U.S. Stretches Travel Restrictions at Canada and Mexico Until July 21, DHS Says
The borders to Canada and Mexico will still be closed as the U.S. extended the travel restrictions to the said countries until July 21. The announcement of the 30-day extension was made by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Sunday, saying that essential travel and trade will not be affected.
USA Today reported that last month, DHS extended the travel restrictions on the same countries, through June 21. It can be remembered that the agency closed the U.S. northern and southern borders with its Canadian and Mexican counterparts in March last year, during the onset of the pandemic.
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U.S. Extends Travel Restrictions to Mexico and Canada
DHS announced on Twitter the extension that is geared toward protecting the resident of the respective countries against coronavirus disease.
"To reduce the spread of #COVID19, the United States is extending restrictions on non-essential travel at our land and ferry crossings with Canada and Mexico through July 21," DHS posted on their official Twitter account. Furthermore, DHS noted that their agency is working with other groups in the "White House's expert working groups with Canada and Mexico" to identify which restrictions can be eased "safely and sustainably."
Despite the announcement of the travel restriction extensions, Reuters underscored that some lawmakers and border communities from the U.S. who are gravely affected by the border closures pushed to relax the border restrictions, ahead of the summer travel season.
In the previous week, the U.S. government had working group meetings with Canada and Mexico regarding the travel restrictions. However, a source confirmed with Reuters that the U.S. did not endorse setting a specific limit that will trigger lifting the restrictions.
Democratic representative Bryan Higgins and Republican Representative Bill Huizenga said that the "inability of U.S. and Canada governments in reaching an agreement" about border restrictions was "unacceptable."
The U.S., Canada, and Mexico planned to hold meetings regarding the travel restrictions every two weeks.
It can be remembered that since the borders of the U.S. between Canada and Mexico were closed in the previous year, the extensions of the travel restrictions were done every month.
Canada's Borders Still Closed to the U.S. Until 75% Vaccination Rates
As the U.S. extended their travel restrictions to countries located in their north and south, Forbes noted that Canada will also not fully reopen for Americans until their government reached 75 percent of their vaccination rate.
The announcement was made by Canada's Public Safety Minister Bill Blair on Sunday. To date, Forbes highlighted that only 20 percent of Canadians are fully vaccinated and 75 percent from their country received at least one dose of COVID vaccine. Because of this, Canada needs to nearly quadruple their vaccination rate before its border with the U.S. will be fully reopened.
Over the next six weeks, Canadian officials would receive more than 68 million vaccine doses, making it possible for vaccination spots to inoculate eligible residents. Minister Blair noted that the vaccine that would arrive will make them reach the 75 percent vaccine rate needed to reopen the U.S. borders.
Forbes highlighted that the non-essential travel restrictions between Canada and U.S. made their respective officials face pressure in speeding up the reopening process of the borders.
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