Border Closure Extended

From the CBC:

“Canada-U.S. border to remain closed for another month as provinces slowly reopen”

Provinces are cautiously beginning to allow businesses and services to reopen from their pandemic lockdowns, but the Canada-U.S. border will remain closed for at least another 30 days. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the agreement to extend the closure during his daily news conference today. Both countries reached an agreement in March to temporarily close the border to non-essential travel — meaning no recreational visits — while keeping it open to commercial traffic and essential workers who cross for work. That agreement was extended in April by 30 days and it was set to expire on May 21. Trudeau said the provinces expressed a "clear desire" to keep the border closed because of the threat of COVID-19 cases moving north. He said the Americans were "completely open" to extending the closure. Trudeau says government will be 'very, very careful' about any easing of border restrictions  Asked when Canada might reopen to international visitors, Trudeau said the government is making decisions week-to-week based on a rapidly changing situation. "Every step, we have to make the right decisions based on the circumstances," he said. Trudeau said that even after travel restrictions are eased up, strong measures must be in place to limit the spread of the virus and to ensure visitors don't become vectors for the spread of COVID-19. Canada's Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said that as public health measures are gradually lifted, it will be extremely important for health officials to detect and clamp down on new cases to ensure the health care system isn't overwhelmed. She said efforts to manage the spread of the virus have been assisted by the reduction in the number of international travellers coming to Canada. "If there is increased volume, we want to make sure that we have the safety of Canadians top of mind. So we want to make sure we not only keep up but also strengthen some of those measures," she said, adding that the mandatory 14-day quarantine for arrivals remains a "cornerstone" of federal pandemic policy going forward. 

^ The US-Canadian border is going to have to be reopened sometime. Even the borders between hard-hit places in Europe are reopening. If Canada doesn’t reopen their border (because I’m sure this time it was only the Canadians and not the Americans who wanted to keep it closed) then they – the Canadians – will only do more harm than good for their economy. ^

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/border-canada-us-closed-1.5575214