Canada to Welcome Fully Vaccinated Americans in August

TUESDAY, July 20, 2021 (HealthDay News)

Fully vaccinated U.S. travelers will be allowed into Canada as of Aug, 9, Canadian officials announced Monday.

Canada's 14-day quarantine requirement will be waived for people who are residing in the United States and are fully vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine approved in Canada, CBS News reported. All three vaccines available in the United States are also approved in Canada.

Unvaccinated children who are traveling with vaccinated parents won't have to quarantine, but will have to steer clear of group activities including schools and daycare centers, Canadian officials said.

Currently, Canadians are allowed to fly into the United States with a negative COVID-19 test, but the United States hasn't hinted at any plan to change land border restrictions, according to Canada's Public Safety Minister Bill Blair, CBS News reported.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki was noncommittal when asked if the U.S. would reciprocate.

"We are continuing to review our travel restrictions. Any decisions about resuming travel will be guided by our public health and medical experts. ... I wouldn't look at it through a reciprocal intention," she said, CBS News reported.

Canada leads the G20 countries in vaccination rates, with approximately 80% of eligible Canadians vaccinated with their first dose and over 50% of those eligible fully vaccinated, CBS News said.

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

At the beginning of the pandemic, the U.S. and Canadian governments closed the more than 5,500-mile border between them to nonessential traffic. With increasing vaccination rates and dropping infection rates, some have been annoyed the two governments hadn't laid out plans to fully reopen the border, CBS News reported.

More information:

Visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for more on COVID and travel.

SOURCE: CBS News

Robert Preidt and Robin Foster

Copyright © 2021 HealthDay. All rights reserved.