Ottawa – International tourists who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 will not be allowed to enter Canada for quite some time because the government is unwilling to jeopardize the progress made on containing the virus, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday.
Canada, as of this week, has waived quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated citizens. But non-essential foreign travellers are still not allowed to enter despite pressure from the country’s hurting tourism sector.
Some 78% of people aged 12 years or older in Canada have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, health officials said on Thursday. About 44% of people 12 years or older are fully vaccinated.
Governments in Canada and the United States have faced pressure to reopen the world’s largest land border, which has been shuttered to non-essential travel since March 2020. The current restrictions are in place at least until July 21.Â
