By Elishya Perera
MONTRÉAL, Québec (CWBN)_ The government of Canada has decided to ban all flights arriving from the United Kingdom beginning December 20 at midnight, amidst fears of a new COVID-19 strain.
Several senior government officials including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Minister of Public Safety, Bill Blair, announced this new measure on Twitter. PM Trudeau also noted that those who arrived on Sunday would be subject to secondary screening and other health measures. According to Blair, the travel ban will be in place for at least 72 hours, after which, officials would re-evaluate this policy.
“We are taking this important action to protect Canadians and to keep our communities safe. These measures have been imposed following advice from public health officials. The restrictions will initially be in place for 72 hrs, after which time they could be extended or enhanced,” Blair tweeted.
Several nations from European Union, including Germany, France, Netherlands, Ireland, Italy, Austria, Belgium and Bulgaria, have also announced restrictions on flights arriving from the United Kingdom, following British Prime Minister Boris Johnson communiqué regarding restrictions on Christmas shopping and gatherings in Southern England, owing to the new COVID-19 strain, which has resulted in a rapid growth in the number of infections in the community.
On Saturday (Dec 19), the Prime Minister said that while the new variant of the virus is a 70 per cent more transmissible than previous strains, however, “there’s no evidence to suggest it is more lethal or causes more severe illness”.
