The federal government will announce new, expanded travel measures on Wednesday in an effort to limit the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Several sources told CBC News and Radio-Canada that the government should renew an advisory against non-essential international travel, which was in place during most of the COVID-19 pandemic but was quietly lifted in October.
Sources say much stricter measures were discussed with prime ministers and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during an appeal Tuesday night. The proposed measures included the advisability of implementing a ban on all non-essential foreign travelers to Canada, including from the United States, and stricter quarantine and testing measures for travelers authorized to enter Canada. , including returning Canadians and permanent residents.
But no decision has been made.
Sources say the aim is to slow the spread of the virus.
The Premiers and the Prime Minister also agreed on the need to dramatically increase the rate of third-dose booster injections.
If implemented, stricter international travel rules would undo months of progress in reopening Canada’s borders after the country effectively closed to non-essential travelers during the early stages of the pandemic.
These restrictions were slowly lifted over the summer and fall as COVID-19 cases declined and vaccination rates increased.
However, the emergence of the omicron variant in late November – which appears to be highly contagious and capable of infecting those vaccinated more than previous variants – has prompted the federal government to be on further caution.
“We are in the midst of a global wave of a variant that is proving to be extremely, extremely, extremely contagious,” Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland told the CBC. Power and politics earlier Tuesday.
“We have a chance to keep this under control. But we can only do it if we all really take action and the federal government is committed to doing its part.”
The omicron variant is already widely reported in Canada, and public health officials and epidemiologists expect it to soon become the dominant strain of the coronavirus circulating in the country.
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