Canada extends international traveller ban by a month

Canada on Wednesday announced a month-long extension of a ban on non-essential international travel into the country, stretching the restrictions until February 21, 2021.

The travel restriction extension was announced by federal Public Safety Minister Bill Blair on Wednesday, AFP reported.

“Our Government will never hesitate to take the strong action needed to keep Canadians safe from COVID-19 while maintaining essential trade with our international partners,” Blair wrote in a tweet.

Travellers allowed into Canada despite the ban, which has been in force since March, must still quarantine for 14 days.

Since the beginning of January, they have also had to test negative for COVID-19 before boarding a flight into the country.

The pre-departure test requirements do not exempt travellers from having to complete a 14-day quarantine period. A quarantine plan must be prepared prior to arrival in Canada to specify where and how it will be carried out.  

Blair said that these were “some of the strictest travel restrictions in the world.”

Ottawa and Washington, meanwhile, have a separate arrangement prohibiting non-essential travel between their two countries, which is also set to expire on February 21.

Recent outbreaks of new variants of the virus and the resurgence of cases in several countries around the world contribute to these concerns.

As of Wednesday, Canada had recorded more than 720,000 cases of COVID-19 and more than 18,000 deaths.