Sixteen days after imposing a travel restriction on Nigerians and residents of nine other African countries, Canada has announced that the countries have been removed from the ‘travel ban’ list.
Jean-Yves Duclos, Canada’s Minister of Health, stated this in a video broadcast from Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday.
The embargo will be lifted at 05:59 Nigerian time on Saturday, according to Duclos.
Nigeria, South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, Namibia, Malawi, and Egypt are among the countries that have been subjected to the ban, which was first placed on seven African countries.
“While we recognize the controversial nature of such a prohibition, we believe it was a necessary measure to slow the arrival of Omicron in Canada.
“Given the current situation, this measure has served its purpose and is no longer needed,” said the Canadian Health Minister.
According to InsightnaijaTV, Canada has enforced the ban on 10 African countries where incidences of the COVID-19 virus’s Omicron form had been recorded.
The move drew criticism from governments around the world, who described it as “discriminatory.”
Duclos, on the other hand, stated that Canadians traveling overseas will be required to take a COVID-19 test before returning to the nation.
