Canada's Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness has announced the Canada-U.S. border will remain closed for another month.
Bill Blair announced the extension on Twitter Friday morning.
We are extending the reciprocal restrictions at the Canada-US border for another 30 days, till Sept. 21, 2020. We will continue to do what’s necessary to keep our communities safe.
— Bill Blair (@BillBlair) August 14, 2020
The border has been closed to all except essential travel since the World Health Organization declared the global pandemic in March.
Essential travel is defined as healthcare workers crossing the border to work in the U.S. and trucks carrying goods. All other travel, with few exceptions, is suspended until September 21.
As of Friday, there were 5.2 million cases of COVID-19 in the U.S., according to John Hopkins University, compared to 121,234 in Canada. While Canada had 390 new cases on Friday, the U.S. has reported tens of thousands of new ones daily.
NPR said there is uncontrolled community spread in seven states, including Florida, Georgia, and Idaho.
