Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested that his nation’s border with the United States might continue to restrict visitors for some time.
The prime minister said on Tuesday that he wouldn’t consider the possibility of fully reopening the border until it was clear the world had a better handle on COVID-19.
“Until the virus is significantly more under control everywhere around the world, we’re not going to be releasing the restrictions at the border,” he told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, adding, “The situation in the United States continues to be extremely serious, and it will take a while to turn the ship around.”
In March, the U.S. and Canada agreed to ban nonessential travel between the two nations, and that ban has been renewed every month since it was originally put in place.
The ban does not affect trade, according to Reuters.
“We are incredibly lucky that trade in essential goods, in agricultural products, in pharmaceuticals is flowing back and forth as it always has,” Trudeau added.
While the U.S. is experiencing a spike in cases of the coronavirus, so is Canada. Canada recorded 7,861 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, making it the most cases recorded in the nation on a single day since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the New York Times.
On the same day, the U.S. recorded 167,759 cases of the virus. While that number is significantly larger than Canada’s, Canada only has 10% of the total population of its neighbor to the south.
