The United States reopened its land and air borders to travelers vaccinated against COVID-19 on Monday, ending 20 months of particularly badly-lived restrictions in Canada, Mexico and Europe.
Separated families, disrupted business relationships, thwarted professional ambitions: the travel ban imposed by Donald Trump in early 2020, then confirmed by his successor, Joe Biden, has been widely criticized and has become emblematic of the upheavals caused by the pandemic.
More than thirty countries are affected by the lifting of this travel ban. But entry will not be completely free, and US authorities intend to closely monitor the vaccination status of travelers, at the same time as they will continue to demand negative COVID tests.
For travelers arriving by air, the United States will request from Monday, in addition to proof of vaccination and a test within three days before departure, the establishment by the airlines of a contact tracking system.
For the overland route, the restrictions will be lifted in two stages. From Monday, people coming for reasons deemed non-essential, for example family or tourism, will be able to cross the border of Canada or Mexico, provided they are vaccinated. People coming for compelling reasons – for example truck drivers – will be exempt. But from January, the vaccination obligation will apply to all visitors crossing land borders, regardless of their reason for entry.
US health authorities have also indicated that all vaccines approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) would be accepted. For the moment, according to the emergency procedure set up by the WHO, this is the AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, Indian Covaxin, Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines. These two Chinese vaccines will therefore make it possible to cross the borders of the United States.
There is also the Canadian requirement that all returning travelers submit the results of a recent PCR test to prove they are not sick, an expense that in Canada can range from $ 150 to $ 300. per person. Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, Dr.D Theresa Tam said on Friday that Ottawa was well aware of the drawbacks and that “we are looking at this very carefully.” The Canada Border Services Agency, however, recalled at the same time that the tests remain necessary.
With The Canadian Press