Canada adding more African countries to entry blacklist due to Omicron fears

Nigeria, Malawi, and Egypt have been added to the list of countries that will be denied entry into Canada, in response to the detection and tracking of the Omicron variant. According to CTV News, federal ministers and public heath officials will announce the update in an upcoming statement or press conference.

The seven other African countries on the blacklist are South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, and Eswatini.

Foreign nationals of those countries and travellers who passed by those countries will be denied entry into Canada until further notice.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said while speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill on Wednesday that "obviously we're watching very, very closely the situation with Omicron." He would go on to say that the government is considering further restrictions if the new variant is threatening enough. They are looking at the new COVID-19 variant "very, very closely."

After Trudeau discussed restrictions, he went on to say that "there may be more we need to do and we'll be looking at it very carefully."

"We know that even though Canada has very strong border measures now," Trudeau added. "We need vaccinations to come to Canada, we need pre-departure tests, we need testing on arrival — there may be more we need to do and we'll be looking at it very carefully."