Canada adds three countries to omicron travel ban

Canada added Nigeria, Malawi and Egypt to the list of African countries from which it was banning travellers amid concerns about the spread of COVID-19's omicron variant.

The latest additions to the previous list of seven countries from which travellers will not be admitted were announced by the country's health minister at a news conference on Tuesday.

"We're reminding Canadians that travel rules and border rules in particular can always change, and that involves both testing and quarantine measures," Jean-Yves Duclos told reporters.

Canada expanded its travel ban as the Netherlands acknowledged Tuesday that the Omicron variant appeared to have reached that country before it was identified in South Africa last week.