As border reopens, residents of New Brunswick are not rushing to visit

Key sentence:

• The land border of Canada and the U. S. has reopened to non-essential travel for the first time in over 20 months.
• A negative COVID-19 test is necessary to enter Canada within 72 hours of crossing for those aged five and up.

The land border of Canada and the U. S. has reopened to non-essential travel for the first time in over 20 months, but locals in the border city of St. Stephen, N.B., aren’t eager to cross just yet.

Fully-vaccinated Canadians can again go across the United States on land, which hasn’t been possible for leisure travel since March 2020.

A negative COVID-19 test is necessary to enter Canada within 72 hours of crossing for those aged five and up.

A PCR test can range in price from $150 to $300.

“It’ll cost us around $800 to $1,000 for a family of four between the ages of 8 and 41,” said Barb Rideout, a St. Stephen resident.

Residents of St. Stephen used to cross the international border frequently before the pandemic. As a result, some people are no longer considering a trip to America.

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“I suppose the excitement faded as soon as they talked about the cost of returning,” said Cecil Nelson, a local.

According to instructions posted on the government of Canada’s website, children under the age of 12 who are not suitable for the vaccine at this time will be unable to attend a school or big gatherings for 14 days after their return. They must also keep their interactions with others to a minimum.

Ghislaine Wheaton, the deputy mayor of St. Stephen’s, said that reopening the border with conditions is a good start but that testing expenses should be reduced.

“A lot of the individuals here, we just rush to Walmart to get gas across the river, and I don’t believe we’re ready for that,” Wheaton said.

“So I think we should wait and watch how things play out before we start making changes.”

Source from Global News

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