Land Border Opening?

[ellbell]

Looks like things are happening

https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/u-s...tions-cheers-canada-u-s-border-news-1.5511870

 

[von Monster]

Really? I thought only the $199 ones were required for travel.

That's just what the media has been selling you. Entry into the US can be done via the rapid antigen test available via Shopper's, and entry back into Canada can be done via the NAAT test available at Walgreens.

For these type of things always refer to the government sources directly as opposed to what you read on a forum or in the news. Both the CDC and the Canadian government list the acceptable tests on their respective websites.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/testing-international-air-travelers.html
https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/t...ovid-19-testing-travellers-coming-into-canada

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

Looks like things are happening

https:///mobile/politics/u-s-lawmak...tions-cheers-canada-u-s-border-news-1.5511870

I am getting an error message when trying to open the link...

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

https://news.paxeditions.com/news/other/intention-relax-border-measures-was-welcomed
https://news.paxeditions.com/news/o...d-august-and-those-other-countries-soon-after
Here's two articles, likely similar in content. Both note that info is coming next week (before July 21st, I assume).

 

[ellbell]

I am getting an error message when trying to open the link...

I fixed it

 

[TommyJK]

Hoping that the rumoured mid-august re-opening is a possibility (even if still limited). Hoping to get to use my deferred Cedar Point tickets before the season ends (they're shutting down after Labour Day).

If they eliminate the pre-return test (and only have the arrival test they give you to do at home) I think I'll be driving down the last weekend of August or Labour Day weekend.

 

[KNovacovschi]

What I'm wondering is if the land border opens for fully vaccinated how it would work if you just go for a day. As it stands now you have to have a test to enter the US within 3 days of entering and a test within 72 hours of returning to Canada via land border. If you go for a day will the original test work since technically it is within the timeframe.

 

[ellbell]

What I'm wondering is if the land border opens for fully vaccinated how it would work if you just go for a day. As it stands now you have to have a test to enter the US within 3 days of entering and a test within 72 hours of returning to Canada via land border. If you go for a day will the original test work since technically it is within the timeframe.

It should but who is going to pay that for a day trip. That's why I haven't gone or made plans to go. In order to take a test that gets you into the US and then back into Canada you'd have to pay for one of the$200 tests and in some provinces more.

 

[PixieT78]

What I'm wondering is if the land border opens for fully vaccinated how it would work if you just go for a day. As it stands now you have to have a test to enter the US within 3 days of entering and a test within 72 hours of returning to Canada via land border. If you go for a day will the original test work since technically it is within the timeframe.

this is why I think the testing and the land border are linked together. Meaning if one happens, the other will change at the same time.

 

[KNovacovschi]

It should but who is going to pay that for a day trip. That's why I haven't gone or made plans to go. In order to take a test that gets you into the US and then back into Canada you'd have to pay for one of the$200 tests and in some provinces more.

At this point I would, I want to get my packages from the post office. My grandsons born in 2020 Dumbo arrived a week before the shutdown but I wasn't able to get there to pick it up and I have since accumulated packages, lol.

 

[KNovacovschi]

this is why I think the testing and the land border are linked together. Meaning if one happens, the other will change at the same time.

I hope so.

 

[scorpsfan]

That's just what the media has been selling you. Entry into the US can be done via the rapid antigen test available via Shopper's, and entry back into Canada can be done via the NAAT test available at Walgreens.

For these type of things always refer to the government sources directly as opposed to what you read on a forum or in the news. Both the CDC and the Canadian government list the acceptable tests on their respective websites.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/testing-international-air-travelers.html
https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/t...ovid-19-testing-travellers-coming-into-canada

Thanks for clearing that up! When I've searched before, there was an ad for "covid test before travel" and it was $199. Maybe that one is for international air travel, not land border. It still confuses me a little because the land border is obviously international travel.. The rapid antigen one just seems too cheap and too good to be true to be accepted at the border!

 

[scorpsfan]

What I'm wondering is if the land border opens for fully vaccinated how it would work if you just go for a day. As it stands now you have to have a test to enter the US within 3 days of entering and a test within 72 hours of returning to Canada via land border. If you go for a day will the original test work since technically it is within the timeframe.

