The federal government is warning Canadians against international travel and, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says, it’s also considering closing the Canadian border as part of the country’s reponse to the the global outbreak of COVID-19.
Speaking from self-isolation from his residence in Ottawa, Trudeau made the comments in an interview with Radio Canada on Friday morning.
A short while later, the Canadian military announced it was banning all foreign travel and said it was ordering non-essential personnel to stay home to mimimize the impact of the virus.
- The Canadian military ordered a ban on international travel and a halt to overseas deployments on Friday as part of a wide-ranging response to the global COVID-19 outbreak. (Clement Allard/Canadian Press)
Later, at an early-afternoon news conference outside his residence in Ottawa, Trudeau said the government will be limiting inbound flights to try to combat the spread of COVID-19.
“We are looking to reduce the number of airports that will accept travellers from overseas in order to be able give the proper resources on all arrivals to ensure we’re doing everything we can to keep Canadians and Canada safe,” he said.
He did not say which airports will be involved.
Also in Ottawa, Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam detailed the warning and why it’s needed.
Friday’s developments came a day after, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Freeland told the CBC’s Kathleen Harris she stressed the importance of keeping the Canada-U.S. border open after U.S. President Donald Trump, in an address from the Oval Office Wednesday, announced a month-long restriction on most European travellers.
Freeland said other Canadian officials also spoke to their U.S. counterparts.
She declined to answer questions about whether Washington was considering closing the border.
As of Friday morning, the the Public Health Agency of Canada was reporting nearly 180 presumptive and confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Canada.
One person has died as a result of the virus.
With files from CBC (Katheen Harris, Murray Brewster), Canadian Press, Associated Press
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