Canada is increasing testing requirements for international travellers and dropping its travel ban on flights from 10 African countries as the government tries to quash the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant. Starting Tuesday, all travellers will once again need to get a COVID-19 molecular test before returning to Canada. The ban covered flights from South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, Namibia, Nigeria, Malawi and Egypt. The federal government changed its official guidance to advise Canadians to avoid all non-essential travel outside the country for the time being. Duclos thanked those who have already cancelled trips and warned those who are choosing to still travel abroad.

Source: CBC News December 18, 2021 00:07 UTC