Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (The Canadian Press)

By Justin Goulet with files from The Canadian Press

Canada blocks flights from U.K. for 72 hours in response to new coronavirus strain

Dec 21, 2020 | 8:45 AM

OTTAWA, ON – A new strain of the coronavirus has led to multiple European nations halting flights from the U.K. in an effort to prevent spread of the virus.

Canada has joined the countries in blocking flights, with the restriction in place for 72 hours.

All commercial, private and charter flights transporting passengers from the U.K. were suspended as of 12:01 a.m. Monday morning, December 21. The restriction does not apply to cargo flights, aircraft landing for safety reasons or flights that land for technical stops where no passengers disembark the plane.

On Sunday evening, federal Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair tweeted out the news, saying the measures could be extended or enhanced following the initial 72-hour period.

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The decision to restrict flights from the U.K. came after an afternoon meeting of the Incident Response Group, a group of cabinet members and senior government officials.

Blair, Transport Minister Marc Garneau, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Health Minister Patty Hajdu, Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc attended the meeting.

Health Canada has noted that so far, there have been no recorded cases of the new strain of the virus in the country. Southern England has been dealing with a surge of cases, attributed to the new strain.

The early science suggests that the new variant is more transmissible than other strains, but Health Canada says there’s nothing yet that suggests the mutations have any effect on symptom severity, antibody response or vaccine efficacy.

Passengers who arrived in Canada today, Dec. 21, from the United Kingdom are now subject to secondary screening and enhanced measures, including increased scrutiny of quarantine plans. Passengers who arrived recently from the U.K. will also received additional direction from the Government of Canada.