OTTAWA — Canada has imposed a 30-day ban on passenger flights coming from India and Pakistan as coronavirus infections continue to surge in the South Asian countries.

The move, which went into effect Friday (April 23) at 3:30 a.m. GMT, as COVID-19 infections continue to surge in those countries, comes as the Canadian government faces curb variant spread domestically.

Speaking to reporters during a press conference on Thursday, Canadian Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said the government is imposing the temporary ban as more passengers are arriving in Canada with positive test results from those two countries.

“Given the higher number of cases of COVID-19 detected in air passengers arriving in Canada from India and Pakistan, Transport Canada is issuing a notice to airmen, or NOTAM, to halt direct passenger air traffic from those countries,” said Alghabra.

Earlier on Thursday, lawmakers backed a motion moved by Bloc Quebecois to have the government immediately suspend non-essential passenger flights from countries with high rates of COVID-19 variants.

The motion was non-binding on the government but it added pressure on the Cabinet to consider more severe border control measures, namely on flights from India and Brazil. The two countries have seen upticks in coronavirus variant cases. — Agencies