressed that the list of seven countries targeted by these measures could be extended if the situation so required.
“It’s really scary,” Legault says.
Earlier on Friday, judging the new variant of COVID-19 detected in South Africa as “extremely concerning,” Prime Minister Francois Legault was among several elected officials across Canada who urged the Trudeau government to ban express flights. From this country, as well as banning entry to all passengers who passed through.
“We must go as quickly as possible. Everything must be done to obtain as little of this alternative as possible. I ask that this stop now,” Mr. Legault had then struck on the fringes of the Great Indigenous Economic Circle in Montreal. “It’s really scary,” he also said in English about this new alternative.
As Quebec crossed the threshold of 1,000 COVID-19 cases on Friday, the prime minister reiterated that Quebec “remains about 200 hospitalizations, four to five times less than what we see in the United States.” “With all my heart,” he says, he can allow all families to come together at Christmas, for a “more normal” holiday.
Thanks to vaccination, our hospitalizations remain relatively low, but it will be important to continue vaccinating children aged 5-11 years, in order to increase vaccination coverage.
François Legault, Prime Minister of Quebec
Until then, “we must not take it too seriously, we must be careful, we must respect the instructions,” pleaded Mr. Legault again, who promises announcements about the measures that will be in place during the holidays. End of the year “next year a few weeks.” “I also understand that there are mental health considerations,” he said.
Mr Legault does not currently intend to request a halt to flights with Belgium, the first European country to report a case, or with Hong Kong and Israel. “At the moment, we have no indication that there are many in Belgium at the moment. It will also be necessary to find out if the person who obtained the replacement came from South Africa. It is up to the federal government to make sure that we take this seriously,” he said. Grandpa”.
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