U.S./Canada border closure extends through April

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The U.S./Canada border closure to non-essential travel has been extended for the 12th time with a continued closure until at least April 21, 2021.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the extension in a March 18 tweet.

“Informed by science and public health guidance, we will work with our counterparts to identify an approach to easing restrictions when conditions permit and with the protection of our citizens from COVID-19 at the forefront of our minds,” a DHS spokesperson tweeted following the announced extension that will also affect the U.S./Mexico border.

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau also publicized the 30-day extension on Twitter March 18.

The U.S. is further ahead in vaccinating residents than Canada. As of March 23, 13.7 percent of people in the U.S. were fully vaccinated and 25.3 percent had received at least one vaccine dose. In Canada, just 1.57 percent of the population had received two doses while only 6.8 percent of people had received one dose.

The U.S. has 29,708,385 confirmed cases of Covid-19, according to March 23 CDC data. The increase of Covid-19 cases in the U.S. over the past seven days, 385,581, is 40 percent of Canada’s 942,320 total confirmed cases during the pandemic, according to CDC and Canadian government data.

The U.S. has a rate of 8,948 confirmed cases per 100,000 people since the start of the pandemic, which is more than three times higher than Canada’s rate of 2,479 cases per 100,000, according to data from CDC and the Canadian government.

People traveling to Canada by air are required to quarantine for two weeks after arrival and provide a negative Covid-19 test taken no later than three days before leaving. The U.S. also requires air travelers entering the U.S. to submit proof of a negative Covid-19 test taken three days before flying.

Government officials have not given a timeline or plan for reopening the border.

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