The Prime Minister of Canada, Mr. Justin Trudeau, has announced that Canada and United States have agreed to extend their border closure for another 30 days.
The Canada–United States border is the longest international border shared between Canada and the United States. Nearly 200,000 people cross the border daily in normal times. Canada sends 75 per cent of its exports to the U.S. and about 18 per cent of American exports go to Canada.
On March 21, Mr. Justin Trudeau had announced the closure of the Canada-U.S. border to all non-essential travel including all forms of recreation, tourism and shopping trips to control the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) between both countries. The border was closed with the arrangement set to expire on April 21 but now it will remain closed for another 30 days.
Mr. Justin Trudeau said it will keep people on both sides of the border safe amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He also stated “The agreement is the same towns. It’s just extended for another 30 days. It will ensure we continue to get essential goods and services back and forth across the border.”
The essential workers or service providers like healthcare professionals and airline crew will still be permitted to cross the border. Truck drivers will also be permitted to cross the border as they supply grocery stores and medical goods in both directions. Much of Canada’s food supply comes from or via the United States.
The US President Mr. Donald Trump said last week that the border could open soon. However, the numbers of COVID-19 case are increasing rapidly so both countries have decided to extend the border closure for next 30 days to stop the spread of this pandemic between both countries.
As of April 20, Canada has reported 36,039 COVID-19 cases, 1,625 deaths and 11,852 patients have been recovered within the country.
The United States of America (USA) has maximum cases of COVID-19 than other country, it has reported 759,786 cases, 40,683 deaths caused by COVID-19 and 70,980 patients have been recovered from the virus.