Canada on Wednesday advised its citizens to avoid all foreign travel deemed non-essential in light of the rapid growth in cases of the ommicron variant of the coronavirus, both in the North American country and elsewhere. of the world.

Canadian Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos announced the decision at a news conference in Ottawa, acknowledging that the measure is “drastic” but also necessary to prevent the potential collapse of Canadian hospitals.

“The rapid growth of the ommicron variety on a global scale makes us fear the worst,” he explains.

Addressing Canadians planning to travel abroad during the Christmas holidays, Duclos said, “Now is not the time to travel.”

Asked if Canada will again ban foreigners from entering the country, as happened last year during the worst months of the pandemic, Duclos assured that the Canadian government will “continue to monitor the situation” and take “the best measures”. in every moment

Also today, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canadians will need to carefully consider their decisions during the holiday season.

The decision by Canadian authorities comes as the number of coronavirus cases in Canada has risen by 33% in the past seven days.

Although hospital admissions have only increased by 3% over the same period, experts point out that the high number of infections that the omicron variant appears to be able to cause, even in people vaccinated on the full schedule, could lead to the collapse of the Omicron variant. hospitals in the coming weeks if no action is taken.