Canada extends ban on passenger flights from India, Pak till Jun 21

Ottawa: The government of Canada has extended the current flight ban from India and Pakistan, amid the worsening COVID-19 situation, by another month. The ban on incoming flights from India and Pakistan will continue till June 21.

The Canadian Transport Minister Omar Alghabra made the announcement on Friday (May 21, 2021). Alghabra said that the decision of extending the flight ban was taken as part of a campaign to fight COVID-19.

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.

"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.

Government officials said they were in no hurry to open up travel across the border, citing the need to protect public health.

The Canadian authorities also added that as the vaccinations have picked up, the country has seen over a 25 percent drop in daily new cases since last week. The deputy chief public health officer Howard Njoo told the briefing that now the daily new cases average around 5,000.

The central province of Manitoba has been badly hit by a third wave of the virus, recording the highest rate of infections in all of Canada in the past seven days.

Premier of Manitoba, Brian Pallister revealed that he asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday (May 21, 2021) to supply critical care nurses, respiratory therapists and contact tracers. Premier Pallister said PM Trudeau indicated that he would provide all the support he could to fight COVID-19.

Meanwhile, the country has so far recorded a total of 1.3 million coronavirus cases, while over 25,111 people succumbed to the infection. 

The ban on Indian and Pakistani flights is part of a series of restrictions Canada has imposed to lower the transmission of the virus, including curbs on non-essential travel across the long land border with the United States.