The Canadian government has announced that travel to southern Africa will be restricted, citing cases of a new COVID-19 type that is causing worry.

All foreign nationals who have traveled through the seven affected nations in the last 14 days will be denied entry to Canada as of November 26. South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, and Mozambique are among the countries affected.

Citizens and permanent residents of Canada will be able to return home, but they will have to do so via a third nation, where they will also be required to take a molecular COVID-19 test.

Jean-Yves Duclos, Canada’s health minister, advised those already in Canada who traveled in the region in the previous two weeks to get a COVID-19 test and stay in isolation until the test results were negative.

The new measures, according to Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, will be in effect until at least January 31, 2022.

After the World Health Organization (WHO) designated the new COVID-19 strain, also known as Omicron or B.1.1.529, as a variation of concern, the company made the statement. The Omicron variation has been discovered in South Africa, Botswana, Israel, Belgium, and Hong Kong so far. According to Theresa Tam, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, it has not been discovered.

Canadians who are unable to return home owing to the limitations should contact the emergency watch center, according to the transportation ministry.

“We are working promptly to defend Canadians’ health and safety,” says the government “Jean-Yves Duclos, the Minister of Health, told reporters in Ottawa. “Foreign nationals who have been via southern Africa in the recent 14 days are not allowed to enter Canada.”

Air Canada, Canada’s largest airline, dropped as much as 11% of its market value, the most since June 2020, but the damage was broad. The S&P/TSX Composite Index was lower in every sector, with the equities benchmark falling 2.3 percent, the most in 13 months. As oil prices plunged, energy stocks led the way down, with the sector down 3.7 percent.

South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Eswatini are the seven countries.

Air Canada announced a week ago that it no longer required government assistance under a C$5.9 billion ($4.6 billion) rescue program. On the same day, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government announced that vaccinated Canadians making brief travels to the United States will be exempt from certain testing procedures.

According to some economists, the proliferation of the variation could have a significant impact on economic activity.

“Preliminary evidence suggests that this variant has a higher risk of reinfection than other (variants of concern),” WHO stated in a statement.

Global Affairs Canada (GAC) will also revise its travel warnings to strongly advise against visiting any of the seven nations.

Canada’s current measures are intended to last until January 31, while the ministers warned that if the omicron variety spreads to other countries, they might be extended and expanded to include other countries.

The US government implemented a similar travel ban for people who had recently visited southern Africa on the same day. On Thursday evening, the United Kingdom closed its border with South Africa, and the European Commission suggested that other member states ban air traffic from southern Africa and “other nations affected.”

The omicron version is particularly alarming, according to Tam, because it features a series of alterations in two key sections of the virus’ spike protein, allowing it to penetrate our body’s cells and infect humans. Early evidence suggests that the new strain has a very high transmission rate.

“Mutations in these places may have an influence on our body’s natural immunity as well as the immunity provided by vaccines,” Tam explained.

“We are concerned about this new variety and are actively monitoring the unfolding situation due to the potential for enhanced transmissibility and increasing resistance to vaccination-induced protection.”

Opposition parties and leaders of Canada’s largest provinces called on the federal government Friday morning to impose a ban on all non-essential travel from African nations affected by the new version, just hours before the announcement.