US Extends Canada, Mexico Border Closures As Coronavirus Cases Rise

The the U.S. Canada and Mexico have announced on Twitter they will keep their borders closed to nonessential travel for another month. The extension runs through Aug. 20 for the U.S. and Mexico and through Aug. 21 for Canada.

Chad Wolf, acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, made the announcement in a tweet Thursday, writing: “Based on the success of the existing restrictions and close collaboration with Mexico and Canada, @DHSgov will continue to limit nonessential travel at our land ports of entry with Canada and Mexico until Aug. 20.”

Wolf said the U.S., Canada and Mexico are working in close collaboration to stem spread of the virus, which has played havoc around the world.

Close collaboration with our neighbors has allowed us to respond to #COVID19 in a North American approach and slow the travel-related spread of the virus.
— Acting Secretary Chad Wolf (@DHS_Wolf) July 16, 2020

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau followed with:

Update on our border: Non-essential travel between Canada and the US remains restricted. And as we continue to fight COVID-19, we have agreed to extend the current border measures by another 30 days - until August 21st - to keep people in both our countries safe.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) July 16, 2020

The Mexican Foreign Affairs Ministry said the extension was made following a review.

Tras revisar el desarrollo de la propagación de COVID-19, __ planteó a __ la extensión, por 30 días más, de las restricciones al tránsito terrestre no esencial en su frontera común.
— Relaciones Exteriores (@SRE_mx) July 14, 2020

This U.S. first announced that it was closing its borders with Canada and Mexico in mid-March. The order was extended in April, May and June and has not affected essential travel or the movement of goods.

The U.S. has reported more than 3.5 million cases of coronavirus and more than 138,000 COVID-19 deaths while Canada has reported more than 111,000 cases and 8,800 deaths, according to John Hopkins University. Mexico has 324,000 confirmed cases and 37,500 deaths, the university said.