Amid rising Covid-19 cases, the United States and Canada announced Friday their border will be closed until mid-January.
“In order to continue to prevent the spread of COVID, the U.S., Mexico, & Canada will extend the restrictions on non-essential travel through Jan. 21,” Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf announced on Twitter. “We are working closely with Mexico & Canada to keep essential trade & travel open while also protecting our citizens from the virus.”
And Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also tweeted Friday: “Update on our border: To keep Canadians safe, we’ve extended the measures currently in place at the Canada-US border by another 30 days. Non-essential travel between our two countries remains restricted until at least January 21st, 2021.”
The U.S. and Canada largely shut their land border crossings on March 21 as Covid-19 was first spiking. The shutdown has been extended on a monthly basis ever since.
Under the closure, the only people allowed to cross the border are those traveling for medical, educational, governmental, commercial or military purposes. In addition, Canada has slightly broader rules governing close family members and significant others who want to enter the country. They are allowed to enter Canada so long as they obtain authorization and agree to quarantine for 14 days.
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