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Last week U.S. White House Assistant Press Secretary Kevin Munoz used a tweet to confirm that the U.S would open its land borders with Canada to fully vaccinated travelers on November 8, 2021.
It was a “sweet tweet” for the Grand Portage Lodge and Casino and the owners of Ryden’s Border Store, both which have been severely impacted by the closure of the border to non-essential travel. Canadians are estimated to account for about 90 percent of the business at the casino.
Grand Portage Lodge and Casino Marketing Director Todd Ford was thrilled with the decision,
“The border reopening is great news indeed!”
When asked about casino hours and staffing Ford replied, “We are looking at, but have not finalized what our casino hours will be yet.
Yes, staffing is a challenge, and we are making a concerted effort to add staff prior to the border reopening.
“We will have some nice surprises in store for Canadian guests upon their return,” he added.
Ford added, “There are still some hurdles for Canadian travelers — double vaccination required to enter the US, then proof of negative test within 72 hours and the ArriveCAN app for reentry to Canada. So, it may be a while before coming and going gets back to normal.
“With that said, it is an exciting and welcome change, and we can’t wait to see our Canadian friends again!”
The land borders between the two countries have been closed to non-essential travelers since March 2020.
Travelers from Canada that enter the U.S. by boat or plane will have to show proof of a negative covid test within three days of arriving in the States. Nonessential travelers crossing the border by land won’t have the same requirement, but they may have to show proof of being vaccinated if asked to do so by border officials.
One point the White House has yet to clear up is whether the U.S. will accept Canadians who received mixed doses of COVID-19 vaccines. Nearly 10 percent or about four million of the fully vaccinated Canadian public received mixed doses of mRNA vaccines, including AstraZeneca. AstraZeneca isn’t on the CDC’s list of approved vaccines for the United States and the CDC website warns against mixing vaccines.
Another wrinkle for Canadian travelers is that under the current rules they will have to show they have received a negative molecular (PCR) test within 72 hours of crossing the border back into Canada. Failure to do so will result in a big fine.
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