speculation on the us canada border

[CaptRenault]

If I have to worry about the timing of tests, the possibility of random testing, the reimposition of mask mandates and the possibility of being denied reentry into my own country, then I have no desire to go to Montreal right now. These kind of concerns take all the fun out of a trip to Montreal,

In addition, the downtown strip clubs are closed and there are no events going on. I would rather save my money and go back when the life of the city returns to something like it was in fall 2019, the last time I was there.

I have lived just fine without trips to Montreal over the last 20 months. Wake me up when it‘s finally. over.

 

[Fradi]

I think I will wait another couple of months until the dust settles.
Right now every country is in a mess, they all have different vaccine and test requirements, different approved vaccines, some approve mixed vaccines others don’t. Land entry is different than by Air. In Europe 16 out of 27 Eu countries for instance approved Covishield ( Atra Zeneca made in India) some approve mixed vaccinations others don’t, The WHO has a number of vaccines approved while the EU doesn't recognize some of them while the US only recognizes the 3 approved in the US.
Right now it is still a complete shit show and you could be heading home on the next flight for any number of reasons including a mis informed border agent looking at your documents, and we all know they all have a high IQ and are never
infected with authority syndrome that is why they hire them lol.

 

[Robert 21]

If I have to worry about the timing of tests, the possibility of random testing, the reimposition of mask mandates and the possibility of being denied reentry into my own country, then I have no desire to go to Montreal right now. These kind of concerns take all the fun out of a trip to Montreal,

In addition, the downtown strip clubs are closed and there are no events going on. I would rather save my money and go back when the life of the city returns to something like it was in fall 2019, the last time I was there.

I have lived just fine without trips to Montreal over the last 20 months. Wake me up when it‘s finally. over.

YES!

I wonder if there are 2 Groups of MERB Upcoming Visitors to Montreal:
1). Eager to get back....I really really Miss U
2). Ah, whatever.... been away so long, do I really Miss U

***MISSING YOU****

 

[minutemenX]

Maybe someone can explain the logic for the re-entry to the U.S. COVID test to me for airplane travel.

Guys, there is an alternative. Fly to Burlington, Vermont and rent a car. Crossing and returning by land is easier. I did it many times even in pre Covid times.

 

[Mistral]

Good development. But like a few others I won't be rushing to visit right away. Will watch the roll out and see how it goes first.

The COVID tests are an inconvenience but not a huge deal. I've had three international trips in the last 10 months where I had to take one leaving the US. Kind of getting routine. There is a nearby testing facility which sends the test to an out of state lab with a turnaround between 1-2 days. Easily meeting the 72 hour requirement. After insurance I have been paying around $80 out of pocket. For my last trip to Brazil a couple weeks ago I also needed a negative test to return to the US. I was a little more anxious about that one, but frankly the odds of a fully vaccinated person testing positive are slim. I got the nasal swab PCR test at a local pharmacy chain in Sao Paulo for 130 reais which is only $25 US. 1 day turnaround and was relieved it was negative.

If it's not Montreal for my next trip it will be somewhere else. I will weigh all factors and decide. But not travelling is not an option.... I can handle a few inconveniences if needed. The biggest headache would be testing positive before returning. If the return test can be avoided by driving I would likely take that route for a Canada visit. I have done the drive before, and a car is handy for getting to some of the MPs outside of downtown.

 

[gaby]

Les Américains fully vaccinated pourront venir au Canada à compter du 9 Août MAIS les Américains ont décidé de ne pas accueillir de Canadiens avant le 21 Août.

 

[IamNY]

Don't believe everything you see on CNN. Canadians have been permitted to fly into the US during the entire pandemic.

 

[cloudsurf]

Don't believe everything you see on CNN. Canadians have been permitted to fly into the US during the entire pandemic.

Even to get vaccinated in Fla.

 

[sene5hos]

Les Américains fully vaccinated pourront venir au Canada à compter du 9 Août MAIS les Américains ont décidé de ne pas accueillir de Canadiens avant le 21 Août.

It's a very good thing.

 

[sene5hos]

More details:

US extends Mexico, Canada border restrictions through Aug. 21 despite Canada's plan to allow fully vaccinated Americans

The United States\u00a0has extended Mexico and Canada border\u00a0restrictions on nonessential travel yet again into August.

www.usatoday.com

The United States has extended border restrictions on nonessential travel yet again.

U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada will remain closed through Aug. 21, according to documents to be published in the Federal Register. The previous U.S. border restrictions were set to end on Thursday.

