Border closure extended again, expires June 21

The U.S./Canada border will remain closed to non-essential travel until at least June 21, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced in a May 20 tweet. The federal government announced the 14th extension a day before the border closure expired.

Both DHS and Canadian’s prime minister of public safety Bill Blair announced the extension in May 20 tweets.

A DHS spokesperson tweeted a statement similar to previous border extension announcements, which included that essential trade and travelers may still pass through the land borders and the governments, including Mexico, are working to ease restrictions as conditions improve. No additional details when or what reopening the border could look like.

The U.S. has fully vaccinated more of its population than Canada. At the time of the border extension, the latest data from Canada showed 3.3 percent of people in Canada were fully vaccinated and 38.8 percent had received at least one vaccine dose. However, health officials in Canada are recommending longer intervals between vaccine doses to allow more people to receive their first dose, according to the Immunize B.C. website, run by the province’s government.

In the U.S., 38.1 percent of people were fully vaccinated and 48.2 percent of people had received one dose, according to the CDC.

In B.C., 2.1 percent of people were fully vaccinated and 39.8 percent of people had at least one dose. At the time of the border extension, 38.2 percent of people in Washington were fully vaccinated and 47.5 had at least one dose.

During a May 18 press conference, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said Canada was expected to receive 4.5 million vaccine doses that week, more than any other weekly vaccine shipment the country had received. People 18 and older could start signing up for vaccine appointments May 18, he added.

“In regards to the Canada/U.S. border, we continue to work very closely with U.S. authorities and Canadian experts on how we can move forward in a way that is safe for Canadians,” Trudeau said. “We’re all eager to get back to normal but we know that before we get back to normal, cases need to be under control and over 75 percent of people need to be vaccinated for us to start loosening things in Canada. We’ll see what framework we apply to ensure we’re keeping Canadians safe, even as we look to eventually change the restrictions and the posture at the border.”