Canada scrapping non-essential foreign travel advisory

OTTAWA — Canada has scrapped an official advisory urging its citizens to shun non-essential foreign travel, dropping a warning that was issued in March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic erupted.

The Canadian government, however, is still telling people to avoid cruise ship travel outside of the country.

In an update to its travel advisory page posted late on Thursday, Ottawa removed the advice to avoid unnecessary travel and reverted to its usual practice of issuing notices for individual countries.

“Community transmission of COVID-19 continues in many countries. You should be fully vaccinated by completing a COVID-19 vaccine series in Canada or abroad at least 14 days before traveling,” it said.

According to official data, just under 82 per cent of eligible Canadians had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct 8.