A senior official at the White House announced on Tuesday that the United States will open its land borders with Mexico and Canada starting "early November" for travelers vaccinated against COVID-19 who wish to travel for non-essential reasons. The official stated that the U.S. administration will soon announce the "exact date" for opening its land as well as air borders for non-essential international travel for vaccinated travelers. The United States had previously announced on September 20 that it would open its air borders to all vaccinated travelers against COVID-19 beginning "early November," lifting restrictions imposed since March 2020 on international flights that had been causing discontent among several partners, particularly Europeans. The official confirmed that both land and air borders will open "simultaneously."
For 18 months, the "travel ban" separated hundreds of thousands of people and caused countless painful personal and family situations. Regarding the opening of land borders, the official indicated that this will occur in two phases: the first phase will require vaccination for non-essential travel while essential travel will remain permitted under the existing conditions since the borders were closed. The second phase will begin "in early January 2022," at which point vaccination will be a mandatory requirement for any travel to the United States, whether essential or not.
