Canada has extended its ban on passenger flights from India and Pakistan by 30 days to June 21 as part of a campaign to fight COVID-19, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said on Friday. Alghabra said Canada had seen "a significant reduction" in coronavirus infections among arriving airline passengers since Ottawa first announced the bans on April 22 as the number of cases in India soared. The move does not affect cargo flights. FILE PHOTO: Healthcare workers prepare to test passengers before they arrive at Toronto's Pearson airport in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada February 15, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio "These ongoing measures will remain in place to help protect Canadians and to manage the elevated risk of imported cases of COVID-19 and variants of concern," he told a briefing. ...
Read MoreTag: Indian variant
People travelling to Poland from Brazil, India and South Africa will have to quarantine, the Polish health minister said on Tuesday, as he announced cases of a COVID-19 variant first detected in India in the Warsaw and Katowice areas. The outbreaks poses a fresh risk to Poland just as it starts to emerge from a highly damaging third wave of the pandemic. "In the case of Brazil, India and South Africa, people travelling from these locations will automatically have to quarantine without the possibility of getting an exception due to a test," Health Minister Adam Niedzielski told a news conference. The number of infections involving the Indian variant in Poland has now reached 16, including two cases in the family of a Polish diplomat who had returned from India, Niedzielski sai...
Read MoreMorocco has detected its first two cases of the Indian variant of the coronavirus whose contacts have been isolated to avoid contagion, the health ministry said on Monday. Morocco has banned flights with most countries and kept a night curfew in place to counter the spread of new variants. FILE PHOTO: Passengers arrive at Toronto's Pearson airport after mandatory coronavirus disease (COVID-19) testing took effect for international arrivals in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio The North African kingdom has confirmed 511,912 cases of COVID-19 and registered nearly 9,032 deaths. It has rolled out vaccinations more rapidly than its neighbours, inoculating 5.1 million people to date. The variant, B.1.617, has reached at least 17 countries, from Britain and Iran...
Read MoreMalaysia has detected its first case of a highly infectious coronavirus variant first identified in India, Health Minister Adham Baba said on Sunday, days after imposing a ban on flights from India. The variant, named B.1.617, was detected in an Indian national screened at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, he said. FILE PHOTO: Medical workers collect swab samples from people at a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) testing centre in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng The World Health Organisation has described it as a “variant of interest”, suggesting it may have mutations that would make the virus more transmissible, cause more severe disease or evade vaccine immunity. Malaysia, which is facing a surge in COVID-19 cases, on Wednesday banned flights to and from In...
Read MoreAustralia bans arrivals from India, offenders face jail, fines
France, US detect cases of Indian COVID variant, US bans most travel from India Australian residents and citizens who have been in India within 14 days of the date they plan to return home will be banned from entering Australia as of Monday and those who disobey will face fines and jail, government officials said. The temporary emergency determination, issued late on Friday, is the first time Australia has made it a criminal offence for its citizens to return home. The move is part of strict measures to stop travellers to Australia from the world's second most populous nation as it contends with a surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths. FILE PHOTO: Travelers wearing protective face masks make their way through the arrivals section of the international terminal of Kingsford Smith I...
Read MoreIndian coronavirus variant reaches Switzerland
Spain, Italy, Philippines, Cambodia impose restrictions on travellers from India, Australia suspends direct flights The first case of the Indian variant of COVID-19 has been confirmed in Switzerland, the Federal Office for Public Health (BAG) said, as other countries introduce travel bans to contain its spread. On the other hand, few more countries including Spain, Italy, Cambodia and Philippines have imposed restrictions on travellers coming from India. Australia has now suspended all direct flights from India until at least May 15. FILE PHOTO: People wearing protective masks walk out a the arrivals terminal of Cointrin airport during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Geneva, Switzerland. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo The case in Switzerland involved ...
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