The extensions come on the heels of Canada's Monday announcement that it would reopen its borders to fully vaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents Aug. 9, with plans to allow fully vaccinated travelers from any country on Sept. 7.

 

[IamNY]

More details:

US extends Mexico, Canada border restrictions through Aug. 21 despite Canada's plan to allow fully vaccinated Americans

The United States\u00a0has extended Mexico and Canada border\u00a0restrictions on nonessential travel yet again into August.

www.usatoday.com

The United States has extended border restrictions on nonessential travel yet again.

U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada will remain closed through Aug. 21, according to documents to be published in the Federal Register. The previous U.S. border restrictions were set to end on Thursday.

The extensions come on the heels of Canada's Monday announcement that it would reopen its borders to fully vaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents Aug. 9, with plans to allow fully vaccinated travelers from any country on Sept. 7.

What's funny is when the US and Canada both decided to continue to extend the border closure you insisted that it was Canada who dictated the terms of the closure and you were quite proud of that. Now you change your position and credit the American's for restricting nonessential travel. I wish you would make up your mind.

See you August 9th!

 

[masterP]

If I have to worry about the timing of tests, the possibility of random testing, the reimposition of mask mandates and the possibility of being denied reentry into my own country, then I have no desire to go to Montreal right now. These kind of concerns take all the fun out of a trip to Montreal,

In addition, the downtown strip clubs are closed and there are no events going on. I would rather save my money and go back when the life of the city returns to something like it was in fall 2019, the last time I was there.

I have lived just fine without trips to Montreal over the last 20 months. Wake me up when it‘s finally. over.

I agree. I was excited when I heard about the Aug 9 border opening, but after looking into the details, not so much. The following quotes came from Canadian government websites:

"All travelers must still present a suitable quarantine plan, and be prepared to quarantine, should they not meet all of the conditions required to be exempt from quarantine. They will also be required to follow public health measures in place, such as monitoring for signs and symptoms of COVID-19, wearing a mask when in public and keeping a copy of their vaccination documentation and test results - as well as a list of close contacts and locations visited - for 14 days after entry to Canada"

"Using a new border testing surveillance program at airports and land border crossings, fully vaccinated travelers will not need a post-arrival test unless they have been randomly selected to complete a Day 1 COVID-19 molecular test. This shift responds to the pandemic's evolution and will monitor prevalence in travelers."

So, if I sneeze at the border crossing or fail a random post-arrival test, am I going to get stuck in Montreal under quarantine for two weeks? I'd probably get fired from my job if I don't show up for that long. I'll be up to visit as soon as the only requirement is showing proof that I'm fully vaccinated.

 

[gallantca]

Les Américains fully vaccinated pourront venir au Canada à compter du 9 Août MAIS les Américains ont décidé de ne pas accueillir de Canadiens avant le 21 Août.

sont donc bin fins, ils veulent pas nous contaminer.

 

[Fradi]

Typical US bullshit, way too many stupid politicians.
We allow fully vaccinated US citizens in ( on the 9th of August) even though we have now surpassed the number of fully vaccinated in the US, the gap will just keep growing and far exceed the number that have at least one dose, our numbers are much better with the number of new cases in relation to population yet they won’t allow fully vaccinated Canadians in.
Right now it is a shit show all over the world and I am not going anywhere in 2021 and will wait until the dust settles and all these countries can agree exactly what vaccines will be accepted what kind of tests will be required and I am not going anywhere that they will impose quarantine on people who are fully vaccinated or additional covid tests once they have arrived.
If I could wait 1 1/2 years I can wait another 6 months to a year.
Luckily there is plenty to see in Canada and the women in Montreal are fabulous so I am not in a bad place.

 

[IamNY]

The current administration clearly has no idea how to effectively work with either our southern or northern borders. To the south we are letting everyone in through Mexico and to the north we are keeping Canadian's out. I don't get it at all.

I remember the beginning of the pandemic like it was yesterday. I was planning a trip to Montreal late in February. The travel ban from China happened January 31st 2020 and that's where things started to get bad. All of February there was more and more reports about COVID. Towards the end of February I thought to myself that I didn't want to be stuck outside of the country in case the border got closed so I cancelled my trip. Prior to February I hadn't been to Montreal since the previous summer so in hindsight I wish that I did go just to get it out of my system. Anyway, a lot of what many are saying here now are the same issues I was thinking about in 2020.

What if you get sick while your in Canada? I would be very concerned about the healthcare. Not that either country has better healthcare than the other, but the fact that most healthcare coverages you get in the US do not cover you when you travel to another country. So even though I'm vaccinated and have a minimal chance of getting really sick from COVID, there are no guarantees. Being in Canada, hospitalized from COVID, not being permitted to go back to the states for healthcare would financially destroy many.

