Canada extends ban on non-US arrivals by another month

A seniors care home named as the site of a coronavirus outbreak in North Vancouver, Canada. Reuters

Canada extended its entry ban for most foreigners by another month to 31 July and also prolonged its quarantine requirements in efforts to prevent imported cases of the coronavirus.

The general border closure does not apply to people coming from the United States, who remain restricted to only essential travel to Canada until at least 21 July, with visits for tourism or recreation forbidden.

"Border measures prohibiting foreign nationals from entering Canada from any country other than the United States subject to certain limited exceptions... (have) been extended," Canada's public health agency said in a statement Tuesday.

Canada has reported more than 100,000 cases of COVID-19 and over 8,600 deaths -- far less than the US, which has confirmed 2.6 million infections.

Canada's population of around 37 million is far smaller than the US' 329 million.

A mandatory two-week quarantine for all arrivals will remain in place until 31 August, the public health agency said.

The extension was announced as the European Union agreed to reopen its borders to 15 countries, including Canada, deemed to have brought their domestic outbreaks under control. -Collected from "Prothom Alo"