Borders remain closed, air links with India and Pakistan forbidden

On May 21, the Government of Canada announced that the regime of closed borders and a ban on entry for foreigners has been extended for another month — until June 21. Until the same date, a ban on air travel to India and Pakistan, which was introduced on 22 April due to the active spread of the Indian strain COVID-19, was extended.

Shortly before the government's official announcement, Air Canada independently cancelled all flights to India for the coming month.

In addition to closed borders, measures remain in place for passengers arriving from abroad: testing for COVID-19 before departure, retesting upon arrival, waiting for test results at a quarantine hotel and another test on the eighth day of quarantine. Authorities note that this arrangement has proven to work. Canadian residents who are in India or Pakistan can return on a transit flight through a third country. In this case, they must test in the country of departure and the country of transfer.

"As the number of COVID-19 contamination cases in India and Pakistan remains disproportionately high, we have extended flight restrictions and pre-flight testing requirements from third countries," said Canadian Transport Minister Omar Algabra.

According to Howard Nju, Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Health, preventing infections at the border is crucial. He noted that less than 1% of travellers arriving in Canada now test positive for COVID-19, but half of these cases are the British strain B.1.1.7, and now the number of those infected with the Indian strain B.1.617 is increasing.

Canada's borders have been closed for non-essential travel for over a year.

Earlier, Canadian authorities reported that the land border with the United States would also be closed until June 21, but the countries have already begun preliminary talks about opening.