U.S. lifts land border ban for vaccinated travelers

The U.S. will re-open its Canadian and Mexican border crossings to vaccinated non-essential travelers as of November, though the government has not confirmed a precise date for the measure to take effect.

Crossing the country’s northern and southern borders by land has been banned since March 2020, with exceptions in place for truck drivers, health care workers, students, and U.S. citizens. The Biden administration will now relax those rules, citing the wide availability of vaccines that allows them to “resume regular travel in a safe and sustainable manner.”

Traveling from the U.S. to Canada has already been permitted to fully vaccinated individuals since August 9, while Mexico chose not to close its borders during the pandemic.

Vaccinated air travelers had already seen restrictions to enter the U.S. lifted last month.

The government also announced that as of January, everyone crossing the border will need to be fully vaccinated, whether they are traveling for essential or non-essential reasons.

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