Canada to ease border rules, fully vaccinated Americans will be able to visit country soon

On Monday, Canada declared that visitors from the United States who have been properly vaccinated against the coronavirus will be able to enter the nation next month. Beginning August 9, fully vaccinated Americans and permanent residents can travel to Canada without being quarantined for non-essential travel. Within 72 hours of their trip, fully vaccinated travellers must produce a negative COVID-19 test and upload proof of immunization on a Canadian government app.

People from the rest of the world can enter Canada from September 7

Travellers from the rest of the world may be allowed to enter Canada starting September 7 if the "COVID-19 epidemiology remains favourable," according to a statement released by the Canadian government on Monday. All international passengers who have not been completely vaccinated will be denied entry to Canada.

At least 14 days prior to visiting Canada, all fully immunised American citizens and permanent residents must have had the entire series of vaccination or a combination of vaccines, approved by the Canadian government. Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson are currently approved. Other vaccinations, produced in China or Russia, will be rejected by Canada. Officials say they're still "looking into it" and will make policy changes if needed.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, “This weekend, we even passed the US in terms of fully vaccinated people. Thanks to the rising vaccination rates and declining COVID-19 cases, we are able to move forward with adjusted border measures.”

The US and Canadian governments closed the more than the 5,500-mile border to non-essential commerce in the early days of the pandemic. Some were irritated that the two governments hadn't laid out plans to fully restore the border, despite rising vaccination rates and decreasing infection rates.

The government hopes to vaccinate 80% of Canadians by July-end

Canada began relaxing its rules earlier this month, enabling fully vaccinated Canadians and permanent legal residents to return to the country without having to undergo quarantine. However, they must pass a test before returning. Before relaxing border restrictions for tourists and business visitors, Canadian officials said they want 75 per cent of eligible Canadian people to be completely vaccinated. By the end of July, the Canadian government hopes to have enough vaccines to fully vaccinate 80 per cent of citizens.

(Inputs from AP News)