Vaccinated Americans may be able to travel to Canada, but CDC issues advisory against it
Canada may have reopened its border to vaccinated Americans earlier this month, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending they avoid visiting.
The CDC issued a Level 3 travel advisory for Canada on Monday, Aug. 30, due to a “High level of COVID-19” in the country. Level 3 is the second-highest level of four.
The advisory level had been at Level 2, or “Moderate,” for the past three weeks since Canada began allowing vaccinated Americans to cross the border for non-essential purposes on Aug. 9.
In the advisory, the CDC:
▪ Encouraged all Americans to make sure they are fully vaccinated before traveling to Canada.
▪ Advised Americans to avoid making non-essential trips to Canada if they are unvaccinated.
▪ Said, “Because of the current situation in Canada, all travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants.”
▪ Suggested all travelers follow Canadian recommendations and requirements, including mask-wearing and social distancing.
The reason for the shift in levels was not included in the CDC advisory.
But according to a CBC story Monday, British Columbia reported 1,853 new COVID-19 cases and seven related deaths last week.
The U.S. still has not opened its border to Canadians — vaccinated or not — making non-essential trips, announcing earlier in August that that restriction has been extended until at least Sept. 21.
Travel for essential reasons, such as trade, has been allowed since the U.S. and Canada first closed their borders in March of 2020 in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 during early stages of the pandemic.
Cross-border traffic into Canada increased slightly in the first two weeks after Canada began allowing vaccinated Americans to cross, though it is still far from pre-pandemic levels.
According to data released by the Canadian Border Services Agency, the Pacific Region, which includes the five border crossings from Whatcom County, saw 32,296 foreign nationals cross the border the week of Aug. 9-15 and 28,594 cross the week of Aug. 16-22. That was more than double the 12,038 crossings Aug. 2-8, but still well below the 126,862 and 119,357 that crossed during the equivalent weeks in 2019.
Likewise, Whatcom County saw its largest reported increase in COVID cases on Monday, with 248 cases reported Monday by the Washington State Department of Health.
This story was originally published August 31, 2021 at 9:30 AM with the headline "Vaccinated Americans may be able to travel to Canada, but CDC issues advisory against it."
