Despite Canada's decision to open up to vaccinated Americans, today the United States extended the closure of its land borders with Canada and Mexico to non-essential travel through Sept. 21.
This means Canadians or Americans hoping to drive to the other country for a vacation will have to wait at least another month.
Land Border Closure Extended Until September 21
The United States has continually extended the land border restrictions on Canada and Mexico on a monthly basis since March 2020, when they were initially imposed to address the spread of COVID-19.
Today, they extended the closure for another 30 days until September 31st.
“To minimize the spread of COVID-19, including the Delta variant, the United States is extending restrictions on non-essential travel at our land and ferry crossings with Canada and Mexico through September 21, while continuing to ensure the flow of essential trade and travel,” a spokesperson said to Global News.
How Is The Land Border Closure Impacting Travel?
If American travelers want to visit Canada, they will have to fly.
Despite The United States Department of State and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lowering their travel advisories for Canada to a “Level 2” this month, tourism is far from its regular numbers.
The Vancouver International Airport logged 1,958 passengers arriving from the U.S. on August. 8. On Aug. 9, that number bumped up to 2,172, then fell on Aug. 10 to 1,400, according to the Seattle Times.
But, more American travelers are expected to come.
“If current trends continue, come September, we’re estimating 15,000 passengers from the U.S. each week,” said Vancouver International Airport spokesperson Danielle Palfrey. Still, it's a significant drop from the 123,000 U.S. visitors the airport was receiving each week in 2019.
Canadian border officials went on strike the same week that the border opened, but law enforcement officials on both sides of the U.S./Canada border say the wait times to cross between the two countries have been minimal, at least in Washington state.
In the first few days after the border opened, Palfrey said it took international passengers an estimated 60-90 minutes to clear airport customs and immigration checkpoints.
Canada's vaccination rates have been continuing to increase as it overtook the U.S. last month. The country is still set to allow fully vaccinated travelers from all other countries on Sept. 7.
The land border closure also applies to Mexico, but it doesn't seem to be having as much of an impact as record number of Americans flock to the resort city of Puerto Vallarta.
U.S. Has Not Lifted International Restrictions Yet Either
In addition to the extension of the land border closure, the U.S. has not yet lifted restrictions on travelers from the United Kingdom, the 26 Schengen countries in Europe, Ireland, China, India, South Africa, Iran, and Brazil.
Airline officials say it will be at least weeks and potentially months before any U.S. travel restrictions are lifted, citing the rising number of cases driven by the Delta variant, causing a fourth wave in the U.S.
“In coordination with public health and medical experts, DHS continues working closely with its partners across the United States and internationally to determine how to safely and sustainably resume normal travel.” the Department of Homeland Security tweeted today.
Earlier this month, the Biden Administration said they are drawing up plans to allow all foreign nationals to enter the United States if they can prove that they’ve received full vaccination.
Read More:
Travel Insurance That Covers Covid-19
Countries Open For American Tourists
The U.S. Extends Mask Mandate On Public Transportation Until 2022
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Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
Philippe
Friday 20th of August 2021
The US rules of banning Europeans arriving directly from Europe but allowing them to enter after spending two weeks in countries such as Mexico or Turkey has zero base in science.
Lee
Friday 20th of August 2021
Wow one bad decision after another by the American government , terrible decisions. These are the types of decisions that will lose them the house and senate next year
Mercury
Friday 20th of August 2021
Absolutely incoherent decision making by the US administration. Really an embarrassment in every way. All of the variants are already endemic in the US. The choice of countries to block is just based on continuing hysterical decisions made last year.