Ottawa (DailyExpertNews) — Canada issued a travel advisory on Wednesday asking its citizens to avoid all non-essential international travel as the Omicron variant spreads around the world.
“We see the situation abroad and we are scared and concerned about what could happen to Canadians who choose to go abroad in the coming weeks,” said Jean-Yves Duclos, Canada’s health minister, during a press conference on Wednesday.
“The situation abroad is already dire in many places and it will get worse very quickly. So we are afraid of what could happen to them if they choose to travel. And once they leave Canada, we could very well do little to help them,” he said.
While Canadian government officials have indicated other restrictions could be announced in the coming days, the US-Canada border will remain open and those traveling overland will not be required to take a negative Covid-19 test if their trip is shorter than 72 hours. and they are fully vaccinated.
Stricter travel measures may still come
Officials said they could not rule out the imposition of tougher measures in the coming days. The current advice will last at least four weeks.
“We are constantly evaluating, so if we feel we need to change our policy, we will announce it as soon as possible, but for now we are monitoring and assessing it,” Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said at the press conference.
Public health officials have warned in recent days that despite high vaccination levels, Canadians remain vulnerable to the Omicron variant and that a rapid increase in Covid-19 cases in Canada could be possible in the coming weeks.
‘Rising threat from Omicron’
“I know the increasing threat that Omicron poses is not something we want to deal with, especially now just before the holidays. I know we are all tired, we are all tired of Covid. But I think we are all tired of that.” We also understand after 21 months of battling this virus and doing a pretty good job as a country that taking hard decisions quickly and acting cautiously pays off,” Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said in announcing the travel advisory.
The rollout of boosters in Canada is increasing in many provinces. Federal officials say about 16 million doses are available with more to come. Federal ministers indicated that the delivery of booster doses would take at least several weeks.
Top image: An Air Canada plane at Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL) on October 3, 2021. (Photo by Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images)