The Department of Homeland Security announced on Twitter Sunday that U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada will remain closed to nonessential travel “to reduce the spread” of COVID-19.
“The United States is extending restrictions on nonessential travel at our land and ferry crossings with Canada and Mexico through July 21, while ensuring access for essential trade & travel,” the agency tweeted.
Last month, the DHS extended the restrictions to June 21.
The agency, in conjunction with its Canadian and Mexican counterparts, originally closed the United States’ northern and southern borders to leisure travelers in March 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The restrictions have been extended on a monthly basis ever since.
The department added on Sunday that it’s working with the White House, other U.S. agencies and “working groups with Canada and Mexico to identify the conditions under which restrictions may be eased safely and sustainably.”
“Hope is not a good strategy — we need a plan,” Niagara Falls, Ontario Mayor Jim Diodati told USA TODAY earlier this month when discussing easing restrictions.
Southbound travel from the U.S. into Mexico’s northern border cities has gone unchecked since the beginning of the pandemic. Americans can still fly there.
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