Federal gov’t advises Canadians to avoid travelling abroad

With case numbers of the Omicron COVID-19 variant on the rise, the Canadian government is officially advising people not to travel outside of the country unless absolutely necessary.

“The rapid spread of the Omicron variant on a global scale makes us fear the worst for Canadians that may think of travelling …,” Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said during a media conference Wednesday.

“To those who were planning to travel, I say very clearly now is not the time to travel.”

After the Omicron variant was identified in countries in southern Africa, the Canadian government responded by banning visitors who had travelled through 10 countries in that region.

Cases since have been detected across the globe, prompting concerns about international travel.

On Wednesday, Duclos said Canadians who travel anywhere outside of the country could contract the virus during their trips or they could get stranded abroad if border restrictions change to limit transmission.

“Collectively and individually, we all have a role to play,” Duclos said. “And the key word for us, citizens and governments, is again the same: Prudence.”

An advisory will be posted shortly on the federal government’s website. The advisory is expected to remain in place for the next four weeks.

Duclos said the window of opportunity is small to stall the spread of Omicron, but Canadians have the ability to change the course of the pandemic by staying in the country.

“We know that this may sound very drastic to many listening, but we must avoid overloading our hospital system and our health-care workers,” he said.

The government said more rapid tests and vaccinations will also be necessary to combat the spread in Canada. As a result, 35 million rapid tests are being sent to the provinces in the coming weeks.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held a conference call with the country’s premiers on Tuesday night, during which the participants discussed governments’ plans for dealing with the new variant.