SURREY (NEWS 1130) — Monday has been a big day for a lot of Americans looking forward to in-person reunions with the important Canadians in their lives.
At the Peace Arch border crossing, a majority of vehicles with Washington licence plates made their way through while a couple of cars with California, Oregon, and even Texas plates travelled up north after a 17-month ban on non-essential travel across the Canada-U.S. border.
The reopening resulted in a long lineup and about two-hour waits Monday morning. But that traffic jam was nothing compared to how long some people have faced being apart due to the pandemic.
One woman tells NEWS 1130, she made her way across to see her family in Delta after not seeing them since COVID-19 hit.
“This is a long time coming. I’m super excited — it’s just for two days, but it’s worth the drive and worth the wait, and worth all the preparations to get here.”
The woman explains she had to pack her purse with documents to reunite with her family.
“I need my vaccination record, copy of a negative COVID test within the last 72 hours, I needed to fill out the arrive CAN paperwork, just documenting my arrival time and filling out a bunch of information about where I’m from and where I’m going and how long I’m staying. And of course, my passport.”
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Meanwhile, there were few vehicles with British Columbian plates making their way stateside, but some people like NEWS 1130’s Peter Wagner have work privileges that allow them to to cross back and forth.
“It was unlike any other border crossing I’ve ever been through in my life. I got there probably 5:30 in the morning thinking, ‘Maybe I’ll beat the crowd,’ I was probably the 30th car in line and just my lane,” he said.
“Took probably two hours all told to get through. And I would say the average time per car is probably 15 to 20 minutes.”
Wagner said he saw a lot of paperwork moving back and forth, but from what he saw, no one was turned around when he was there, although there were “an awful lot of folks over to secondary inspection.”
He adds a test collection site could be seen at the border as well.
Lines at the border crossing finally started to die down as of Monday evening.
Vehicles now lined about 7 deep heading into #Canada from the #US at #PeaceArch border crossing.
It’s taking at least 10 minutes for each vehicle to pass through via 7 open lanes including 2 dedicated as “American Only”.#bcpoli #cdnpoli #COVID19 @NEWS1130 pic.twitter.com/eIcw7WB52l
— Marcella Bernardo (@MBernardoNews) August 9, 2021
Brendan, a resident of Mount Vernon, Washington, tells CityNews he will be making the trip up North to visit his partner Amy after months of seeing one another once a week across the ditch along Zero Avenue.
“Me and Amy have been together since January of 2020. So now that the board is actually opening up, it’s quite exciting.”
He adds, he hopes in the coming months more people will get vaccinated, “because the more people that get vaccinated, the better off we’re going to be as both countries — the United States and Canada. We’re able to protect our citizens more.”
Eligible American visitors must live in the U.S. and must have allowed 14 days to pass since receiving a full course of a Health Canada-approved vaccine.
They are also required to show proof of a negative molecular test for COVID-19 that’s no more than 72 hours old, and to use the ArriveCAN app or online web portal to upload their vaccination details.
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Fully vaccinated travellers who have recovered from the disease and are otherwise eligible to enter Canada can show proof of a negative molecular test taken between 14 and 90 days prior to crossing the border.
However, a loophole contained in a travel advisory issued by the Canada Border Services Agency allows residents of Hyder (Alaska), Northwest Angle (Minnesota) or Point Roberts (Washington) to enter Canada without being fully immunized against COVID-19.
– With files from The Canadian Press