Canada and the US extend their border closures until November
Canada and the United States extended the ban on non-essential travel between the two countries until November 21 in order to contain COVID-19, Canadian Minister of Public Security Bill Blair announced on Monday.
Our decisions will continue to be based on the best public health recommendations available to keep Canadians safe, Blair said on Twitter.
The largest international border in the world has been closed to almost all types of crossing, except for commercial goods, since March 21 and since then the restriction has been renewed every month.
Some 400,000 people cross the border daily but this traffic has been reduced to a minimum since the imposition of the blockade.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he would like to reopen the border but did not consider it safe as the pandemic continues to hit his neighbor hard.
We cannot do it until we are confident that Canadians are safe but now the situation in the United States remains worrying, he said.
As of Monday, Canada had some 200,000 reported cases of covid-19, while the United States had 8.1 million. Some 220,000 people have died from the disease in the United States and nearly 10,000 in Canada.
The largest international border in the world has been closed to almost all types of crossing, except for commercial goods, since March 21 and since then the restriction has been renewed every month.
Some 400,000 people cross the border daily but this traffic has been reduced to a minimum since the imposition of the blockade.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he would like to reopen the border but did not consider it safe as the pandemic continues to hit his neighbor hard.
We cannot do it until we are confident that Canadians are safe but now the situation in the United States remains worrying, he said.
As of Monday, Canada had some 200,000 reported cases of covid-19, while the United States had 8.1 million. Some 220,000 people have died from the disease in the United States and nearly 10,000 in Canada.