Report: Canada, US to extend ban on non-essential border traffic
Canadians say surge in US coronavirus cases means no chance of non-essential tourist traffic between the two countries.
Canada and the United States are set to extend a ban on non-essential travel that was imposed to fight the coronavirus outbreak, although a final decision has not been taken, two Ottawa sources familiar with the matter told the Reuters news agency on Monday.
The ban, introduced in March, has been extended several times and is due to expire on July 21. The measure does not include trade.
Infections have risen rapidly in about 40 of the 50 US states over the last two weeks, and the premiers of major Canadian provinces say the frontier must remain shut.
#ThisMatters: Should the Canada/US border stay closed, as COVID cases continue to surge south of the border?
Most Cdns say: keep it locked down. But how long will it last? Washington bureau chief @thekeenanwire and I talk for today's episode https://t.co/Ope9bNfn43
— Adrian Cheung (@adrianwkcheung) July 10, 2020
Although some US politicians in northern states are pressing for the measures to be relaxed, the Ottawa sources said the extension was virtually inevitable given the seriousness of the crisis in the US.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier told reporters talks between the two nations on the ban were continuing and said: “We will have more to say later this week, I’m sure.”
Doug Ford, premier of Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, on Monday said the situation in Florida was “staggering” and “scary”.
The chief medical officer in the Pacific province of British Columbia said last week there was no chance of non-essential travel with the US this summer, given how widespread the virus was south of the border.
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In a rare public comment on the faltering US efforts, Trudeau said on July 8 that Canada had handled the outbreak better than the US.
The US – which has a population almost nine times larger than Canada’s – has recorded more than 135,000 deaths compared with 8,783 in Canada.
Trudeau also said he had talked to US President Donald Trump earlier on Monday and reiterated his opposition to the possible imposition of tariffs on Canadian aluminium exports.