The PM of Canada Justin Trudeau has unveiled new rules and regulations regarding travel rules due to the ongoing rise of Omicron. He has just revealed his unknown mandate letters sent to his cabinet.
The PM of Canada has issued mandate letters outlining the priorities which the ministers are bound to pursue during the federal government’s time in power.
After the sudden rise of Omicron, Canada implemented new travel rules, especially for the people travelling from African countries.
Due to Omicron, the affected African nations were Egypt, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique. Travelers from these 10 African countries were hit with increased restrictions last week. The lack of necessary medicines and vaccinations had caused a stir among these 10 African countries. Most people staying in those countries are affected by Covid-19’s new variant, Omicron.
Any foreign nationals who had visited these ten countries within the past 14 days or are national citizens were not allowed to enter Canada. Recently, PM of Canada announced that the restrictions regarding the 10 African countries were lifted on Friday. The ban on foreign travelers was raised while re-imposing testing and warning that the Omicron variant of Covid-19 risks quickly overwhelming hospitals.
The restriction to slow down the arrival of Omicron in Canada and to buy some time to recoup the situation was announced last month, but with Omicron now spreading in Canada, it is no longer needed.
Previously new measures were taken to stop foreign travelers from coming to Canada. These measures affected the Canadian citizens and permanent residents travelling from these countries. They were asked to get a Covid-19 test in a third country to return home. A temporary measure was taken which allowed the Canadian citizens to get themselves tested in South Africa, one of the countries with entry prohibitions.
The order in council for prohibiting specific countries from entering Canada was decided to follow until at least January 31, 2022. Still, it was cut short due to the rise of Omicron in Canada itself. Only Canadian citizens and permanent residents from these prohibited countries were allowed to enter, but they were ordered to follow stringent health measures.
Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be allowed to board flights back home.
They will get a pre-departure test in South Africa, provided they meet all of the following eligibility requirements given on the government website. Firstly, they were asked to bring a pre-departure negative Covid-19 molecular test in South Africa no more than 48 hours before boarding the flight. A positive test result between 14 and 180 days before departure was also acceptable.
Secondly, the citizens were asked to fly from Johannesburg or Cape Town to Frankfurt, Germany, on a Lufthansa flight that departs on or before December 13, 2021. And thirdly, they were asked to transit through the Frankfurt airport to travel again on a specific direct Lufthansa or Air Canada flight to Canada.
Canada also reintroduced on-arrival testing and quarantine for travelers from all the countries except the U.S. The travelers were asked to take a test on arrival and quarantine themselves at home until they received the results, even if they were fully vaccinated.
The rule and regulations were changed because many Canadian residents were facing trouble returning to their homes in Canada.
Many citizens of Canada said that the requirements to get tested in a third country was preventing them from returning home. The Canadian government amended on Saturday evening after the Canadians spoke about the backlashes of the new travel rules.
Due to the amendment made on Saturday, regardless of the current vaccination status, if a person is coming Canadian home from one of the ten prohibited African countries, they have to go to isolation after arriving. They also have to do a Covid-19 test upon arriving at the airport and again on day 8 of the quarantine.
Vaccinated travelers from all over the world except the U.S. will need to do an on-arrival test and quarantine themselves until they receive a negative result. If the impact is positive, they would have to remain in isolation again for the next ten days.
As of Friday’s laboratory tests, the officials have confirmed nearly 350 cases of the Omicron variant across Canada. The average daily Covid-19 case count has also jumped by a massive 45 per cent in the past week to about 5000. “It is expected the sheer number of (Omicron) cases could inundate the health system in a concise period of time,” said Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam.
