Story at a glance
- On Monday, Canada’s public safety minister announced that, in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus, the earliest the border will reopen is now Nov. 21.
- The closure was set to expire on Oct. 21.
- The move comes as many parts of the U.S. are experiencing surges in coronavirus cases, prompting fears about another devastating wave of infections going into flu season and the colder months.
The U.S.-Canadian border will remain closed to nonessential travel until late November as the U.S. has more confirmed cases and deaths from COVID-19 than any other country in the world.
The ban on nonessential travel was put in place in March and has been extended every month since then.
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On Monday, Canada’s public safety minister announced the earliest the border will reopen is now Nov. 21 in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The closure was set to expire on Oct. 21.
We are extending non-essential travel restrictions with the United States until November 21st, 2020. Our decisions will continue to be based on the best public health advice available to keep Canadians safe. More info:https://t.co/EZ3pi3asJr
— Bill Blair (@BillBlair) October 19, 2020
The restrictions do not apply to essential workers such as health care professionals, airline crews and truck drivers. Americans and Canadians returning to their countries are also exempted from the border closure.
The move comes as many parts of the U.S. are experiencing surges in coronavirus cases, prompting fears about a devastating second wave of infections going into flu season and the colder months. The U.S. reported more than 70,000 new infections on Friday, making it the highest single-day increase for the country since late July.
Canada was able to largely flatten the curve over the summer but has been experiencing a rise in new daily cases since the end of August.
As of Monday, the U.S. confirmed more than 8 million coronavirus cases and nearly 220,000 deaths. Canada has recorded roughly 200,000 cases and just less than 10,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
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