(Ottawa) Closure of borders in southern Africa, bleeding on the stock markets, cancellation of an important ministerial conference in Europe: the new variant Omicron, which was detected in South Africa and deemed “worrying” by the WHO , causes a commotion of combat on a planetary scale.
Like the United States and many countries in Europe and Asia, Canada did not hesitate on Friday to ban non-essential travel from countries on the African continent that are affected by the transmission of the new variant.
The Minister of Health, Jean-Yves Duclos, and the Minister of Transport, Omar Alghabra, announced five measures to counter the spread in the country of this new variant, potentially very contagious and with multiple mutations.
According to the expert group of the World Health Organization (WHO), preliminary data from this variant, whose identification was announced Thursday in South Africa, suggests that it presents “an increased risk of reinfection” compared to other variants, including the Delta, dominant and already very contagious.
For its part, the EU health agency warned Friday evening that this new variant represents a risk ranging from “high to very high” for Europe, already grappling with a resurgence of the pandemic. The World Trade Organization (WTO) had to postpone its first ministerial conference for four years in Geneva, Switzerland at the last minute, dampening hopes of reviving the very weakened organization.
The world of sports is also on its teeth as some are now raising the possibility that the NHL Players’ Association may decide not to participate in the Beijing Olympics, which open in a few weeks.
Restrictions for southern Africa
Thus, all foreign citizens who have stayed in southern Africa during the last 14 days can no longer enter Canada. Countries include South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini (Swaziland) and Namibia. The United States has added Malawi to its list.
In addition, everyone who has arrived in Canada in the past two weeks, whether Canadian or foreign, must self-isolate and be tested for COVID-19. They will be required to wait for the negative result of this test before leaving their period of isolation.
In the case of Canadians and permanent residents who intend to return to Canada, they will have to be tested when they arrive at the Canadian border and wait for their test result to show that it is negative. They will then have to undergo a two-week quarantine and be tested again on the eighth day.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has issued an advisory strongly discouraging all Canadians from traveling to this part of the world. Finally, Canadians returning to the country after having stayed in southern Africa will have to be tested at the time of their last stopover before returning home.
While a first case of this new variant has been reported in Belgium, and one case has also been reported in Hong Kong and one in Israel, Canadian authorities said on Friday they had not detected any case linked to the Omicron variant so far. . But they say they will be on the lookout for the next few days to avoid the worst, said DD Theresa Tam, Director of the Public Health Agency of Canada.
Minister Jean-Yves Duclos did not want to advance on the duration of these measures.
PHOTO JUSTIN TANG, PRESS ARCHIVES
The Minister of Health, Jean-Yves Duclos
It is obviously to be seen. We are doing this for an approach I call suspenders and belt, to be really sure that we are as careful as possible, as we have been during the entire COVID-19 crisis. We will continue to assess the situation with the help of scientists, of course.
Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Health
Mr. Duclos argued that the Canadian government is imposing the strongest measures to limit the spread of the new variant. “Compared to what we find elsewhere in the world, we have probably the most solid measures, even if we are a little more distant from the African continent. ”
Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said there are no direct flights between Canada and countries in southern Africa. He stressed that the list of seven countries targeted by these measures could be extended if the situation so requires.
“It’s really scary”, says Legault.
Earlier on Friday, judging that the new variant of COVID-19 spotted in South Africa was “very worrying”, Prime Minister François Legault was among the many elected officials across Canada who urged the Trudeau government to ban quickly flights from this country, also blocking the entry of all passengers who have passed through it.
“We have to go as quickly as possible. Everything must be done to have as little as possible of this variant. I ask that it stop now, ”had then hammered Mr. Legault, on the sidelines of the Great Economic Circle of Indigenous Peoples in Montreal. “It’s really scary,” he also said in English of this new variant.
While Quebec surpassed the 1000 COVID-19 case mark on Friday, the Prime Minister however recalled that Quebec “remains around 200 hospitalizations, which is four to five times less than what we see in the States -United “. He says “with all my heart” that he can allow all the families to come together at Christmas, to have a “more normal” holiday season.
Thanks to the vaccination, our hospitalizations remain relatively low, but it will be important to continue the vaccination of 5-11 year olds, in order to increase the vaccination coverage.
François Legault, Premier of Quebec
Until then, “we must not take it lightly, we must be careful, we must respect the instructions,” again implored Mr. Legault, who promises announcements on the measures that will apply during the holidays. end of the year “over the next few weeks”. “I also understand that there are mental health considerations,” he said.
Mr. Legault does not intend for the moment to request an interruption of flights with Belgium, the first European state to have declared a case, or with Hong Kong and Israel. “We have no indication that there are many in Belgium at the moment. It will also be necessary to see if the person who had the variant came from South Africa. It’s up to the federal government to make sure we take this seriously, ”he said.
With Agence France-Presse