Coronavirus: Canada reopens border to vaccinated Americans, US doesn’t reciprocate – yet
- The US-Canada border has been closed to non-essential travel since March 2020 to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus
- Canadians making non-essential trips are still barred from entering the US until at least August 21. The rule also applies to the Mexican border
US citizens and legal residents must be both fully vaccinated and test negative for Covid-19 within three days to get across one of the world’s longest and busiest land borders, and Canadian officials warn they will not sacrifice safety for shorter border waits. Travellers also must fill out a detailed application on the arriveCAN app before crossing.
On the first morning that US citizens were allowed to cross into Canada again on Monday, it was slow going in the tiny border town of Derby Line, Vermont, where long stretches passed without any cars headed into downtown Stanstead, Quebec.
In Buffalo, New York, Lisa and Jim Docherty got Covid-19 tests at a pharmacy for their first visit to their Ridgeway, Ontario, cottage since the summer of 2019. The Hilton, South Carolina couple, originally from Buffalo, has had the cottage more than 40 years.
Lisa Doherty said she looked forward to “just mentally making sure everything’s OK”.
“It’s just been a part of my life because my grandma had a cottage since I was 10, so just kind of a feeling like returning to normal,” she said.