UNVACCINATED VISITORS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO COME TO CANADA FOR ‘A WHILE’, TRUDEAU SAYS

Fri 09 July 2021:

Ottawa will not allow unvaccinated international travelers entry into Canada for the foreseeable future, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday.

“You did mention wondering when unvaccinated tourists can start coming to Canada, I can tell you right now that’s not going to happen for quite a while,” Trudeau said in response to a reporter’s questions during a press briefing.

The Prime Minister noted that the safety of Canadians remains the top priority, saying the Federal government will not “jeopardize” the progress made in fighting the pandemic by reopening borders too quickly.

Canadian officials are considering a range of measures Ottawa can implement to facilitate travel for fully vaccinated international travelers, Trudeau added, saying he hopes to have an announcement ready in the coming weeks.

Canadian officials had previously tied relaxed restrictions at the border to having at least 75 percent of residents partially vaccinated and 20 percent fully vaccinated. In recent weeks, however, Trudeau and the country’s health officials have indicated a desire to see vaccination rates exceed 80 percent before relaxing constraints.

International travelers, including Americans, have been barred from entering Canada since March 2020, and Ottawa recently extended the border restrictions that limit so-called non-essential travel to and from the United States through July 21.

Trudeau has previously said authorities are looking closely at domestic vaccination rates, the spread of variants of concern, and how the rest of the world deals with COVID-19.

Some 78% of people aged 12 years or older in Canada have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, health officials said on Thursday. About 44% of people 12 years or older are fully vaccinated.

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