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Justin Trudeau says restricting travel from India, Pakistan necessary

Due to a concerning surge of COVID-19 cases and the emergence of more variants of concern in certain parts of the world
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks next to the Watermark sculpture along the St. John River in Fredericton, New Brunswick on Thursday August 15, 2019. Trudeau was in Fredericton to discuss federal funding for flood mitigation. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Stephen MacGillivray

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says suspending incoming passenger flights from India and Pakistan for the next month must be done to keep Canadians safe.

Trudeau says it’s necessary because there has been a concerning surge of COVID-19 cases and the emergence of more variants of concern in certain parts of the world.

Also, the federal health minister has said half of the people who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus after arriving in Canada by plane have come from India.

The new travel measures were announced yesterday following pressure from provincial leaders, who said not enough was being done to keep infectious variants out of the country.

The B. 1.617 variant that appears to be wreaking havoc in India has been detected in several provinces.

The travel measures also require people coming from India and Pakistan through indirect flights to get a negative COVID-19 test in the last place they landed before arriving in Canada.

RELATED: Canada to halt direct flights from India, Pakistan for 30 days due to COVID variant concerns

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