OTTAWA — Canadians in Iran say they have no way to leave the country now that it is dealing with an outbreak of the novel coronavirus and they are asking Ottawa to help them come home — or at least provide consular services while they are there.
Mashhoud Nasseri, 64, said he rushed to Tehran last week to be with his family after his mother died. He was to fly home to Toronto March 2. Several countries neighbouring Iran closed their land borders to anyone travelling from Iran following the viral outbreak and some others have also restricted air travel to and from the country.
“Unfortunately, this is another example where a lack of diplomatic relations and consular services only harms vulnerable Canadian citizens abroad,” Younes Zangiabadi with the Iranian Canadian Congress said in an email Tuesday. Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu said Canadian repatriation efforts are limited, given the spread of the virus globally.
Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said Canada is monitoring the global coronavirus situation very closely, particularly in South Korea, Italy and Iran, which have all seen sudden spikes in the number of people infected with the virus.
So why are we allowing citizens to travel back and forth?
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