The federal government is considering measures to strengthen the border against the spread of the Omicron variant, including advice to Canadians to avoid non-essential travel and possibly closing Canada's borders to foreign nationals.
Two government sources told CTV News that the federal government will begin advising Canadians to avoid non-essential travel.
Options around further travel restrictions were discussed on a call with the premiers Tuesday night.
Potential new travel restrictions could come into place ahead of Christmas and would be a “one-sized fits all approach,” a source said.
Officials are expected to make a public announcement about the restrictions on Wednesday.
Travellers returning from several African countries are already subject to a number of complicated restrictions that include obtaining a negative test in a third country before coming home and staying in a quarantine hotel until getting a negative COVID-19 test result after landing.
CP24 reached out to the federal government about possible changes to the hotel quarantine system in light of the fact that health officials in this country say the Omicron variant is already spreading rapidly here. A spokesperson said a response would come on Wednesday.
Late Tuesday night, a readout about the meeting between Trudeau and the premiers from the PMO said the Prime Minister “consulted premiers on additional border and travel measures that could help slow community spreading, and First Ministers discussed other potential measures to keep Canadians safe.”
Testing for all returning travellers is also likely to be implemented, a senior government source said.
-With files from CTV News
