Canada has banned all flights from Pakistan and India for the next 30 days as the COVID-19 cases surge in both countries. This ban will not be on the cargo flights.
Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said, “Given the higher number of cases of Covid-19 detected in air passengers arriving in Canada from India and Pakistan, Transport Canada is issuing a notice to airmen, or NOTAM, to halt direct passenger air traffic from those countries.”
The minister further said that Canadians should avoid falling into the trap of blaming an identifiable group for causing Covid-19. “We’ve seen this with Asian Canadians, we must reject scapegoating. This virus is not Chinese, nor is it Indian, it affects us all.”
Health Minister Patty Hajdu said, “our hearts are with the citizens of India, Pakistan, indeed the whole region during these incredibly difficult times.”
On Friday, Pakistan reported 144 deaths and at least 5,870 new coronavirus infections as the third wave continues to wreak havoc in the country.
India on the other hand has seen a record COVID-19 cases as it has reported over 300,000 cases for the last two days, the highest tally of new Covid-19 cases in the world.
