Canada is banning direct flights from India and Pakistan for 30 days to help control the spread of new variants of Covid-19.
The restriction, which comes into effect at 11:30 p.m. Ottawa time on Thursday, was made during a virtual news conference with five cabinet ministers. It came after India saw the world’s biggest one-day jump in coronavirus cases ever, with 314,835 new infections.
Public health experts worry that a more virulent strain of the virus may be racing through the country of 1.3 billion people. Countries from Singapore to the U.K. have barred flights from India due to the worsening situation.
Some Canadian provinces have already recorded some cases of the Indian variant. Health Minister Patty Hajdu said India accounts for 20% of recent air travel volumes to Canada, but more than 50% of all positive tests conducted at the border. ...
