Not the time to ‘freely go wherever,’ says health officer

Travellers should assess potential destinations

OTTAWA — Canadians should carefully weigh any future decisions on taking foreign trips even though the federal government has lifted a global advisory asking them to avoid nonessential travel, health officials cautioned Friday.

Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, said the government would be providing more specific information about the severity of COVID-19 in various countries to help Canadians decide where they should consider travelling.

“The pandemic is very much alive. There are definitely still risks involved in travel,” Tam said Friday. She said it was too soon for the government to give a “blanket” recommendation on all travel, but said being fully vaccinated and assessing the level of the pandemic in any potential destination are key.

“Now is not the time to just freely go wherever.”

The government announced Thursday that it was lifting the advisory asking Canadians to avoid non-essential travel outside the country, but it was continuing to advise against travel on cruise ships. The global travel advisory was put in place in March 2020.

Dr. Howard Njoo, the deputy chief public health officer, said Friday that Canadians should ask themselves a series of questions before they plan to travel abroad. Njoo urged Canadians assess the “epidemiological situation” of COVID-19 in any potential travel destination “because there is great variation between different countries and even within countries, as we’ve seen here in Canada.”