Skip to main content

Canada-Avoid International Travels-Amid Omicron Threat

Canada advises against international travel amid Omicron threat.

TORONTO, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Canada's government implored residents on Wednesday not to leave the country as provinces ramp up vaccinations to combat the fast-spreading Omicron coronavirus variant, even as efforts to head off a COVID-19 wave are complicated by public fatigue over the pandemic.

COVID-19 case numbers are increasing, with the national seven-day average of new cases at its highest point since Oct. 1, as Canadian hospitals struggle to clear backlogs from months of postponed procedures. Many exhausted staff members appear ill-equipped for another surge in infections.

"I say very clearly: Now is not the time to travel," Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos told a news conference, adding it is clear there is community transmission of Omicron in Canada.

"I understand this sucks," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters as he urged Canadians to follow public health advice and "be careful during this holiday season. Get your kids their shots."

Children aged 5 to 11 had the highest infection rate of any age group in Ontario for the two weeks ended Tuesday.

Ontario will start offering a third shot of the vaccine to everyone over age 18 this week, while shortening the required gap between second and third doses to three months from six.

The province, Canada's most-populous, is also reducing capacity by half at indoor events with a capacity of at least 1,000, including sports activities, concerts and commercial film and television production.

Canada has banned travel from 10 African countries because of concerns about the new variant.
The federal government advised residents in March 2020 not to travel abroad unless necessary. It withdrew the notice this past October - before the first Omicron cases were reported - citing the success of vaccination campaigns.

Peter Juni, director of Ontario's COVID-19 science advisory table, urged people to take precautions, get vaccinated and not take Omicron lightly.

What really worries me is that people are asleep at the steering wheel, internationally," he said. "They have wishful thinking it will be mild. ... This is not a realistic attitude."

Scientists suspect Omicron is more transmissible given its rapid spread, although they caution it is too early to draw conclusions about its severity.

Credit: REUTERS 


Comments

  1. Unknown21 December 2021 at 06:29

    I think he is right ,except otherwise

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hermosa21 December 2021 at 21:43

    God help us 🥴🥴🥴🥴

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jokodola22 December 2021 at 04:34

    God heal our world

    ReplyDelete
  4. Austin Odidi28 December 2021 at 14:50

    Does black Africa have a corona virus pandemic in the real definition of a pandemic? The number of infections in black Africa is relatively low when compared to those of Europe and America. The number of COVID-19 related deaths in black Africa is low compared to deaths from malaria and other diseases. The number of COVID-19 deaths in black Africa is very low compared to Europe and America. Against this backdrop, I think Europe and America need not place travel ban on black Africa.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Type your comments here

Popular posts from this blog

Professor Isah Odidi, 16 Others Appointed As Directors By The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Council

  Professor Isa Odidi and His Excellency the Waziri Adamawa, Atiku Abubakar. The Peoples Democratic Party Appoints Directors And Deputy Directors To Kick-Start Campaign.                                 Professor Isah Odidi, has been appointed as Director, Diaspora Group by the Campaign Organisation of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). This appointment was contain in a Press Release on Thursday, October 06, 2022 issued by the Campaign Organisation’s Director-General and Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal. Professor Isah Odidi, a distinguished pharmacist, an erudite scientist,  a technocrat and tireless researcher will indeed propagate the good virtues of the great party, the PDP and its Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in the Diaspora.  Professor Odidi, has always asserted that Atiku  Abubakar is a unifier and the best candidate to move the Nigerian nation forward, ushe...
8 comments
Read more

Video Update - Bianca Ojukwu And Willie Obiano's Wife Saga

The Internet is buzzing, there is a media uproar, the media outlets are now giving a clearer version of what happened between the former beauty queen and wife to the late warlord, Bianca Ojukwu and the wife of the former Governor of Anambra State Ebelechukwu Willie Obiano. Fresh stories indicate that Bianca Ojukwu initiated the slap. She slapped Willie Obiano's wife and it is not the other way round as earlier reported. The moment Bianca slapped Obiano’s wife during Soludo’s inauguration happened thus. The scuffle occurred on Thursday at the inauguration of Chukwuma Soludo as governor of the state. Soludo was sworn in at the government house in Anambra. Dignitaries, including Obiano, were already seated when Ebelechukwu Obiano, Willie Obiano's wife stood up from her seat and moved to where Bianca, widow of Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, was seated and spoke to her. Although Ebelechukwu was inaudible, the video showed how Bianca rose and gave her a slap, leading to a commotion. Whichever w...
3 comments
Read more

You and Your Health - Alzheimer's breakthrough'

A study from Sweden which has found that a blood test can detect the earliest stages of Alzheimer's disease, reports the BBC, while expansiating on it's report that;                   Image Credit: Scientific American   The Times says it could have "huge implications" for routinely screening the over-50s for their risk of the disease. The test - the paper reports - can detect the "proteins" which can cause Alzheimer's which build up in the brain for 10 to 15 years before symptoms start to show, and allowed researchers to assess how "likely" someone was to develop the disease. According to the Daily Express, the brand new diagnostic tool has been praised by experts as it may "ultimately bring us closer towards a cure for dementia". The Daily Telegraph takes the view the "simple and cheap method" can measure how likely people are to develop the illness up to 15 years before they show symptoms, citing research from the study.
Post a Comment
Read more