https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/flight-ban-india-1.5997880
Canada to ban flights from India and Pakistan for 30 days India reported a surge of more than 314,000 new infections today David Cochrane, Ryan Patrick Jones CBC News · Last Updated: April 22 Photo caption: In April alone, 17 flights from Delhi to Vancouver have had a COVID-19-positive person aboard. In the same period, seven other flights from Amsterdam, Tokyo, Mexico City, and the U.S. have reported exposures. ----- The federal government will ban passenger flights from India and Pakistan for 30 days in response to rising COVID case counts in India and mutations of the coronavirus. At a press conference in Ottawa this evening, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said the ban on direct flights from those countries will take effect tonight at 11:30 p.m. Alghabra said air passengers who depart from India or Pakistan but arrive in Canada via a third country will need to have a negative result on a COVID-19 test taken at their last point of departure before being allowed to enter Canada. "As we've seen with our third wave, the COVID-19 pandemic can change rapidly," said Alghabra. "New variants can spread even faster than before and our health system is feeling even more pressure than ever before." Passengers arriving in Canada from abroad are required already to undergo pre-boarding tests for COVID-19, tests on arrival and a government-mandated 14-day quarantine period. Health Minister Patty Hajdu said that while only 1.8 per cent of all air travellers entering Canada are found to be COVID-19-positive, an increasing number of travellers arriving from India and Pakistan have been testing positive in recent days. Hajdu said federal data show people from India made up 50 per cent of all positive tests conducted at the border, despite the fact that Indian travellers account for only 20 per cent of travel to this country. Hajdu said the number is similar for travellers from Pakistan. The new travel restrictions come after opposition leaders and premiers pressed the federal government to suspend flights from hot spot countries as a massive surge of COVID-19 cases ravages India. In a joint letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau released today, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Quebec Premier François Legault urged the federal government to reduce the number of incoming international flights and secure the Canada-U.S. land border. "There is an urgent need to address issues with testing and quarantining at the borders, including falsified COVID-19 testing documentation, travellers opting [for] fines over complying [with] quarantine requirements, or travelling via private vehicle/plane to avoid quarantine, among several other areas of concern," they wrote. "While it is crucial that the transport of essential goods is not hindered by border measures, it is likewise crucial that all non-essential travel be curtailed. The introduction of stricter measures for travellers crossing at land borders is a significant step to achieve that goal and ensure that collectively we are doing all we can to protect our citizens." Earlier today, Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole called for a temporary suspension of certain flights to control the B1617 variant, first sequenced in India, and the P1 variant, first detected in Brazil. "We need to move quickly to stop the new variants from entering Canada and spreading further. We must secure our borders," he told a news conference today. "It is long past time for Justin Trudeau to take action. The federal government must temporarily suspend flights from hotspot countries immediately." O'Toole said the restrictions should come as a temporary hold, adding that the government needs to procure more vaccine doses. India, the world's second-most populous country, reported a surge of more than 314,000 new infections today, adding pressure to a health care system critically short of hospital beds and oxygen. ---end--- --- Albert Peres Goa Culture List goaculturel...@gmail.com +1 416-660-0847 www.goaculturelist.ca Canada