U.S. border to remain closed until at least August 21st
The U.S. land border will remain closed to non-essential travel until at least Aug. 21, according to a renewal order issued by the American government last week. The U.S. government has indicated that while vaccination rates have improved, opening the land border to non-essential travel still poses too high a risk. The American order comes only a few days after the Canadian government announced its land border would open to fully vaccinated U.S. citizens on Aug. 9 and to fully vaccinated travellers from other countries on Sept. 7.
The U.S. continues to maintain all international restrictions in place
The US government served notice that it will keep existing COVID-19 travel restrictions on all international travel in place due to concerns about the surging infection rate because of the delta variant. Officials in the US continue to focus on significant resistance to vaccination among the population, as cases spike in several areas. Last week, the Canadian government said that it would begin allowing vaccinated travellers to enter the country on Aug. 9, but the expected reciprocal gesture that many expected did not happen.
Deputy Prime Minister announces $48.5 million tourism relief fund for Atlantic Canada
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland has announced $48.5 million for tourism relief in Atlantic Canada. The funding for tourism relief comes from the national $500 million COVID-19 tourism relief fund, details of which were announced last week. $50 million from that fund will be dedicated to Indigenous tourism projects.
Quebec offers extra dose to travellers whose vaccination status isn’t recognized
The Quebec government is offering an extra dose of mRNA vaccine to people who want to travel to countries that don't recognize their vaccination status. The Health Department says it is making a third dose available because some countries don't recognize people as being fully vaccinated if they have received a mix of COVID-19 vaccines. Officials warned that it's up to the recipient to seek advice and weigh the risks before getting a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines. A spokesman for the Health Department said in an email Monday a third dose doesn't necessarily provide more protection compared with two doses.
Toronto Pearson Airport ends decision to separate arrivals by vaccination status
Toronto Pearson Airport has reversed a decision made last week to separate arriving international passengers based on vaccination status. On Saturday, Senior Advisor of Communications at Toronto Pearson Beverly MacDonald told CTV News Toronto that the airport was separating arrivals into vaccinated and unvaccinated queues prior to going through customs. The airport said the decision was made to help streamline border clearance, as there are different entry requirements for vaccinated and non- or partially-vaccinated travellers.
