Canada and the United States have agreed to extend their border shutdown until July 21, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
“This is an important decision that will keep people in both of our countries safe,” Trudeau said during his daily pandemic briefing in Ottawa.
Canada and the U.S. agreed in March to temporarily close the 8,891-kilometre land border to non-essential travel while keeping it open to commercial traffic and essential workers.
That agreement has already been extended twice: in April by 30 days and then again in May for another 30 days.
- Canada-U.S. border to remain closed for another month
- Canada changes travel restrictions for immediate family members
The U.S. and Mexico also extended the shutdown of their respective border until July 21, Mexican officials announced Tuesday.
About $2 billion worth of trade crosses the Canada-U.S. border in both directions every day.
The two countries pride themselves on having “the longest undefended border” in the world.
However, with the U.S. having more than 2 million people diagnosed with COVID-19, several Canadian premiers had urged Trudeau to extend the travel restrictions until the situation south of the border improves.
Last week, the Canadian Border Services Agency announced that Canada is altering its travel restrictions to allow the immediate family members of Canadian citizens and permanent residents to enter the country if they do not have or show any symptoms of COVID-19.
Canada had registered just over 99,400 infections and 8,213 deaths due to COVID-19 on Tuesday.
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