Ottawa (With files from Bing) – The Canada-United States border will close to non-essential travel at 8:59PM PDT Friday, in an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Canada’s Minister of Public Safety Bill Blair made the announcement at a press conference with other ministers earlier Friday.
The 49th Parallel will remain open for trade and commerce, including for those crossing it for work.
The policy, adopted jointly by Canada and the U.S., will be in place for 30 days, at which point it will be reviewed.
Blair also announced that Canada will begin turning asylum-seekers attempting to enter Canada at unofficial crossings back to the U.S. Those attempting to enter at official crossings are already refused. Blair said there would be some “necessary” exceptions to the policy.
