The federal government is introducing a number of travel requirements in light of a new coronavirus variant that has been identified as a variant of concern by the World Health Organization. The new variant was first found in South Africa on November 24th according to the WHO. Canadian officials say the country is now banning the entry of foreign nationals who have been to seven countries in South Africa over the last 14 days. Anyone who arrived from that part of the world over the last two weeks will be asked to quarantine and go for a COVID-19 test. Those isolating will be asked to do so until they receive a negative test result. Canada is also issuing a travel advisory asking Canadians not to travel to Southern Africa for the time being. Officials with the WHO say it will take a few weeks for researchers to study the impact on how transmissible and virulent it is and how it impacts diagnostics and vaccines. The World Health Organization titled the new variant “Omicron”. There are currently no direct flight from South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho and Eswatini or Mozambique to Canada. Both the United States and the United Kingdom have also restricted flights from South Africa.