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The United States announced on Friday a further extension of the closure of its land borders with Canada and Mexico until September 21 to contain the spread of the coronavirus, amid concerns about the delta variant.
“To minimize the spread of COVID-19, including the Delta variant, the United States is extending restrictions on non-essential travel at our land and ferry crossings with Canada and Mexico through September 21,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.
It added that it is working with medical and public health experts as well as its international partners to decide how to sustainably and safely resume normal travel.
The decision contrasts with Canada’s decision earlier this month, when Ottawa announced the reopening of its land borders to U.S. citizens who are vaccinated with the full guideline and test negative for COVID-19, after 17 months with border crossings closed to all travel deemed non-essential.
The United States has kept its border crossings with Canada and Mexico closed since March 2020, despite progress in vaccination, with nearly 60% of its population over 18 years of age fully vaccinated.
The United States announced this week that it will begin administering a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of September 20, contrary to the recommendation of the World Health Organization (WHO), which had called for a global moratorium on this measure.
