Canada is suspending flights from the United Kingdom for 72 hours after a genetic variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 was identified.
As of midnight, all commercial and private passenger flights into Canada from the U.K. will be suspended.
"Genetic variation of viruses such as the one that causes COVID-19 is to be expected and have been previously observed in parts of the world this year," read a release from the Government of Canada. "While early data suggest that the United Kingdom variant may be more transmissible, to date there is no evidence that the mutations have any impact on symptom severity, antibody response or vaccine efficacy."
Canada’s Minister of Health Patty Hajdu said over Twitter that she and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with officials from the Incident Response Group to discuss the matter on Sunday afternoon. Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair, Minister of Transport Marc Garneau, President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc, and Minister of Foreign Affairs François-Philippe Champagne also participated in the meeting.
The Government of Canada is working with international partners, such as the World Health Organization in order to better understand the variant and the impact it may have.
Passengers from the U.K. who arrived in Canada on Sunday -- or even recently -- will have to go through "secondary screening and enhanced measures, including increased scrutiny of quarantine plans."
Canadians have been advised not to travel abroad since March. However, those who do travel are required to quarantine for 14 days immediately upon arrival in Canada.
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom also announced stricter measures in the U.K. on Sunday in response to the new variant, which included a stay-at-home order in areas of England.
Given the early evidence we have on this new variant of the virus, and the potential risk it poses, it is with a heavy heart that I must tell you we cannot continue with Christmas as planned. (2/3)
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) December 19, 2020
