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Canada lifted its ban on Americans crossing the border for shopping, sightseeing or sightseeing on Monday, although the United States maintained similar restrictions for Canadians. The reopening was part of a bumpy return to normalcy following travel restrictions triggered by COVID-19.
Citizens and legal residents of the United States must have completed their vaccinations and tested negative for COVID-19 within three days of crossing one of the longest and busiest land borders in the world. They must also complete a detailed form before crossing.
The measures in force to date also allow unvaccinated children under 12 to enter the country without quarantine if they arrive accompanied by parents with the full immunization schedule.
Although travelers must register in advance, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) did not specify how many people were waiting to reopen. But travelers have to count on the length of administrative formalities at the border.
“The CBSA will not endanger the health and safety of Canadians because of border wait times,” agency spokesperson Rebecca Purdy said in a statement.
From the early hours of Monday morning, hundreds of private vehicles from the United States were visible crossing the Rainbow International Bridge, one of the busiest border points, located in the city of Niagara Falls.
The border has been closed to non-essential travel since March 2020 in an attempt to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
In 2019, some 15 million Americans traveled to Canada, generating an estimated C $ 11 billion (US $ 8.74 billion), or one-fifth of the country’s total tourism revenue.
The United States has said it will maintain the lockdown on Canadians on non-essential travel until at least August 21, which also applies to the border with Mexico. However, Joe Biden’s government is starting to prepare for a gradual reopening. The main requirement would be that almost all foreign visitors arriving in the United States will need to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Canada also announced that starting September 7, the reopening will be extended to travelers from the rest of the world with the full schedule of the four vaccines authorized by the country: AstraZeneca, Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson.
According to data from the American Johns Hopkins University, Canada has 1.44 million cases and more than 26,000 deaths from COVID-19.
With information from Efe
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