Tony Webster via Flickr
Travel to Canada from the United States is discouraged by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and says that even those who are fully vaccinated can become infected and spread COVID-19 variants.
The CDC rates COVID-19 travel advice from level 1 (low) to level 4 (very high), and it has rated Canada as a level 4 danger zone. The highest level guarantees the following advice from the CDC:
- Travelers should avoid all travel to Canada.
- Due to the current situation in Canada, even travelers who are fully vaccinated may be at risk of getting and distributing COVID-19 variants and should not avoid all travel to Canada.
- If you are traveling to Canada, you must be fully vaccinated before traveling. All travelers should wear a mask, stay 6 feet away from others, avoid crowds and wash their hands.
The CDC’s warning comes just after U.S. Representatives Michelle Fischbach and Pete Stauber, both Minnesota Republicans, called for the reopening of the Canadian border due to the impact the closure had on Minnesota. economy.
Canada closed its border with the US in March 2020 for non-important travelers. More recently, emergency regulations have been enacted to require anyone entering the country to be quarantined for 14 days (with a few exceptions), to provide contact information and to monitor themselves for COVID-19 symptoms.
The ban on the most unimportant trip from Canada to Canada applies until April 21, although it can be extended.
The border restrictions between Minnesota and Canada are more difficult for people living in the northwest corner – the northernmost point of the neighboring United States, where about 120 residents and a dozen resorts live all year round. It is accessible only by country via a 40-mile drive through Manitoba, Canada, and two international border crossings.
In the winter, residents of the Angle built a 30 km long ice road on Lake of the Woods to get in and out, but now that spring has arrived, the ice road no longer exists; these are effectively stranded residents until the restrictions are lifted.
How bad is COVID-19 in Canada?
Like America, it varies depending on where outbreaks occur. According to CBC News, Ontario is expected to begin closing four weeks on Thursday in which all non-essential businesses will be closed.
Medical officials from Toronto and Ottawa urged provincial leaders to issue a home order while schools in the Toronto area switched to distance education.
Ontario borders the United States from Minnesota, east across the Great Lakes to the Ohio Valley. The other Canadian province bordering Minnesota is Manitoba, where health officials are concerned about a variant-driven third wave fueled by Easter weekend gatherings.
Meanwhile, a variation-driven peak is also occurring in the westernmost province of Canada, British Columbia, where the B.1.1.7 and P.1 variants are leading to a rising business level. Both variants are more contagious and can cause serious illness.
B.1.1.7 is now the dominant tribe in Minnesota, which was also the first state in the US to use genomic sequencing to confirm a case of P.1. As of last week, the state health department has only confirmed three cases of P.1 in Minnesota.
What is essential travel to Canada?
The following qualifies as essential travel according to Canada’s order:
- Work-related travel. A frontier worker must regularly cross the border to go to their normal place of work and show a regular travel pattern, which is usually defined as daily or weekly.
- Trade and commerce including truck drivers
- Medical purposes such as buying for essential goods such as medication or goods necessary to preserve the health and safety of an individual or family
- Emergency response and public health purposes
- Cross-border trade
- Individuals conducting military travel or operations
- Alaskans may travel through Canada to return to their home in Alaska. They must be ready to make a convincing case, so you must provide supporting documentation such as passport, Alaska driver’s license, utility bills, etc. Bring along. They are also asked to limit stops.