Canadian Border Will Reopen To Vaccinated Americans

Canada is set to open its border to fully-vaccinated U.S. travelers for nonessential travel starting Aug. 9.

U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., who has been pushing the Canadian government to open the border as quickly and safely as possible because of the enormous impact on Montana’s economy, released the following statement: “Trade and travel across the U.S.-Canadian border is critical for Montana families and for our economy, and this important milestone puts us one step closer to our economy returning to normal. I’ve pushed both the Biden Administration and Canadian officials to find a way to reinstate nonessential crossings as quickly and safely as possible, and I look forward to the boost Montana’s economy will receive once travel resumes on both sides of the border.”

Trade with Canada represents a major portion of Montana’s economy. According to the U.S. Trade Representative, Montana exported $692 million in goods to Canada in 2018, representing 42 percent of the state’s total goods exports.

Tester began calling for the border to re-open to fully vaccinated travelers in May, writing in a letter to the Biden Administration that “each day that passes without resolution is a hit to family farmers and ranchers, small businesses, and the rural communities along the border,” and urging them to work with their Canadian counterparts to quickly and safely open the border.

Tester also pressed the Biden Administration to ensure that any plans include maintaining 24-hour operation at ports of entry and take in to account the unique needs of rural states like Montana.

Area Statistics

As of Thursday, July 15, Roosevelt County has zero active case and no current hospitalizations. There have been 56 COVID-related deaths reported in the county.

As of Monday, July 19, Valley County’s active count was two cases. There have been 904 total cases and 18 reported COVID-reported deaths.

Daniels County had two active cases as of Tuesday, July 20. The county has 189 recovered cases and 199 cumulative cases. Eight deaths have occurred due to COVID-19 and/or complications.

In McCone County, there are no active cases as of Monday, July 19. There are 181 recovered cases. There have been two COVID-related deaths in the county.

Phillips County has two active cases as of Monday, July 19. There have been 512 recovered cases and 16 COVID-related deaths. For Richland County, there were four active cases and 1,236 recovered cases as of Monday, July 19. Total COVID-related deaths are 18. There have been 1,258 total cases.

Statewide

According to Montana health officials, the state’s total number of known cases now stands at 1,475,053 since the start of the pandemic. There have been 1,475,053 tests conducted.

Around the state, there are 492 active cases. There are 62 active hospitalizations. By Monday, July 19, a total of 1,692 deaths have been reported statewide. A total of 112,558 people have recovered.

Though there is no state mask mandate, local jurisdictions may still choose to implement their own mask requirements.

Gov. Gianforte emphasized how providing incentives and encouraging personal responsibility are more effective than imposing unenforceable government mandates.

Vaccine Doses

In Roosevelt County, 6,023 total doses have been administered. There have been 2,995 or 36 percent fully immunizations.

As of Monday, July 19, 881,465 total doses have been administered in Montana. There are 437,707 or 48 percent fully immunized Montanans.

The dashboard can be found at https://www.arcgis. com/apps/MapSeries/ index.html?appid=7c-3 4 f 3 4 1 2 5 3 6 4 3 949 1 ad cc2103421d4b.