Canada opened its border, pandemic may be scaring Americans away
After being closed to all but essential travel for more than a year, Canada opened its border to Americans just after midnight Monday morning.
But in Windsor, it seemed few were crossing it.
There was one family who had been separated from loved ones for multiple months and eagerly waited in Detroit’s duty-free shop as the border opened so they could be reunited.
It’s not yet clear when the U.S. will reopen to Canadian tourists. Last month, the U.S. extended travel restrictions for nonessential travel from Canada and Mexico through Aug. 21.
Fully vaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents are cleared to enter Canada.
For the most part, Windsor, on the other side of the river from Detroit, was quiet — “pretty dead” was more like it, one entrepreneur pointed out, as even established restaurants and shops struggled to attract patrons.
To make things worse, COVID-19 cases have recently been on the rise.
“Everybody is a little cautious,” said Zoran Konjicija, a server at the Patio Lounge eatery. “I think it’s probably going to take a few days or maybe even a couple weeks before it gets busy.”
Monday, there were no hordes of American tourists at the gates.
“I still don’t know if people want to travel,” said Jim Arbour, the owner of Lefty’s Bar. “I mean, I don’t think it’s going to be an instant fix. It’s going to take a lot for people to come over if they don’t want to go through all the issues.”
Read more:
Dr. Anthony Fauci: Vaccinate teachers, mask kids and get back to class
Families reunite, couples return to empty properties as Canada border reopens
Wait times at the Blue Water and Ambassador bridges had gone from about 10 minutes hours earlier to 30 minutes or more, and then dwindled by noon to no delay and 10 minutes, with no wait at the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, according to Canadian officials.
Perhaps there were more travelers at border crossings in other states — Maine, New York and Minnesota — where wait times early Monday were 4 hours, 3 hours and 7 hours, respectively.
Some shopkeepers and hoteliers in Windsor seemed optimistic that customers would eventually return.
A clerk at the empty lobby of the Four Points by Sheraton Windsor Downtown said the border opening would eventually bring back business. But, she added, that could take some time.
To be clear, the open border doesn’t mean Americans can just drive or fly to Canada.
Travelers must submit proof of vaccination and other travel details to the Canadian government’s ArriveCAN platform at least 72 hours before arriving in the country, whether traveling by car or air.
Two days before, there was some hand-wringing about what would happen as customs officers followed policies, procedures and laws to the letter, which substantially slowed crossings in a dispute over pay, leave and other issues.
Canadian Border Services Agency and unions representing Canadian customs officers averted what likely would have been long backups from the work-to-rule strike by reaching an agreement.
“We’re very happy for those who are able to reunite,” said Devon Weber, the founder of Let us Reunite, a volunteer organization aimed at family reunification over the border. “But we’re disappointed with the U.S. government for not reciprocating.”
For Asawari Kaur of Indiana and her family, allowing American travel means her family can finally see each other in person. Kaur said her family hasn’t seen her brother, who got married in April, in almost two years.
Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or [email protected]. USA Today and reporter Minnah Arshad contributed.