Vehicles cross the Ambassador Bridge in to Detroit from Windsor, Canada, on March 18, 2020. (Jeff Kowalsky/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)
U.S. land borders with Canada and Mexico will remain closed to non-essential travel until at least Jan. 21 with coronavirus cases spiking to record numbers, U.S. and Canadian officials said on Friday (Dec. 11), according to Reuters.
The decision means it will be up to the administration of President-elect Joe Biden when he takes office on Jan. 20 to determine when it will drop the restrictions, first imposed in March to control the spread of the virus. Acting U.S. Homeland Security Department Secretary Chad Wolf said on Twitter the latest one-month extension was to “continue to prevent the spread of COVID.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on Twitter on Friday that “to keep Canadians safe, we’ve extended the measures currently in place at the Canada-US border by another 30 days.”
Canada has shown little interest in lifting the restrictions. U.S. officials had previously sought some revisions especially for residents along the Canadian border.
