On June 20, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said U.S. land borders with Canada and Mexico will remain closed to non-essential travel until at least July 21.
This follows Canada’s announcement on June 18 that it was extending pandemic border measures that have been in place since March 2020 and had been due to end on June 21.
Canada cited variants that were under investigation in both countries along with its intention to vaccinate more citizens before relaxing travel restrictions. To help this effort, the U.S. donated one million doses of the Moderna vaccine to Canada on June 17, following a donation of 1.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the spring.
There are signs that some travel restrictions may be relaxed by the Canadian government for those who have already received two vaccinations to protect against COVID-19.
From the U.S. side, the 30-day extension continues existing restrictions although DHS noted “positive developments in recent weeks” and said it is working with experts to “identify the conditions under which restrictions may be eased safely and sustainably.”
