Canada extends ban on arriving passenger flights from India till Sept 21, cites COVID risk

After several extensions, the Canadian government will yet again extend its prohibition on incoming passenger flights from India until September 21. According to a statement released by the federal transport ministry on Monday, this decision has been taken due to the serious threats posed by the increasing number of COVID-19 instances. Cargo flights and medical transports are exempt from the rule. 

After a disastrous second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, Canada prompted the travel ban on April 22. The option was taken as there was a fear and worries about the transmission of the Delta form of the coronavirus from other countries. The restriction was supposed to end on July 21, again it was declared that extended will be over by August 21, but now the extension will continue.  

Earlier, it was also stated that for those who are travelling to Canada from India through an alternative path, the requirement for the third-country pre-departure Covid-19 testing has to be increased. Passengers flying from India to Canada must pass a required pre-departure negative RT-PCR test prior to actually completing their journey to their final destination in Canada. 

Previously, apart from Canada banning direct flights, other countries have also imposed flights ban on India due to the surge of COVID-19 cases. In addition to reimposing lockdown restrictions, the Philippines has expanded travel restrictions to India and nine other nations. Saudi Arabia has also announced a three-year travel restriction for people travelling to nations. Apart from Afghanistan, Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, Ethiopia, and others, India is also there.  

The embargo on Indian flights has also been extended by the United Arab Emirates who has such important business ties with India. Indian visitors are yet not fit to go to the countries like Australia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Italy, Kuwait, New Zealand, Oman, Singapore, and other nations. 

On the other hand, France has removed India from its red list, allowing fully vaccinated Indians to visit the country. India's travel restrictions have also been lifted by Germany. 

 Coronavirus Cases in Canada

On Monday, Canada reported 1,203 additional cases of Covid-19, bringing the total number of cases to 1,442,087, with 26,678 fatalities. 

Today, Ontario, Canada's most populated province, verified 325 new cases, down from 423 recorded on Sunday, which was the first time Ontario has reported more than 400 new Covid-19 cases since mid-June. The seven-day tracking poll for the province is currently 283. That figure was 189 just over one week ago. 

In the previous 24 hours, 157 instances of the Delta variety were discovered, increasing the total number of illnesses in the province to 5,380. 

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