Canada’s Health Minister today warned Canadians that travelling outside the country is “risky and unstable.” He also said a formal “do not travel” warning could come later. Speaking to reporters in Ottawa, Jean-Yves Duclos said the Omicron variant around the world is making international travel difficult, and that coming home is increasingly complicated and unpredictable. Duclos said Canadians should be “more vigilant” when travelling outside the country. Omicron hasn’t been a major issue domestically, he said, but “If they think about travelling outside of Canada should be a red, a big red part of their radar screen. It should be flashing, Read more
travel ban
The vast majority of Canadians support measures aimed at controlling the Omicron variant of COVID-19, and we’re mostly staying home this holiday season, a new poll reports. A new study from Leger polling and marketing, in conjunction with Canadian Press, also finds that Canadians and Americans think rather differently about COVID-19, at least in some respects. The latest poll, conducted online from Dec. 3 to 5, finds that a whopping 87% of Canadians support the idea of “going back to mandatory testing for all travellers coming into Canada.” For the U.S. the number was 81%. The Canadian government last week Read more
New testing requirements for most travellers coming into Canada will have a devastating effect on Canada’s tourism industry at a time when they’re just starting to recover from the pandemic, critics charge. “This is indeed another blow as the Canadian tourism sector was slowly seeing more action,” said Frederic Dimanche, director of the Ted Rogers School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Ryerson University in Toronto. “This will of course lead to a significant decline in visitor arrivals. International visitors will not be willing to go through this.” The Trudeau government on Tuesday said anyone coming into Canada from a Read more
With cases of the omicron variant of COVID-19 growing around the world, the Justin Trudeau government in Ottawa is slapping new travel restrictions on all travellers coming from countries other than the United States. The government today said anyone coming into Canada from a country other than the U.S. will have to be tested at the airport and isolate until they get their results. That applies to travellers who are double vaccinated, said Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos. “All air travelers coming from outside Canada, apart from the United States, will now need to be tested at the airport in which Read more
As the Omicron variant spreads around the world, the travel rebound we were seeing just a few days ago is now looking like another setback. How big that setback will be could be determined in a few weeks, experts suggest. Meanwhile, here are some headlines you should be aware of as we head towards the first day of December. NEW TRAVEL RULES FOR CANADIANS START TODAY Starting today, unvaccinated travellers over the age of 12 won’t be allowed to board a plane or train in Canada. Also, a negative COVID-19 test will no longer serve as a substitute for most Read more
