Canadian officials discuss travel restrictions as flights from COVID-19 hot spots continue | FULL

Canadian officials on Wednesday said they are continuing to analyze data related to international travel, after facing questions about COVID-19 border restrictions and the rise of variants cases.

When COVID-19 variants of concern started to emerge, particularly the B117 variant that started in the U.K., Canada tightened up its border-related COVID-19 detection measures. Those measures included mandatory pre-boarding tests for COVID-19, tests on arrival and a government-mandated quarantine.

“The testing has been very helpful,” Canada's chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam said. She added that they’ve been “detecting" positive cases at the border and “sequencing every one of them” to determine what variants might be coming into the country.

Since April 6, over 100 international flights landing in Canada have carried at least one positive COVID-19 case on board, according to the federal government.

India in particular has seen a flood of new COVID-19 cases, with nearly 300,000 new cases recorded on Wednesday alone. Ontario’s government has been “pleading” with the federal government to ban flights from India and other hot spot countries, where flights continue to touch down on Canadian ground.

MORE: https://globalnews.ca/news/7777080/coronavirus-covid-variants-canada-travel/

For more info, please go to http://www.globalnews.ca
Subscribe to Global News Channel HERE: http://bit.ly/20fcXDc
Like Global News on Facebook HERE: http://bit.ly/255GMJQ
Follow Global News on Twitter HERE: http://bit.ly/1Toz8mt
Follow Global News on Instagram HERE: https://bit.ly/2QZaZIB
#GlobalNews #COVID #COVIDVaccines