Local News

U.S. Borders With Canada And Mexico Will Stay Closed Another Month

By Laurel Wamsley

Published October 19, 2020 at 5:03 PM EDT

The U.S.-Canada border at Pittsburg, N.H., in 2017. The U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico will stay closed to nonessential travel through Nov. 21.

The U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico will stay closed to nonessential travel for at least another month.

Bill Blair, Canada's public safety minister, tweeted on Monday, "We are extending non-essential travel restrictions with the United States until November 21st, 2020. Our decisions will continue to be based on the best public health advice available to keep Canadians safe."

The United States and Mexico have both seen far higher COVID-19 mortality rates than Canada.

Chad Wolf, acting secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, confirmed the news.

"To continue to limit the spread of COVID, the US, Mexico, & Canada will extend the restrictions on non-essential travel through Nov 21," he tweeted. "We are working closely with Mexico & Canada to identify safe criteria to ease the restrictions in the future & support our border communities."

In an interview Monday with a Canadian radio station, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau noted that the country's southern neighbor does not have the virus under control.

"The situation in the United States continues to be of concern. So we're going to make sure we're keeping Canadians safe as best as we can," Trudeau told Global News.

"Canadians can be deeply reassured to know that their various orders of government are always going to work together to keep them safe, unlike some other places we see around the world," he said.

The borders have been closed since March 23.

The U.S. Embassy in Canada explained that the border policy applies to automotive, commuter rail and ferry travel but not air, rail or sea travel. It also said:

" 'Non-essential' travel includes travel that is considered tourism or recreational in nature. 'Essential travel' still permitted includes: work and study, critical infrastructure support, economic services and supply chains, health, immediate medical care, and safety and security."

In addition to the border regulations, there are additional rules about entering Canada, the United States and Mexico during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last month, President Trump said that Canada wanted the border to reopen and said that "we're going to be opening the borders pretty soon." But public opinion surveys have found Canadians support keeping the border closed.