For now it's just not worth the hassle IMHO.

 

[masterP]

Typical US bullshit, way too many stupid politicians.
We allow fully vaccinated US citizens in ( on the 9th of August) even though we have now surpassed the number of fully vaccinated in the US, the gap will just keep growing and far exceed the number that have at least one dose, our numbers are much better with the number of new cases in relation to population yet they won’t allow fully vaccinated Canadians in.
Right now it is a shit show all over the world and I am not going anywhere in 2021 and will wait until the dust settles and all these countries can agree exactly what vaccines will be accepted what kind of tests will be required and I am not going anywhere that they will impose quarantine on people who are fully vaccinated or additional covid tests once they have arrived.
If I could wait 1 1/2 years I can wait another 6 months to a year.
Luckily there is plenty to see in Canada and the women in Montreal are fabulous so I am not in a bad place.

While I agree with you that there are way too many stupid politicians, there may be more too it. I think that it's at least possible that the US government's decision to extent the border closure for Canadians could be part of a diplomatic effort to get the Canadian government to relax the excessive requirements for fully vaccinated US citizens who want to enter Canada.

 

[Fradi]

While I agree with you that there are way too many stupid politicians, there may be more too it. I think that it's at least possible that the US government's decision to extent the border closure for Canadians could be part of a diplomatic effort to get the Canadian government to relax the excessive requirements for fully vaccinated US citizens who want to enter Canada.

That would be a strange and stupid way to go about it.
The least they could do is match what Canada has allowed and negotiate from there instead of acting like an asshole and saying until I get exactly what I want fuck you. Like I said stupid politicians , unfortunately we have an abundance of them also.

 

[Like_It_Hot]

...could be part of a diplomatic effort to get the Canadian government to relax the excessive requirements for fully vaccinated US citizens who want to enter Canada.

The decision of Canadian government was all about politic. As we will, with a high probability, get in federal election this fall, Trudeau decided to please all Canadians relying on tourism and in the same time not to deceive all those very concerned about importing delta variants from some reckless Americans. There is nothing excessive in the requirements, just common sense. On the other side, I was surprised and pleased by the American government decision to keep their boarder closed. Surprised because I know there are great pressure from New-England governors to greet Canadian tourism (for the money they spend there...) and pleased because the USA not having success, for different reasons, controlling the increase in delta variant. Yes in a way there are less probability for Canadians to bring back those variants. It is very upsetting to look at numbers of new COVID cases rising in the US and the vaccination not really improving there. The 4th wave is there and it will be terrible unless there is a drastic change in the way almost 50% of the US population is thinking about vaccination. I understand, people wanting to visit family or joining a scientific congress but I can't see what would attract Canadians to USA for pure tourism. I would live for quite a while with the actual situation, Canadian boarder open to fully vaccinated people with strict (not excessive) requirements and the US boarder closed for as long the situation is not under control there.

 

[Fradi]

^^^^^
This is exactly what totally baffles me and makes zero sense.
If it is ok for Americans to come across under certain conditions, then what kind of logic are you applying that Canadians can’t cross and return to the same place under the same conditions.
I guess the virus only spreads from Canadians crossing the border and then coming back, I didn’t realize that the virus knows the difference between a Canadian and an American perhaps there is a new variant that I am not aware of.

 

[CLOUD 500]

^^^^^
This is exactly what totally baffles me and makes zero sense.
If it is ok for Americans to come across under certain conditions, then what kind of logic are you applying that Canadians can’t cross and return to the same place under the same conditions.
I guess the virus only spreads from Canadians crossing the border and then coming back, I didn’t realize that the virus knows the difference between a Canadian and an American perhaps there is a new variant that I am not aware of.

It all comes down to politics. Did you read the strict conditions and protocols required for Americans to even come to Canada? Other Merbites mentioned them in this thread. I would never bother to come with those types of restrictions. Canada is too influenced by the left and socialism so they are too over protective. However since this entirety of this pandemic Canadians have been traveling to the US, I know a bunch of strippers who spent some months in Miami. Having said that they found a way to bypass the restrictions I do not know the whole details. They can fly but on the way back they took a chartered car ride back to Canada and were not required to quarantine at a hotel. Some just flew back but never bothered to quarantine at a hotel the fine they got is actually cheaper then the $2000 hotel fee. All this were smokes and mirrors just to show that politicians were doing something. However no American were allowed into Canada by land or flight no exceptions allowed.