U.S. and Canada Will Close Border to Non-Essential Traffic

U.S. and Canada will close their border to help halt the spread of the coronavirus. The measure will block leisure travel between the two countries, but trade will not be affected.

President Donald Trump said the U.S. and Canada agreed to close the border between the two countries to non-essential traffic as coronavirus spreads. “We will be, by mutual consent, temporarily closing our Northern Border with Canada to non-essential traffic,” Trump said in a tweet on Wednesday.

The indefinite ban will have wide exemptions for business and commerce, according to officials familiar with the matter. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier this week urged Canadians abroad to return home, and restricted flights from places other than the U.S., Mexico and the Caribbean. The border closing comes as the number of coronavirus cases has been rising in both countries. In the U.S., more than 6,500 people tested positive for the virus, and in Canada there were 598 people with positive tests.

Trump has also placed travel restrictions on European countries, including UK and Ireland, in an effort to slow the spread of the virus. Travel restrictions within the U.S. are also possible if the virus continues to spread.