Ban visitors from southern Africa

Canada is closing its borders to visitors from southern Africa after the discovery of a worrisome new variant of COVID-19 was detected in the region.

The new variant, dubbed Omicron, first emerged in South Africa and coincided with a sharp increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in that region in recent weeks, according to the World Health Organization.

“We are therefore acting swiftly to protect the health and safety of Canadians,” Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said at a news conference on Friday.

So far no cases have been detected in Canada.

The ban will apply to foreign nationals who transited a list of seven countries in the past 14 days, including South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Namibia and eSwatini.

Those already in Canada who recently traveled through the region will need to self-quarantine and undergo COVID-19 testing.

Global Affairs is also issuing an advisory to discourage non-essential travel to South Africa and neighboring countries.

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Canadian citizens and permanent residents coming home from the region must undergo a COVID-19 test before returning, and will need to be quarantined at a designated hotel until their entry test is negative.

After that, they will be able to isolate themselves at home until they test negative 10 days after arrival.

There are currently no direct flights from South Africa to Canada.

Travelers from elsewhere will need to comply with existing COVID-19 prevention measures to enter Canada, including submitting a negative molecular COVID-19 test, even if they are vaccinated.

“We know very little about this variant at this time,” Canada’s director of public health Dr. Theresa Tam said in a briefing on Friday.

The mutations that have been detected show the potential for increased transmissibility, he said, and could reduce natural immunity and even the immunity that vaccines offer.

“We are concerned about this new variant and we are closely monitoring the evolution of the situation,” he said.

Tam said he would not be surprised to see cases start to emerge in Canada, and Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said the government will take additional border measures if necessary.

“This variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are worrisome,” WHO wrote in a statement on Friday.

“Preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of reinfection with this variant, compared to other (variants of concern).”

Researchers are already working to learn more about the effects of this new variant, according to WHO COVID-19 Technical Director Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove.

“Researchers are coming together to understand where these mutations are and what they can potentially mean for our diagnostics or therapies in our vaccines,” he said in a briefing on Thursday.

WHO has urged countries to improve variant surveillance and report any initial cases.

Vaccine manufacturers are also studying the effect of their products on the new variant.

“Moderna is already studying two multivalent booster candidates in the clinic that were designed to anticipate mutations like those that have emerged in the Omicron variant,” the pharmaceutical company said in a statement Friday.

Cases of the Omicron variant have been seen in countries outside of southern Africa, including Hong Kong, but so far Dr. Tam said there is no community spread in those areas.

Several countries have taken steps similar to Canada’s, closing their borders to foreigners who have recently been to southern Africa, which could make it difficult for Canadians to find their way home.

Alghabra urged all Canadians in that situation to contact Global Affairs.

Opposition parties and provincial prime ministers have called for strict border measures to prevent cases of the potentially dangerous new variant from being imported into Canada.

Conservative leader Erin O’Toole had asked the Canadian government to issue travel advisories, banning nonessential travel to and from the region on Friday morning.

“With reports of the spread of a new variant of COVID-19, we have a small window of opportunity to act and we must act now,” O’Toole said in a statement.

The party was pivotal when the government delayed closing Canada’s borders at the start of the pandemic in 2020.

The prime ministers of Alberta, Ontario and Quebec also called for all travelers from those countries to be banned from Canada until more is known about the variant.

This Canadian Press report was first published on November 26, 2021.