Liberals put tighter border restrictions in place
CANADA TO BAN MOST FOREIGNERS, CALLS FOR CITIZENS TO RETURN AS VIRUS SPREADS
Canada is closing its doors to the world by severely restricting international flights, a move the government rejected just days ago, but is now embracing in a sign of just how quickly the coronavirus crisis is escalating.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the sweeping travel restrictions Monday at a press conference outside Rideau Cottage, where he and his family have been in isolation, since his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, contracted the virus last week.
Starting Wednesday, all international visitors to Canada will be turned around at the airport, with the exception of Americans, diplomats and flight crews.
“We will be denying entry to Canada to people who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents,” said Trudeau, who added anyone coming back to the country needs to self-isolate for 14 days.
The American border will remain open and there is currently no plan to restrict domestic flights. Canadians and permanent residents will be allowed to return home, but have been warned to do so quickly.
“Canadian travellers should return to Canada via commercial means while it’s still possible to do so. Let me clear: if you’re abroad, it’s time for you to come home,” said Trudeau.
Family members of Canadian citizens and permanent residents will also be allowed to come home.
Trudeau said the government would also mandate that airlines would have to do a basic health assessment of anyone travelling, including citizens, and anyone who might have the virus will not be allowed to travel here.
“Anyone who has symptoms will not be able to come to Canada.”
As of Monday afternoon, Canada had 407 confirmed cases of the virus, while there were more than 175,000 cases worldwide.
The death toll in Canada has been low so far, but three new deaths were reported in British Columbia on Monday, bringing the country’s total fatalities from the virus to four.
The crisis has also brought havoc to financial markets with another day of major declines on stock exchanges. Restaurants and bars were closing their doors even in advance of government orders that they do so and many businesses were suspending operations.
International flights will also be redirected starting Wednesday, with all flights from overseas being sent to one of four airports — Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver — to ensure better passenger screening.
This measure will not impact American flights, or those from the Caribbean or Mexico.
The government has rejected calls for tighter border controls at several points in recent weeks, always suggesting the science and advice from public health officials didn’t support such a move. Late last week, Health Minister Patty Hajdu said they could even be counterproductive.
“Canadians think we can stop this at the border. But what we see is a global pandemic, which means that border measures are highly ineffective and, in some cases, can create harm,” she said
Trudeau said they’re still listening to public health officials, but the virus is moving extremely quickly.
“We’ve taken the best advice of our public health officials and now is the time to take this particular step. It is a significant step. It is a step that we take in exceptional circumstances, but it is the right step to be taking today.”
These measures come days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 30-day travel ban on citizens from 26 European countries that took effect from midnight last Friday.
The Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said the border measures will strengthen the country’s response, but the concern is about the virus within communities.
“From my perspective the most important public actions must be to shore up our domestic response,” she said. “Border measures add layers of protection on top of that fundamental public health action.”
Canadians who find themselves unable to get home on commercial flights, either because they are sick or because those flights have been cancelled, can reach out to the government for consular support and Trudeau said they will be able to get financial support.
The decision to keep the U.S. border open to tourists prompted criticism from British Columbia’s Health Minister Adrian Dix, who told a press conference that they hoped the government would go further.
“We remain concerned that access to visitors from the United States continues to be allowed,” he said. “It is our strong view and our strong message that visitors from the United States not come to British Columbia.”
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said they were regularly monitoring the situation with the U.S. border, but stressed the interconnected nature of the two economies meant that border was different.
“Food supply in Canada is very closely connected with the U.S economy and the U.S. food supply is connected with greenhouses across Canada. We need to act with great care and deliberation.”
Trudeau also stressed that Canadians should remain at home as much as possible to avoid further spread of the disease. Any events of more than 50 people should be cancelled. He said, however, people should still find other ways to stay in touch.
“The strength of our country is our capacity to come together and care for each other, especially in times of need. So call your friends, check in with your family, think of your community.”