Canada on Thursday expanded enhanced screening and monitoring measures to travelers arriving from South Africa. Canada cited the rise of a more infectious variant of COVID-19 in South Africa for its new measures, similar to one that has emerged in the United Kingdom.
This follows a move on Wednesday by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to extend to January 6 a ban on passenger flights arriving from Britain, citing the variant. It also announced added screening for travelers from Britain.
No cases of the variant have been found in Canada so far, Health Canada said in a release, noting it had tested over 25,000 samples.
Those measures include “increased scrutiny of quarantine plans,” it said.
Canada also updated travel advisories for both the United Kingdom and South Africa to advise extra caution. Health officials continue to advise against all non-essential international travel.
