Canadian officials announced they would allow fully vaccinated U.S. Citizens past their borders since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic as of Monday, Aug. 9, 2021. Thus, for the first time in almost a year, American citizens are allowed to cross into Canada — exciting news for family members separated during the pandemic.
Some couples and family members were given a chance to return to vacated homes during the year; others reunited to complete old family traditions.
The return of American citizens to Canada is also good news to restaurant owners. Dozens of restaurants along the waterfront mainly gain revenue from those visiting from the United States. Unfortunately, since the pandemic, many of those eating establishments had to close. Now that they have reopened, visitors from across the border are desperately needed to keep the lights on in many of these restaurants and stores.
The owner of Primo’s Mexican Grill in White Rock, British Columbia, Joel Villanueva, confirmed that “A lot of our customers are from the United States, and we are literally minutes from across the border. We welcome our Americans, and we depend on their foot traffic.”
Despite the borders being reopened to American, the U.S. State Department has advised American citizens to “reconsider travel,” especially now that the Delta variant is causing a dramatic increase in hospitalization numbers despite vaccine developments.
However, unlike its Canadian neighbors, the United States has not reopened its borders. Moreover, it is not clear when the U.S. will loosen the travel restrictions.
In response to questions around this matter, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki stated that they are proceeding with cautions and “any decisions about resuming travel will be guided by our public health and medical experts.”
Written by Brielle R. Buford
Edited by Cathy Milne-Ware
Sources:
USA Today: ‘Let’s get this thing going’: Canada opens border to fully vaccinated Americans for travel; by Eve Chen
Fox 9: U.S.-Canada border officially opens to vaccinated Americans; by Mitti Hicks
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Jeff Hitchcock’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Jimmy Emerson, DVM’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
