Tuesday November 24, 2020 | NATIONAL
by Mary Brooke, editor | Island Social Trends
Canada’s land border remains closed to nonessential travel. The mutually agreed-upon closure between the Canadian and US governments has been extended until December 21, announced on Friday November 20 by the federal government, including in a tweet by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Border conditions were set to expire on Saturday November 21 if they were not renewed.
The longest shared border in the world was closed March 18 due to the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic, and has been closed ever since.
Preventing cross-border travel is considered by public health to be one reliable tool against preventing spread of the COVID-19 virus. Until recently, the spread of COVID-19 in the United States was far more rampant than in Canada. Lately, cases have been skyrocketing in Canada, including in BC.
People who are given authority to cross the border include essential workers (like truckers who maintain the food supply chain) and temporary foreign workers (many who are employed on farms and doing food supply work).
Canadian federal regulations outline how travellers doing non-essential travel across the land border, and others (including farm workers in most cases) must quarantine for 14 days.
