[ad_1]
The Canadian government said Tuesday that its border containment measures were effective as the travel ban with the U.S. was extended.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended Ottawa’s protection efforts, but warned that incoming flights from specific countries, such as India, could be imposed.
The ban on non-essentials between the United States and Canada has been extended until at least May 21, as Canadian provinces are considering halting domestic travel to stop an increase in Covid-19, including new variants of the Covid-19. disease.
“As cases increase and variants of concern continue to emerge across the country, we will continue to do what is necessary (for as long as necessary) to protect Canadians,” Bill Blair, Canada’s public safety minister, said Tuesday.
Canada’s chief physician said more than 66,000 “variants of cases of concern” have been reported across Canada. Most are the B.1.1.7 variant that was first seen in the UK.
“These represent the tip of the iceberg, as there are many thousands more cases of Covid-19 that have positively detected problematic mutations,” Theresa Tam, head of public health, said on Tuesday.
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 1,131,773 cases of CovidD-19, including 88,327 active cases and 23,667 deaths recorded in the country.
Canada has extended restrictions on travelers traveling to the country that require Covid-19 testing and mandatory hotel quarantine.
In February, the Trudeau government said air passengers landing in Canada would be subjected to Covid-19 screening tests and would have to spend a three-day hotel quarantine at their expense while awaiting results. In addition to showing a negative coronavirus test before boarding.
Health Canada, a federal agency, said about 1% of air travelers have tested positive in a quarantine hotel.
The agency said 117 flights had arrived at Canadian airports where at least one passenger had tested positive, and 20 had arrived from the US. Another 24 came from Europe, while 29 came from Delhi.
British Columbia imposes travel restrictions on the province to ensure only essential travel between the province’s five health regions. “We are in a serious situation,” said John Horgan, the provincial prime minister.
Separately, Manitoba commercial truck drivers who regularly travel to the United States will now be able to get a jab in adjacent North Dakota.
The agreement, which is believed to be the first cross-border vaccine agreement of its kind, could eventually be expanded to include other key workers such as health care providers.
“The United States has a lot of vaccines and Canada has fewer,” North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum said Tuesday. “We want to do our part to help Canada’s essential workers who travel frequently through our state.”
[ad_2]
Source link
