As the holiday season approaches, the new Omicron variant which is rapidly spreading across the planet is creating a lot of uncertainty for those hoping to finally enjoy a Christmas with their families who live abroad.
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“I understand the health standards, but it will be four years since I saw my family. It is starting to be very, very long. There are some who are in poor health. I may not see them anymore, ”lamented Longueuil Delphine Vanhalle on Sunday.
Of Belgian origin, the 39-year-old woman who lives in Quebec with her spouse hopes to be able to return to her native country to hug those she used to see “maximum every two years”.
His trip planned for the summer of 2020 has been postponed since. She lost her grandmother a few months later.
“If it weren’t for the family, I wouldn’t be traveling. It’s very anxiety-provoking, ”sighs the woman over the phone.
Courtesy photo
Delphine Vanhalle (left) and his wife, Geneviève Lapointe, hope to go to Belgium.
Since Friday, several countries have announced a tightening of health rules due to the new variant of COVID-19, which is more contagious and possibly more resistant, first reported in South Africa.
Canada also confirmed its first cases on Sunday in Ottawa, two travelers from Nigeria.
Ottawa on Friday suspended entry to Canada for travelers from at least seven African countries until January 31.
“Helpless and desperate”
This announcement creates a lot of uncertainty among those who expected to finally find theirs for the holiday season.
The South African François de Villiers, 36, for his part saw his plans fall apart with the closure of the borders between Canada and South Africa.
He had spent several thousand dollars to bring his parents to Quebec, whom he had not seen for three years, as soon as their visa allowed it.
AFP Photo
Ben-Gurion International Airport east of Tel Aviv will be quiet, as Israel has since Sunday closed its borders to foreigners because of the Omicron variant.
“I find it insane that the government could just snap its fingers and stop entire countries from traveling. People must be fully immunized and test negative to travel. It doesn’t make sense and we just feel helpless and hopeless, ”he explains.
– With AFP
►G7 health ministers, including Jean-Yves Duclos, will meet urgently in London today to discuss the new Omicron variant.
No panic, more vigilance, according to experts
Even if the new Omicron variant was detected Sunday in Ottawa, experts here believe that we must remain vigilant without closing the borders.
“If we postpone measures, perhaps that would allow us to postpone a little the date when this variant will circulate freely in the province. […]. I keep my fingers crossed that we have a meaningful holiday, but it remains downright unpredictable, ”believes Roxane Borgès Da Silva, professor at the School of Public Health at the University of Montreal.
Sunday, Morocco in particular, completely closed its borders for two weeks.
“For the Delta variant, no matter what we wanted, it came in,” explained Benoît Barbeau, virologist and professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at UQAM on Sunday.
“People pass through other countries. To be able to succeed [à isoler le Canada], it would be necessary to be in complete autarky ”, raised Mrs. Borgès Da Silva.
Discriminatory
The president of South Africa denounced Sunday these “discriminatory” border closures which could dissuade countries from reporting the discovery of future variants, for fear of being punished in turn.
Thus, it is rather by remaining vigilant and continuing to wear the mask properly that we can control the spread of the variant, believe the two experts.
“It just reminds us that the pandemic is not over. Variants, there will be others, ”concluded Mr. Barbeau.