U.S., Canada agree to extend border closing to non-essential travel for another month
Canada and the United States have extended their agreement to keep the border closed to non-essential travel until June 21 during the coronavirus pandemic — the second time the closure has been extended.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the border is a source of vulnerability, so the agreement will be extended by another 30 days. The restrictions were first announced on March 18 and were extended in April and then again on Tuesday, May 19.
Trudeau says Canada’s provincial leaders clearly wanted to continue the measures. Many Canadians fear a reopening. The U.S. has more confirmed cases and deaths from COVID-19 than any country in the world, though its per-capita numbers are well below many other nations.
According to a story published Tuesday by the Montreal Gazette, 83% of Canadians polled by DART & maru/BLUE said that the border should remain closed to non-essential traffic at this time.
“This will keep people in both of our countries safe,” Trudeau said.
U.S. President Donald Trump also confirmed the extension, but looked forward to its eventual end, saying, “everything we want to get back to normal.”
The Western Washington University Border Policy Research Institute has found that Canadians comprise approximately 75% of cross-border travelers to and from Whatcom County, depending on the exchange rate, according to information Associate Director Laurie Trautman emailed to The Bellingham Herald. In 2018, that would have represented approximately 10.5 million southbound Canadian travelers through the Blaine, Lynden, Sumas and Point Roberts points of entry.
Those Canadians represent a large portion of consumers in Whatcom County — anywhere from 2% to 46% of the weekend customer base Whatcom County retailers see, Trautman reported, adding that the average is about 17%.
As of Monday, May 18, the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control was reporting that the province has had 2,444 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 882 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region of the state. The province is also reporting 1,966 residents have recovered from coronavirus, while 143 deaths are related to the respiratory illness.
On Friday, May 15, a COVID-19 outbreak was declared at Abbotsford Regional Hospital in Canada, about 45 minutes from downtown Bellingham, as six staff and one patient have all tested positive for the virus according to The Abbotsford News.
Washington state, which has approximately 50% more population than British Columbia, reported 18,611 confirmed cases and 1,002 deaths on Monday evening, according to the state’s Department of Health statistics.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
