The U.S. land borders with Mexico and Canada will remain closed for non-essential travel until at least July 21, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported Sunday.
Canada announced this Friday that its land border with the country will remain closed until at least that date to contain the transmission of COVID-19, a measure that has been in effect since March 2020 and has been extended monthly since then.
The closure of the border supposes the prohibition of making trips considered non-essential
.
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The US government held working group meetings with Canada and Mexico on travel restrictions last week and plans to hold meetings every two weeks, US officials announced to the Reuters news agency.
Homeland Security noted "positive developments in recent weeks and that it is participating with other US agencies in the White House expert working groups with Canada and Mexico to identify conditions to loosen restrictions safely and sustainably."
Some US lawmakers and border communities hard hit by the restrictions have pushed to loosen them before the summer.
[Former President Donald Trump will visit the border with Mexico with the governor of Texas]
Canada is also under pressure from business and the tourism industry to ease these restrictions, which were imposed to help contain the spread of the coronavirus and have been renewed monthly since March 2020.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stood firm and said last week that the border would remain largely closed until 75% of Canadians have received the first dose of one of the coronavirus vaccines and 20% have received both injections.
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Canada has become the industrialized country with the highest proportion of the population with one dose of the vaccine. And the United States is currently the nineteenth country in terms of fully immunized population, with 44.18% of the total.
The progress of vaccination campaigns has allowed, in recent weeks, that the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths has been reduced dramatically in Canada, so that the country's authorities are accelerating their economic reopening plans.
Canada's Public Safety Minister Bill Blair announced the move with a message on Twitter noting that "the top priority" in the fight against COVID-19 "is keeping Canadians safe" and therefore, " in coordination with the US "
Restrictions on non-essential international travel and with the United States are extended until that date.
A member of the Federal Police stands guard at a checkpoint in the border city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas state, Mexico, on April 6, 2018. Julio Cesar Aguilar / AFP via Getty Images
In talks between the United States and Canada last week, the Biden Administration did not support setting a specific threshold for lifting the restrictions, said a person familiar with the discussions.
[The governor of Texas announces that he will build a wall on the border with Mexico]
"The inability of the US and Canadian governments to reach an agreement to ease border restrictions is simply unacceptable,"
Democratic Rep. Brian Higgins and Republican Rep. Bill Huizenga, co-chairs of the Canada-US Inter-Parliamentary Group, lamented Friday.
"The lack of transparency around the border talks between Canada and the United States is a disservice to residents on both sides of the border who hope to see their loved ones and renew commercial ties," both politicians said in a statement.
The United States is also holding task force meetings on relaxing travel restrictions with the United Kingdom and the European Union, but US officials previously communicated that they did not expect the Biden Administration to lift the restrictions until around July 4 as soon.
With information from EFE and Reuters.