You may need to have a backup plan for your holiday travels due to the rising threat of the Omicron variant.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called an urgent meeting on Tuesday night with the premiers to discuss the pandemic.
Additional border and travel measures were on the agenda.
I just spoke with Premier @JJHorgan, as Chair of the Council of the Federation. We’re going to convene a meeting as soon as possible with the premiers to address Omicron and make sure we’re working together to keep you safe as we head into the holidays. We’ve got your back.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) December 14, 2021
A news release says the heavily mutated virus and its global spread dominated their talks.
We don’t know the full details of those discussions yet, but an announcement is expected from Ottawa on Wednesday morning.
“They [First Ministers] expressed concern over this variant and the epidemiological outlook, noting the potential for a rapid and strong resurgence of COVID-19 cases in Canada that could put a strain on our health care systems,” the statement says. “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.”
Multiple media outlets are reporting the feds will toughen international travel restrictions with an advisory against non-essential trips to foreign countries.
A similar recommendation had been in place since the start of the pandemic but was lifted just two months ago due to vaccination rates.
