Canada-US Land Border Staying Closed, Proof of Vaccination Will Be Required to Fly

September 20, 2021 ctn_admin

The United States is planning to ease travel restrictions on foreign visitors starting in November, published reports say. But the land border with Canada is staying shut for another month. And the new rules appear to make it more complicated for Canadians who fly to the U.S.

The last US-Canada land border closure order was set to expire tomorrow (September 21). But the CBC says the U.S. will extend that order, which also covers the US-Mexico land border, until October 21.

Canada last month began allowing fully vaccinated Americans to drive into the country, but the U.S. hasn’t reciprocated. Under the U.S. rules, only essential travel is allowed over the land border with Canada.

The U.S. land border with Canada has been closed since March, 2020.

It’s a different story for air travel, however. Both CNN and CNBC says the U.S. will require that adult foreign nationals travelling to the U.S. be fully vaccinated.

CNBC said that non-citizens visiting the United States will have to show proof of vaccination and a negative COVID test taken within three days of departure.

Canadians currently have to show a negative COVID test, but not proof of vaccination. So the rules will actually be tighter for Canadians.

The White House said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will decide which vaccines qualify, including if those not approved by U.S. regulators will be accepted. That’s a big issue for many Canadians, as Canada has widely used the Astra Zeneca vaccine, which isn’t currently recognized by the CDC. Astra Zeneca vaccines also have been widely distributed in Europe, India and other countries.

Upstate New York Congressman Brian Higgins ripped into the Biden administration for keeping the Canada-US land border closed another month.

“It is inexplicable that no announcement on easing travel restrictions at land ports of entry is being made today since the livelihoods of communities across the northern border depend on cross-border commerce,” he said.

The changes will take effect in early November, which the airline industry believes will spark more holiday travel and boost the economy.

“The U.S. Travel Association applauds the Biden administration’s announcement of a roadmap to reopen air travel to vaccinated individuals from around the world, which will help revive the American economy and protect public health,” said U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow. “This is a major turning point in the management of the virus and will accelerate the recovery of the millions of travel-related jobs that have been lost due to international travel restrictions.”

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