I could see them doing this.. I'm thinking if you're gone for less than 24 hours, you won't need to provide a test to go into the US or to come back to Canada. Maybe anything more than that will require testing, at least at first. The thing that confuses me is the difference between travelling via land or air and the testing requirements. I know it's more risky to travel by air, and not so much by land. Maybe they'll get rid of the testing requirements sooner for land border crossings. I certainly hope so. I'm judging this based on vaccinated people. I'm sure unvaccinated will be requiring testing for quite a while.

 

[scorpsfan]

It should but who is going to pay that for a day trip. That's why I haven't gone or made plans to go. In order to take a test that gets you into the US and then back into Canada you'd have to pay for one of the$200 tests and in some provinces more.

Someone was answering my comment about this and they said the US border would accept the rapid antigen tests that you can get at Shoppers for (I think) $40?!

 

[ellbell]

Someone was answering my comment about this and they said the US border would accept the rapid antigen tests that you can get at Shoppers for (I think) $40?!

Yes they will but if you are going for a day trip you would need the PCR test to get back into Canada anyway.

 

[Sue M]

Looks like things are happening

https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/u-s...tions-cheers-canada-u-s-border-news-1.5511870

It’s a start! But for those of us who live near the border, they’d have to ease all this testing and reporting. No ones going to do all that just to nip across for a few hours. Don’t know how they’ll work that. Maybe make exception for day trips.
They better make it mandatory for US coming across to show valid proof of vaccination! I’m all for opening up travel, but we must do it safely. US cases are rising due to non vaccinated.

 

[Sue M]

It should but who is going to pay that for a day trip. That's why I haven't gone or made plans to go. In order to take a test that gets you into the US and then back into Canada you'd have to pay for one of the$200 tests and in some provinces more.

Yes they’re going to have to do something about that plus all the reporting, ArriveCAN app ugh.
Maybe they’ll make exceptions for day trip and just require proof of full vaccination.

 

[spewey]

I see there’s still a lot of confusion about testing requirements. For example, at no time are you ever required to get the “$200” PCR test to board a plane, or cross the border.

To board a plane to the US a Rapid Antigen ($40 at Shoppers in some places) is fine. To come back an NAAT (free at Walgreens) is fine.

And no test of any kind is needed to enter the US by land - that is, if you are allowed to do so (ie Dual Citizen, essential worker). And, technically, if you are a legal resident of Canada somehow driving back, although you are indeed still “required” to provide a negative test, they can’t actually deny you entry no matter what (although you may be told to quarantine).

 

[TommyJK]

I see there’s still a lot of confusion about testing requirements. For example, at no time are you ever required to get the “$200” PCR test to board a plane, or cross the border.

To board a plane to the US a Rapid Antigen ($40 at Shoppers in some places) is fine. To come back an NAAT (free at Walgreens) is fine.

And no test of any kind is needed to enter the US by land - that is, if you are allowed to do so (ie Dual Citizen, essential worker). And, technically, if you are a legal resident of Canada somehow driving back, although you are indeed still “required” to provide a negative test, they can’t actually deny you entry no matter what (although you may be told to quarantine).

While they can't deny you entry, if you show up to the border back to Canada and you didn't have a NAAT test done in the last 72 hrs in the US, you have 2 options. Go back and get a test done somewhere and wait for the results, or come through and take a $5000 fine (+$1,250 admin fee for a total of $6,250).

I literally just finished listening to a story on the radio of a guy who (somehow was allowed to) crossed the land border into the US for 5 hours, and then came back. Since he wasn't going to be there long enough to get a test down there, he tried to show as proof of negative test he had within 72 hours that was done in Canada. They wouldn't accept that. They stuck to the letter of the rule that says it has to be a test done in the US (and not just that you had a negative test within the last 72 hours).

Now when it comes to opening the land border for non-essential crossing (which is now rumoured to be mid-August), my guess is that as part of it (whenever it happens) they are going to drop the 72 hours pre-arrival test requirements, and just require you to take the arrival test. But that's only a guess not based on anything.

 

[newdeal]

I see there’s still a lot of confusion about testing requirements. For example, at no time are you ever required to get the “$200” PCR test to board a plane, or cross the border.

To board a plane to the US a Rapid Antigen ($40 at Shoppers in some places) is fine. To come back an NAAT (free at Walgreens) is fine.

And no test of any kind is needed to enter the US by land - that is, if you are allowed to do so (ie Dual Citizen, essential worker). And, technically, if you are a legal resident of Canada somehow driving back, although you are indeed still “required” to provide a negative test, they can’t actually deny you entry no matter what (although you may be told to quarantine).

Does that $40 test work for Hawaii also?