Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos is expanding the COVID-19 travel ban and ordering new border testing rules as Canada tries to keep the new Omicron variant from spreading.

Duclos is adding Malawi, Egypt and Nigeria to the banned travellers country list, and stepping up testing for air travellers who fly into Canada from anywhere but the United States.

At least six cases of the new variant are now confirmed in Canada, so far all in people who had recently travelled from Nigeria.

Duclos says we still don't know very much about the threat this new variant poses.

The federal government is banning travellers from three more African countries and expanding COVID-19 testing for all international air travellers as it tries to keep the new Omicron variant from taking hold in Canada.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino says in addition to new tests for international air travellers, the government is investigating if it is possible to require arrival testing for air and land travellers coming into Canada from the United States.

At least seven cases of Omicron in four provinces have now been confirmed in Canada.