Canada has temporarily suspended all commercial and private passenger flights from the United Kingdom.
It comes in response to a new strain of COVID-19 identified in the U.K. which officials say may be more transmissible.
The Public Health Agency of Canada said there is no evidence at this point that the mutations have any impact on symptom severity, antibody response or vaccine efficacy.
“While no cases linked to this new strain have been identified in Canada, work continues to identify if this variant is present or has been previously observed in Canada,” said the agency in a statement Sunday.
Health Minister Patty Hajdu said says the suspension will allow health officials time to gather more evidence and help reduce the spread of COVID-19.
The 72-hour flight suspension took effect at midnight Sunday night.
