Ottawa is advising Canadians to avoid non-essential travel outside the country. Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos is asking Canadians with plans to travel abroad to cancel their trips as the highly transmissible Omicron variant spreads worldwide. To prevent travel-related infections at a time of mounting case counts, the federal government has changed its official guidance to advise Canadians to avoid all non-essential travel outside the country for the time being. “To those who were planning to travel, I say very clearly — now is not the time to travel. The rapid spread of the Omicron variant on a global scale makes us fear the worst,” Duclos said. Ottawa to toughen international travel restrictions as Omicron concerns escalate Omicron variant caseload expected to ‘rapidly escalate’ in the coming days, Tam says With tens of thousands of Canadians planning trips abroad over the coming weeks, the new advisory could wreak havoc on vacation plans and void some travel insurance policies. Acknowledging that introducing a new advisory so close to Christmas is a “drastic” move, Duclos said he’s acting now because he’s “afraid” and “concerned” for people who travel abroad because the Omicron situation is changing quickly. The rate of spread is “huge,” he said, and Canadians may find themselves stranded if countries impose lockdown measures or curb flights in and out. “The situation abroad is already dire in many places and it’s going to get worse very quickly, so we’re afraid for what could happen to them if they leave Canada,” Duclos said. We’re answering your questions about travel during the pandemic. Send yours to Ask@cbc.ca, and we’ll answer as many as we can. In addition to the new travel warning, Duclos said the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) will ramp up the mandatory arrival testing program at the country’s airports. Duclos said last week the feds could process up to 17,000 arrival tests a day — he’s now promising to do more and to “test as many travelers as possible.” Last week, the federal government announced it would make incoming travelers from non-U.S. foreign destinations get a COVID-19 test when they arrive in Canada. This new test is in addition to the pre-departure molecular test that all travelers must undergo before leaving for Canada. ….
Source: cbc.ca
