HOULTON, Maine – An executive order from President Joe Biden, who was in office recently on the first day, calls for new protocols for public health along the borders of Canada and Mexico, as well as updated policies for foreign access to the border within two weeks can come.
The order, entitled “Executive Order for the Promotion of COVID-19 Safety in Domestic and International Travel”, contains instructions for various federal departments, such as health and human services, transportation and homeland security, to defer new public health measures on the land and to adjust. ports of access, such as along the U.S.-Canada border.
It also calls for the plans to be submitted to the president within 14 days of the executive order, which was issued on January 21.
“The Minister of Foreign Affairs, in consultation with the Secretary of HHS, the Minister of Transport, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Director of CDC, immediately begins a diplomatic outreach to the governments of Canada and Mexico regarding public health protocols for grounds. of enrollment, ”reads the order. “The plan should implement CDC guidelines, in accordance with applicable law, and take into account the industry considerations relevant to the different populations entering the country by country.”
The order also calls for updated health protocols for visitors entering the United States, such as having to present a negative COVID-19 test at check-in when arriving by plane. It also requires that such a plan be implemented within two weeks of the order.
While the new guidelines may provide more details on what exactly a border reopening plan might look like, the US-Canada border is unlikely to open any time soon.
On January 12, Canadian Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair announced via Twitter that the border closure would be extended to at least February 21, and that the method of extending the closure each month would continue since the border first is turned off. in March.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also said he did not intend to reopen the border before COVID-19 cases in both countries declined significantly.
The Wilson Institute, an influential think tank in Washington, DC, plans to issue a recommendation by March for the transition to a proper reopening of the border, about one year after the border was first closed.