Canada extends international traveller ban

Rene-Levesque Boulevard, one of Montreal’s main arteries, is pictured deserted moments after the curfew was implemented from 8pm local time till 5am in Montreal, Canada on January 9, 2021. – Quebec premier Francois Legault ordered the first pandemic curfew in Canada on Wednesday as part of new lockdown measures to slow the spread of a second wave of Covid-19.
The lockdown and 8:00 pm to 5:00 am (0100 to 1000 GMT) curfew will take effect starting Saturday in the province and last four weeks, Legault told a news conference. (Photo by Eric THOMAS / AFP)

OTTAWA, Canada  – Canada on Wednesday announced a one-month extension of a ban on non-essential international travel into the country, stretching the restrictions until February 21.

Travellers allowed into Canada despite the ban, which has been in force since March, must still quarantine for 14 days.

Since the beginning of January, they have also had to test negative for Covid-19 before boarding a flight into the country.

Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said in a Twitter message that these were “some of the strictest travel restrictions in the world.”

Ottawa and Washington, meanwhile, have a separate arrangement prohibiting non-essential travel between their two countries, which is also set to expire on February 21.

As of Wednesday, Canada had recorded more than 720,000 cases of Covid-19 and more than 18,000 deaths.

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