Canada junior field hockey team to return home after being stranded in South Africa due to Omicron
Strict travel rules by the Canadian Government to limit the spread of the new variant, Omicron prompted the national junior field hockey team to seek an exemption to return home.
The team was in South Africa for the Junior World Cup, now postponed due to the rise of Omicron cases.
To return home, they must take a molecular test in South Africa, such as a PCR test. Then, they were required to take another test while landing in Germany, something German officials would not allow them to do.
After hearing from many Canadians pleading to bring them home, Ottawa allowed the team to skip that test in Germany and take one as soon as they touch down in Canada.
Danielle Husar told CTV News the team is thankful they can now return home, while transiting through Germany.
“Then following that, (we will have to) do a 14-day quarantine,” said Husar.
“Those are the measures that we currently have to follow. It is understandable for the situation, and we are all willing to do that as long as we can get home safely and as soon as possible.”
The players are from Ontario, B.C. and Alberta, including two University of Calgary students.
South Africa is one of ten countries under Canada’s travel ban.
Husar says the restrictions have taken a toll on her teammates.
“We had a lot of people back home sending messages to people in the high positions of power asking and demanding that these exemptions be made because we were being blocked out of our own country by these restrictions,” she said.
“So the fact they heard what we had to say, listened and put this exemption into place - is very reassuring.”
Husar says the team is booked on a flight for Wednesday through Lufthansa to return home.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trudeau acknowledges charges in Nijjar killing, calls for commitment to democracy
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has acknowledged the charges laid Friday in relation to the murder of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Bodies recovered in Mexico likely 2 Australians, 1 American who went missing: officials
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
Princess Anne lays wreath at B.C. veteran's cemetery; receives 21-gun salute
Princess Anne paid tribute to veterans buried at a cemetery in British Columbia today, laying a wreath to honour the more than 2,500 military personnel and family members buried there.
Mystik Dan wins the 150th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in a three-horse photo finish
Mystik Dan won the 150th Kentucky Derby in a photo finish, edging out Forever Young and Sierra Leone for the upset victory.
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
London Drugs begins 'gradual reopening' on 7th day after cyberattack
Almost a week after all London Drugs stores across Western Canada abruptly closed amid a cyberattack, they began a "gradual reopening" on Saturday.