Omicron fears: Canada bans travelers from Nigeria, Egypt, Malawi

Canada has banned travelers from Nigeria, Egypt, and Malawi over fears of the spread of the new Omicron coronavirus variant, bringing to 10 the number of African countries targeted by Ottawa, according to the AFP.

This is just as members of Nigeria’s House of Representatives at plenary yesterday, mandated the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to step up national response to control the emergence and spread of new COVID-19 omicron variant in order to spare Nigeria the full brunt of the third wave of the pandemic.

“Foreign nationals who have transited or stayed in these 10 countries cannot enter Canada if they have been in those countries in the last two weeks,” the AFP quoted Canadian Health Minister, Jean-Yves Duclos, to have said at a press conference.

He also said all air travelers arriving from outside Canada, apart from the United States, would now need to be tested for Covid-19 at their point of entry, “whether they are vaccinated or unvaccinated,” and that those travelers would need to isolate until their test results are available.

First reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) less than a week ago after being detected in southern Africa earlier in November, the Omicron variant has already appeared in several countries, stoking global fears about a coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than five million people and savaged economies worldwide.

“The pandemic is not over,” Transport Minister Omar Alghabra added. “Travel measures could change at any moment.”

Canada on Friday banned entry to all travelers from seven southern African countries: Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.

And on Sunday, Canada confirmed it had detected its first cases of the new Omicron strain, in two people who had traveled recently to Nigeria.

Canada however, has no direct flight with Nigeria.