By: Thomas I. Likness
Eagle News Service
(Eagle News) — Citing a high risk of variants spreading to Canada, direct passenger flights from India and Pakistan will be banned for another month, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said Friday.
“We are suspending all commercial and private passenger flights arriving in Canada from India and Pakistan for an additional 30 days,” said Alghabra. “We are expending these temporary measures to protect the health and safety of Canadians.”
Cargo flights are still allowed.
Alghabra says the ban seems to be working.
“The temporary flight restrictions on India and Pakistan have significantly reduced the risk of importing cases and new variants,” he wrote on Twitter.
Passengers from those countries can still fly to Canada if they route their trip through a third country.
But they will need to have a negative Covid-19 test taken at the last point of departure before being allowed into Canada.
The government will re-evaluate the situation on June 21st
The ban first went into April 22 following massive outbreaks of Covid-19 in both countries caused by the highly contagious B.1.617 variant.
In India, death rates have exceeded 4,000 people per day.
(Eagle News Service)