The federal government will ban passenger flights from India and Pakistan for 30 days amid rising COVID-19 case counts in India and concerns about mutations of the coronavirus.
At a virtual press conference this evening, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said that because an increasing number of travellers from both countries have been arriving in Canada with COVID-19, all commercial and private passenger flights from those countries will be barred as of 11:30 p.m. tonight.
Cargo flights will still be permitted in order to maintain shipments of essential supplies, such as vaccines and personal protective equipment, he said.
Alghabra said air passengers who depart from India or Pakistan but arrive in Canada via a third country will need to produce 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.”
All passengers arriving in Canada by land or air from any country have to show a negative COVID-19 test and quarantine for two weeks; some exceptions are made for essential workers. Air passengers must quarantine for the first three days at an approved hotel while awaiting COVID-19 test results, and must test again 10 days after arriving.
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 on flights arriving from India and Pakistan have been testing positive in recent days.
Hajdu said federal data show people travelling from India made up 50 per cent of all positive tests, despite the fact that Indian travellers account only for 20 per cent of travel to this country. Hajdu said the number is similarly high for travellers from Pakistan.
“It is important that we continue to have robust measures to protect against importation as we see provinces and territories around this country struggle to protect their citizens, Canadians, through the third wave,” Hajdu said.
“By eliminating direct travel from these countries, public health experts will have the time to evaluate the ongoing epidemiology of that region and to reassess the situation as the region works to reduce transmission and protect its people.”
Caseloads explode in India
India has become a global hotspot for the coronavirus recently, with more than 314,000 new infections being reported today. A new COVID-19 variant, B1617, has been detected there and experts say it could be behind the massive surge ravaging the country and stressing its hospital system.
Both British Columbia and Quebec have confirmed cases of the B1617 variant in their provinces — 39 cases in B.C. as of April 4 and one case in Quebec.
Health Canada data show 112 flights landing in Canada since April 7 have carried at least one passenger who later tested positive for COVID-19, including 32 from Delhi and two from Lahore, Pakistan.
There were also 10 such flights from France, 20 from multiple cities in the United States, and 10 from the United Arab Emirates.
Following the announcement, Air Canada said it would temporarily suspend all passenger flights between India and Canada after today.
Two flights are scheduled to arrive from Delhi within the next 24 hours. A flight to Toronto is already en route and one to Vancouver will be departing this evening, according to a statement from the airline.
Air Canada does not operate to Pakistan.
NEWS COURTESY CBC NEWS
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