Mr. Bill Blair, Canada’s Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness tweeted recently that U.S.-Canadian border restrictions will remain in effect for at least another month.
While Canada has remained accessible by air travelers from the U.S. throughout the pandemic, a bilateral ban on land crossings was implemented in March 2020 and extended monthly ever since.
During a press conference last Friday, Prime Minister Trudeau admitted the prolonged border closure “is frustrating.” According to Trudeau, he wanted at least 75% of the Canadian population to receive their first dose and 20% to be fully vaccinated before considering reopening the land border.
Trudeau said he realizes that fully vaccinated Canadians badly want to travel this summer and feel they are protected, but “you are still returning to a country where we haven’t yet reached a high enough threshold of second dose vaccination.” According to The Hill, thus far, only 65.4% of Canadians have received their first dose, and 16.5% are fully vaccinated.
Returning Canadian currently face a strict set of entry requirements, with 14-day isolation, regardless of their vaccination status. However, the government is working on loosening restrictions for inoculated citizens.
