"Our main principle is to act fast, strong and now," he said. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warned of a looming "state of emergency" due to the new variant as he widened a travel ban, announced Thursday, to all African countries except those in North Africa. The traveller and two other suspected cases have been placed in isolation. Israel announced Friday that it has detected its first case of the new variant in a traveller returning from Malawi. The omicron variant has also been found in Botswana and Hong Kong in travellers from South Africa.
He also said the global solution to curbing variants is to 'vaccinate the world.' 6:31 South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will convene a coronavirus council on Sunday to consider evidence on the variant.Ħ:31 The world could know within a week whether current vaccines against COVID-19 are effective against the new coronavirus variant, B.1.1.529, says epidemiologist Dr. seems to have been rushed as even the World Health Organization is yet to advise on the next steps." In a statement posted online Friday, South Africa said that while it respects the right of other countries to protect their citizens, "the U.K.'s decision to temporarily ban South Africans from entering the U.K. announced it was banning flights from South Africa and five other countries in the region effective noon on Friday, and said anyone who had recently arrived from those countries would be asked to take a coronavirus test. Travel restriction controversyĮven before that announcement, other countries had already moved to stop air travel from southern Africa. On Friday, the World Health Organization declared B.1.1.529 a variant of concern and named it omicron, following a meeting of its technical working group. Canadians returning from that region will need to be tested in the last country they transited through before returning home (there are currently no direct flights between that region and Canada).Global Affairs Canada is issuing a travel advisory asking Canadians not to visit southern Africa for now.Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be allowed to return home from these countries, but will be required to take a COVID-19 test upon arrival and wait for results at a hotel. If the test is negative, they must quarantine for 14 days at home and must take another test on the eighth day of quarantine.Those who have arrived in Canada in the past 14 days from those countries are being asked to quarantine immediately until they get a negative COVID-19 test result.All foreign nationals who have travelled through South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho and Eswatini or Mozambique in the last 14 days will be barred from entering Canada.Track how many people have been given the COVID-19 vaccine across Canada.Ĭanada is limiting travel from seven countries in southern Africa in response to news of a new, potentially more transmissible coronavirus variant first detected in South Africa, joining other countries that have announced similar measures.Īt a news conference Friday, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said Canada is implementing five measures to "protect the health and safety of Canadians" as concerns rise over the B.1.1.529 variant:.
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