OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other members of his cabinet are meeting behind closed doors to discuss Canada’s response to a new strain of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom.
Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu revealed the discussions in a message on Twitter this afternoon as a number of European countries closed their borders with the UK because of the new strain, which is allegedly more contagious.
This afternoon, @JustinTrudeau and I are meeting with our colleagues and officials from the Incident Response Group to discuss the genetic variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 identified in the United Kingdom.
— Patty Hajdu (@PattyHajdu) December 20, 2020
Trudeau’s office later confirmed the meeting of the so-called Incident Response Group.
France, Belgium and the Netherlands are among the countries that have imposed travel bans to keep the strain from spreading.
Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet is calling for Ottawa to follow their lead and suspend flights from Britain.
The Trudeau government did not respond to questions from The Canadian Press about whether Canada was considering a travel ban.
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