Canada on Thursday expanded enhanced screening and monitoring measures to travellers arriving from South Africa, citing the rise of a more infectious variant of Covid-19 in South Africa, similar to one that has emerged in the United Kingdom, Reuters reports.

This follows a move by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to extend to Jan 6 a ban on passenger flights arriving from Britain, citing the variant. Canada also announced added screening for travellers from Britain.

No cases of the variant have been found in Canada so far, Health Canada said in a release, noting it had tested over 25,000 samples.

“All travellers who have been in the United Kingdom or South Africa within the period of 14 days before the day on which they seek entry into Canada will be subject to secondary screening and enhanced measures,” Health Canada said. Those measures include “increased scrutiny of quarantine plans,” it said.

Canada also updated travel advisories for both the United Kingdom and South Africa to advise extra caution. Health officials continue to advise against all non-essential international travel.

Opinion

Editorial

Sustainable path?
Updated 13 Jun, 2026

Sustainable path?

The FY27 budget is the first clear signal that the government is ready to transition from stabilisation to growth.
Prioritising education
13 Jun, 2026

Prioritising education

THOUGH the improvement in the country’s literacy rate may be slight, as highlighted by the Economic Survey, it ...
Poverty’s rise
13 Jun, 2026

Poverty’s rise

AS attention turns to the government’s plans for the coming fiscal year, one set of figures deserves particular...
A difficult story
Updated 12 Jun, 2026

A difficult story

Unless productivity becomes the dominant target of economic policy, Pakistan will continue to oscillate between crises and fragile recovery.
Rough waters
12 Jun, 2026

Rough waters

AMONGST the key potential triggers for fresh conflict in South Asia is water. The Indian state is behaving in an...
Politicised football
12 Jun, 2026

Politicised football

ALMOST three-and-half years since Lionel Messi led Argentina to FIFA World Cup glory, the latest edition of...