Canada To Open Border To Vaccinated Americans On Aug. 9, Foreigners On Sept. 7 - Ottawa

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th July, 2021) Canada will open its borders to vaccinated US citizens and permanent residents on August 9 and to all vaccinated foreign travelers on September 7, Health Minister Patty Hajdu announced on Monday.

"On September 7, we intend to allow entry for fully vaccinated travelers from any country for non-essential travel," Hajdu said during a press briefing. "On August 9, a number of important changes at the border will come into effect to allow fully vaccinated United States citizens and permanent residents... to enter Canada for non-essential purposes."

The new measures will apply only to green card holders who presently live in the United States, Hajdu added. The September 7 date is conditional on the country's epidemiological situation, the Canadian government said in a press release.

The Canadian border will also open on August 9 to residents of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, a French territory located of the coast of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Dominic LeBlanc.

Meanwhile, there is no indication Canada's plan will be reciprocated. Washington has not yet decided on whether US will reciprocate, with US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas indicating to Minister of Public Safety Bill Blair that his department will roll over existing restrictions on July 21.

Blair added that there is "nothing embarrassing" about the imbalance between the US and Canada.

Additionally, it is unclear whether countries where the Sputnik V and Sinovac vaccines are consequential pieces of local vaccination regimes will allow entry to Canadian travelers, with Ottawa considering only those inoculated with Health Canada-approved shots - Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson - as fully vaccinated. Hajdu said Ottawa can only control its entry measures and continue to have dialogue with international partners.

It is also uncertain when the Canadian government will open its doors to unvaccinated travelers after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last week that it will be 'quite a while' before unimmunized foreigners will granted entry into the country.

Canada will end its controversial hotel quarantine mandate, which forces air arrivals into the country to quarantine at state-designated hotels for three days at their own expense, on August 9.

Additionally, effective August 9, inbound international passenger flights into Canada will be allowed to land in five additional airports in Halifax, Quebec City, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Edmonton. Previously international arrivals were limited to airports in Calgary, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

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.