Industry News
The US-Canada border will remain closed to nonessential travel for another month as both countries work to contain the spread of covid-19, according to government sources. The current US-Canadian closure agreement expired November 21, so restrictions will now remain in place until at least December 21.
- Related: US-Canada Border Could Remain Closed Until Next Year | Reopening is a “Long, Long, Long Way Away”
In order to continue to prevent the spread of COVID, the US, Mexico, & Canada will extend the restrictions on non-essential travel through Dec 21. We are working closely with Mexico & Canada to keep essential trade & travel open while also protecting our citizens from the virus.
— Acting Secretary Chad Wolf (@DHS_Wolf) November 19, 2020
Canada’s border will stay closed to the U.S. until America gets a handle on COVID-19, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau previously said in a radio interview. Non-essential travel is still off-limits, and Canada doesn’t want American tourists until COVID-19 numbers stop rising — which they haven’t yet.
“The U.S. is not in a place where we would feel comfortable reopening those borders,” Trudeau told the hosts of “Smart Start,” which airs on Canada’s Global Television Network. “We will continue to make sure that Canadian safety is top of mind when we move forward. We see the cases in the United States and elsewhere around the world, and we need to continue to keep these border controls in place.”
Non-essential international travel into Canada has been banned since March, with exceptions for trade. Trudeau said Canadian citizens can still travel outside the country but wants them to be aware of the risks involved and how it may affect their access to health care when they travel abroad, according to WTSP News.
“If someone chooses to travel, we’re not going to keep them imprisoned in Canada. There is a freedom of movement in this country,” Trudeau said. “People have to recognize that they’re putting themselves at risk, they’re putting their loved ones at risk and they may not have the kinds of supports or health insurance or repatriation flights that we did early on if they choose to leave the country.”
At the time of this writing, the US has had 12,429,528 confirmed covid-19 cases and 256,798 covid-19-related deaths.
