U.S. Extends Border Restrictions

Planning a late summer vacation? Due to COVID-19, travel restrictions are changing all the time. If you’re going to leave the country, it’s a good idea to know the current rules before you leave home. The borders between the United States and Canada and Mexico remain closed. Last week, the Biden administration announced that this closure would be extended through August 21, 2021. But what does that mean, and how will it affect your vacation plans?

What Travel is Restricted?

The Biden administration is extending current air travel restrictions with other North American countries through the end of the month. But these restrictions don’t apply to U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents. It also doesn’t restrict people travelling for school or for medical treatment. So if you are a U.S. citizen, you can fly to Canada or Mexico and will be permitted to return.

In addition to Mexico and Canada, the United States has also continued the Trump-era ban on travelers from China, Iran, the European Schengen area, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Brazil, India, and South Africa.

Anyone entering the United States on an airplane from another country must present a negative COVID-19 test or proof of recovery from the virus in the last three months. You must continue to wear masks on planes, buses, trains, and any other form of public transportation entering the United States or traveling within it.

Why Were the Restrictions Extended?

Some Americans are frustrated with the continued travel restrictions, especially since Canada announced plans to re-open its borders to vaccinated Americans beginning August 9, 2021. Mexico has suggested that a re-opening may be coming soon as well. The European Union has also added the U.S. to its list of safe places. But the delta variant form of COVID-19 has given the Biden administration cause for concern. Over the past few weeks, the number of U.S. COVID-19 cases has increased by 171 percent. The death rate has also risen by 19 percent. About 83 percent of these cases are the result of the delta variant. (Remember, however, that these percentages represent much lower numbers of cases than last year at this time, before the vaccine was available.)

International travel groups are unhappy with the decision to extend travel restrictions and have urged the Biden administration to reconsider. Also suffering are U.S. border towns, where people often make their living from tourism from Canada and Mexico. The restrictions have led to hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue, as well as widespread job loss. And as other American cities are beginning to recover from the pandemic, border towns are left out of this growth because the future of tourism remains so uncertain.

What Do You Think? Do you agree with the Biden administration’s decision to extend international travel restrictions through the end of the month? Why or why not?