The Government of Canada is lifting the ban on Nigeria and 9 other African countries starting11:59pm on December 18.
Health Minister, Jean-Yves Duclos made the announcement on Friday, December 17. "Canada first implemented the ban on the 26, November to seven African countries, but later expanded the ban to 10 countries within a few days. This includes South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, Namibia, Nigeria, Malawi, and Egypt."
The ban that was originally set to expire on January 31, 2022, will now come to an end on December 18, 2021.
According to the Minister, "Canada will now re-introduce pre-arrival tests for all new incoming travelers. Currently, Canadian residents can leave and come back within 72 hours without needing a pre-arrival COVID-19 test. A negative pre-arrival test will be required for all new arrivals to Canada starting December 21."
"The bans were originally put in place due to a high rate of travelers testing positive for coronavirus from those countries. However, African political leaders and scientists criticized Canada for only including African countries in its ban, even though the Omicron variant had been detected in 44 countries at the time," says the Canadian government.
Canada has since had a re-think and has now decided to lift the ban on the African countries after much pressure.
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