The US is set to reopen its borders with Canada and Mexico to travelers who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, beginning in November.
Foreign travelers approaching the US by vehicle, rail and ferry who provide proof of vaccination will be allowed to enter, the Biden administration announced on Wednesday. They will be allowed in regardless of their reason for travel.
The new Department of Homeland Security rules represent the first easing in 20 months. Movement between US and Canada and Mexico had been restricted to essential travel since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said he was ‘pleased to be taking steps to resume regular travel in a safe and sustainable manner’ and raised the economic benefits expected to follow.
US officials did not give an exact date in November for when the restrictions will be lifted.
Unvaccinated travelers will continue to be banned from entering the US for nonessential travel.
Even essential travelers like truck drivers will be required to be fully vaccinated by mid-January.
The US announced last month that it will end its ban on air travel based on countries, and instead require foreign nationals to produce proof of vaccination.
Canada reopened its borders two months ago. Mexico, meanwhile, did not close its border during the pandemic.
In a press conference on Wednesday, Mexico’s foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard said that his country’s vaccination rollout contributed to the US’s reopening.
‘The vaccination averages in Mexico, especially in the northern region, but also the rest of the country, are very high or are comparable to those in the United States,’ said Ebrard. ‘The basis of global mobility will be vaccination.’
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