BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - American travelers have been given 3 weeks notice on how Canada plans to reopen its border.
Travelers must provide Covid related information through Canada's ArriveCan
app or web portal, including proof of vaccination prior to arrival, Have a paper
or digital copy of their vaccination card, and take a Covid-19 test before arrival. Canada will also randomly test people arriving via land borders or by air.
Will this cut down on chaos on international bridges starting August 9th?
"I wish that were the case," said Immigration attorney Jamie Fiegel of
Fiegel, Carr & Joyce. "But I think it's going to add to the chaos."
She bases her prediction on what happened July 5th when Canada allowed
fully vaccinated Canadian citizens, and permanent residents to enter the country without having to quarantine for 14 days.
"There were people from throughout the United States showing up at the border, because they thought the border had reopened." Fiegel believes there will be a significant number of people who are going to have to be processed, turned around and removed because they will be denied entry." She says that will clog-up the secondary inspection building, which clogs-up traffic.
Fiegel finds it interesting that they picked a Monday to roll it out. "That was obviously purposeful" (to avoid a weekend).
There is more clarity on how children can cross the border, especially those under the age of 12 who cannot get vaccinated.
"Up until now, the children of Canadian citizens and permanent residents under the age of 12 had to quarantine. Now, officials say there's an exemption for children under 12 who are accompanied by vaccinated parents," said Fiegel. But that's where things get confusing. "It says children over the age of 5 still requite a PCR Covid test before they come. They also have to take a test at the border and another test on day 8. To me, that means a modified quarantine. We're going to have to get more information on that," she said.
Adding to some of the confusion over the reopening is silence from U.S. officials. "I'm stunned by the silence," said Fiegel. "Especially because it has been a unilateral decision, month by month, throughout the pandemic. I don't know why it's different now," she added. Fiegel does expect the U.S. to break it's silence relatively quickly as we approach the current monthly border deadline of July 21.
