Two Canadian military members, who recently returned to the country from the Middle East, have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to the Defence Ministry in Ottawa.

In a statement on Saturday, the Ministry said the two infected members were aboard a repatriation flight with 35 Canadian Air Force personnel, a media report said.

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The flight was part of Operation Impact, which includes the repatriation of up to 850 Canadians deployed in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Kuwait.

According to the statement, “While all Covid-19 health and safety protocols and precautions were observed before, during, and after the flight, there does remain a risk for deployed personnel”.

On Friday, Canada extended the current ban on international travel till September 30 in an effort to curb the spread of coronavirus in the country.

The restrictions, which were first imposed for a 30-day period and have been extended since every month, prohibit all non-essential or discretionary travel to Canada from countries other than the US.

All the passengers and crew members on the flight were tested for COVID-19 and some personnel working on the base are now in self-isolation.