On April 22, 2021, Canada announced the latest change in travel restrictions, the temporary ban on any flights coming from India and Pakistan for 30 days. Announcing this decision in a virtual press conference at 11:30, Canadian transport minister Omar Alghabra stated that this decision was made given new variants of Covid-19 emerging in these countries and to avoid a third wave in Canada.
Why Was This Decision Necessary?
According to Canadian health minister Patty Hajdu, Canada reported only 1.8% of Covid-19 positive cases. However, people traveling from India have made up for almost 50% of those results. The case is similar to travelers from Pakistan. The main goal of temporarily suspending travel from these two countries is required to keep Canada safe from another wave of the virus.