US, Mexico, Canada Extend Border Restrictions Until September

By Mary Anne R. First Posted: Aug 14, 2020 09:24 PM EDT

The governments of Mexico and the United States agreed on Friday to extend another border restriction of non-essential travel, which will expire on August 21 due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

"Both countries will attempt to coordinate health measures in the border region that will be in effect until 23:59 hours on September 21, 2020," Mexico's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in an NBC report.

The government of Canada has also joined the agreement, saying restrictions at the Canada-U.S. border will be extended for another 30 days due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Mexican Chancellery said the border restrictions would remain on the same term since its implementation on March 21 or when they first opted to close non-essential travel, but allowed transit for commercial or medical reasons.

American acting secretary of Department of Homeland Security, Chad Wolf, confirmed the extension of the non-essential travel ban. However, Americans who are planning to return to the U.S. are exempted.

The same with Canadians who are returning to Canada. Immediate relatives of Canadians are also allowed entry in Canada but must undergo self-quarantine for 14 days. The Canadian government imposed this ruling as of June 9.

This was the fifth time the three governments had extended the border restrictions since March when many countries issued travel bans due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 Cases

The U.S. has a total number of 5.31 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, with nearly 168,000 deaths.

The states with the highest number of cases are California, with 609,000 confirmed cases and 11,080 deaths. Followed by Florida with 563,000 confirmed cases, and 9,140 deaths. Third was Texas, with 539,000 confirmed cases and 10,136 deaths.

Meanwhile, Mexico has 506,000 confirmed cases, with 542,000 recoveries and 55,293 deaths. Mexico City has the greatest number of COVID-19 cases in Mexico, with 80,898 confirmed cases, 59,545 recoveries, and 9,472 deaths.

The state of Mexico followed this with 57,744 confirmed cases, 32,663 recoveries, and 6,967 deaths. Guanajuato was third with 24,561 confirmed cases, 17,939 recoveries, and 1,252 deaths.

Canada has 122,000 confirmed cases, with 108 recoveries, and 9,020 deaths. The top three areas in Canada with the highest number of cases are Quebec, Ontario, Montreal, with confirmed cases of 61,004, 40,459, and 29,397, respectively.