Amidst the Covid situation relief a new variant has been detected from African areas. The Canadian government announced that it will limit travel to southern Africa, a region which has reported cases of a new COVID-19 variant of concern.
As of November 26, all foreign nationals who have travelled through the seven affected countries in the last 14 days will not be allowed to enter Canada. The affected nations include: South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Mozambique.
Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be allowed to return home, but they will have to fly home indirectly, passing through a third country where they will also need to take COVID-19 test.
Canada’s health minister, Jean-Yves Duclos said “people already in Canada who travelled in the region over the past two weeks should get a COVID-19 test and stay in isolation until they receive a negative test result”.
Moreover, transport Minister Omar Alghabra said new measures will be in effect until at least Jan. 31, 2022. “The announcement comes after the World Health Organization (WHO) dubbed the new COVID-19 strain, also known as Omicron or B.1.1.529, as a variant of concern. So far, the Omicron variant has been detected in South Africa, Botswana, as well as in Israel, Belgium, and Hong Kon”. However, it has not been found in Canada yet, according to the Chief Public Health Officer, Theresa Tam.
