In a recent travel update, Canada has announced to suspend all passenger flights from India and Pakistan for 30 days due to hike in COVID-19 cases. Canadian Transportation Minister Omar Alghabra made the announcement on Thursday and said the decision was taken after maximum cases were detected in people arriving from these countries. The restriction will come into effect at 11:30 PM Eastern Time Thursday (0330 GMT Friday) but won’t apply to cargo flights.
Alghabra said in a news conference, “Given the higher number of cases of Covid-19 detected in air passengers arriving in Canada from India and Pakistan… I am suspending all commercial and private passenger flights arriving in Canada from Indian and Pakistan for 30 days.”
Patty Hajdu, the Canadian Health Minister said that overall only 1.8 per cent of travellers to Canada have tested positive for coronavirus.
He further called it a temporary measure and said that they are assessing the evolving situation.
The minister also said that the restrictions won’t apply to cargo flights to ensure an uninterrupted shipment of vaccines and PPE kits.
As of now, India is battling with an extremely deadly COVID-19 “double mutant” variant. The virus is spreading even faster and has affected India like never before. More than 300000 new cases were recorded in the country on Thursday only which is worrisome.