Canada is banning entry to foreign nationals who have travelled to southern Africa to prevent the spread of a new variant of concern discovered in the region. The new variant first emerged in South Africa and led to a sharp rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in the region in recent weeks. Global Affairs Canada will also issue an advisory to discourage non-essential travel to southern Africa. A number of other jurisdictions have also enacted restrictions on travellers from the region. Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said the Commission would propose “to activate the emergency brake to stop air travel from the southern African region due to the variant of concern B.1.1.529.” B.1.1.529 is the scientific name assigned to the new variant of concern, which the World Health Organization (WHO) has named Omicron. Israel banned arrivals from most African countries on Nov. 26. “We …
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