Border restrictions on nonessential travel with the United States will be extended until July 21, officials said Friday, as Canada works to get a higher percentage of Canadians fully vaccinated, Trend reports citing Al Jazeera.
Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said the move has been made in coordination with the US. There are growing calls in the US to open the Canada-US border for nonessential travel like tourism, but less than 20 percent of Canadians are fully vaccinated.
“We’re still seeing cases across the country and we want to get them down,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. “At the same time we also know we have to hit our targets of 75 percent vaccinated with the first dose and at least 20 percent vaccinated with the second dose before we can start loosening things up because even a fully vaccinated individual can pass on COVID-19 to someone who is not vaccinated.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tours pharmaceutical company Pfizer in Puurs, Belgium with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo [File: Frederic Sierakowski/Pool via Reuters]
Trudeau said they need to ensure communities to which fully vaccinated travelers return to are not at risk
“Even though they are protected from hospitalisation the people around them might not be,” Trudeau said.