Canadian governments suspends flights from India, Pakistan over Covid-19 fears

 

OTTAWA, Canada: Canada will suspend the arrival of passenger flights from India and Pakistan due to the spread of the coronavirus, a source said on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp reported the ban on flights would last for 30 days.

Nationwide, right-leaning Canadian politicians have charged that the center-left Liberal government of Justin Trudeau has not taken enough steps to combat the Coronavirus, as a third wave of infections struck Canada, overwhelming healthcare systems.

Health Minister Patty Hajdu said half of those passengers testing positive for the coronavirus after arriving in Canada by airplane came from India.

Flights coming from India make up some one-fifth of the country's air traffic.

Additionally, there is a disproportionately higher number of positive cases found among passengers arriving from Pakistan, she said.

"It makes sense to pause travel from that region while our scientists and researchers better understand the variants of interest," Hajdu said.