Canada and the United States could extend the ban on non-essential travel ban: sources

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada and the United States are ready to extend the non-essential travel ban that was imposed to combat the coronavirus outbreak, although no final decision has been made, two Ottawa sources familiar with the matter said Monday.

The ban, introduced in March, has been extended multiple times and expires on July 21. The measure does not include trade.

Infections have increased rapidly in about 40 of the 50 US states in the past two weeks, according to a Reuters analysis, and prime ministers from major Canadian provinces say the border should remain closed.

Although some American politicians in the northern states are pushing for the measures to be relaxed, sources in Ottawa said the extension was practically inevitable given the severity of the crisis in the United States.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau previously told reporters that the talks between the two nations on the ban were continuing and said: “We will have more to say later this week, I am sure.”

Doug Ford, Prime Minister of Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, said Monday that the situation in Florida was “astonishing” and “terrifying.”

The British Columbia Pacific province medical director said last week that there was no chance of nonessential travel with the United States this summer, given the spread of the virus south of the border.

Trudeau said July 8 that Canada had handled the outbreak better than the United States, in a rare public comment on the faltering effort by the United States.

The United States, which has a population nearly nine times that of Canada, has recorded more than 135,000 deaths compared to 8,783 in Canada.

Trudeau also said he had spoken to United States President Donald Trump on Monday and reiterated his opposition to the possible imposition of tariffs on Canadian aluminum exports.