Canada is adding Nigeria, Malawi and Egypt to the list of African countries from which it is banning travellers amid concerns about the spread of COVID-19’s Omicron variant.
The Star has confirmed the latest additions to the previous list of seven countries from which travellers will not be admitted to Canada, which was announced on Friday. Other measures are expected to be announced at a news conference on Tuesday afternoon.
Canada expanded its travel ban as the Netherlands acknowledged Tuesday that the Omicron variant appeared to have reached that country before it was identified in South Africa last week.
The federal cabinet approved the new steps at a meeting Tuesday morning, a source said.
There were several other options on the table, including a response to demands by Ontario and Quebec that Ottawa impose mandatory COVID-19 molecular testing for all travellers arriving at Canadian airports.
Following a cabinet meeting, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos would only say that any decisions would be announced later.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino also would not comment on the border measures.
Mendicino told reporters that “the best available scientific and medical evidence which is being put to the government in real time” will inform its decisions.
