HOULTON, Maine – The government of New Brunswick tightened its border restrictions last week so that even relatives of Canadian citizens can no longer enter the province via Maine border crossings.
The new restrictions, introduced on January 8 and recently updated on February 27, came when the entire province entered an ‘orange’ stage of public health warning – the second highest level in a four-phase system – due to ‘ an improvement in COVID-19 cases and concerns about the possibility of more contagious COVID-19 variants in the country. The move affects not only U.S. citizens but also Canadians who live in other parts of Canada and want to enter New Brunswick.
Until January, family members and people in romantic relationships could cross the border into Canada, as long as they went through a 14-day quarantine period.
Travel to New Brunswick will now only be allowed for work, medical reasons and to obtain essential supplies for the First Nations communities, according to an advice submitted by the provincial government.
“Under the new restrictions, Canadian residents who own property in the province or have family members [parents, children, siblings, grandchildren, grandparents, significant other] who reside in New Brunswick will no longer be allowed to enter the province, ”reads the notice. In addition, exceptions can be made for family trips from the US or within Canada, but only in the case of a funeral service.
The orange level warning is expected to move down to yellow again from March 7, which could lead to easing of restrictions.
More good news comes from Canada’s announcement on Friday that it approves the single-shot vaccine Johnson and Johnson, making the total number of vaccines approved in the country four. Canada already has approved vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca.
The Canadian federal government has not yet said how many doses of Johnson and Johnson vaccine the province will receive, but that the province is scheduled to receive 5 percent of the total doses of AstraZeneca vaccine and more would be delivered somewhere next week. Alysha Elliott, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health in New Brunswick, said Friday.
“We will receive 10,500 AstraZeneca vaccines late next week,” she said. “With the addition of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, we are investigating a new vaccine plan.”
Elliott said New Brunswick premier Blaine Higgs will update the vaccination situation next week. On February 27, less than 3 percent of New Brunswick’s population was vaccinated.
On March 21, it is one year since the border between America and Canada was closed for travel due to the pandemic. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tightened federal restrictions on access to the border earlier this year with concerns about more contagious variants, and U.S. President Joe Biden also called for updated public health measures along the border.
Although no single country has announced a set reopening date, fewer cases of vaccination campaigns could lead to a reopening plan that is soon on the horizon. The Wilson Center, an influential think tank in Washington, DC, plans to deliver its reopening recommendations sometime in March. On March 2, the Center launched a new project to discuss policy recommendations in all aspects of North American cooperation with Canada as well as Mexico.