Long lines, restrictions between Canada, US border - The Washington Post

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After more than 16 months, Canada lifted its prohibition on nonessential U.S. travelers crossing the U.S.-Canada border Monday. Some have been separated from family members for that time — including people less than an hour’s drive away — so they took advantage of the reopening as early as midnight.

But early eager travelers were met with long lines at some crossings, where hundreds of vehicles caused waits as long as seven hours, Reuters reported.

Traveling across the border requires documentation, which contributed to the lines. Clearing each vehicle past the border could take up to 40 minutes, according to the Duluth News Tribune.

Only tested and vaccinated U.S. citizens and legal residents are allowed through. At the border, travelers must present proof of vaccination, a recent pre-arrival coronavirus molecular test result and information on the ArriveCan app, including a 14-day travel history. They also may be required to take a test on arrival, according to the Canada Border Services Agency.

Although Canada is allowing a flow of U.S. travelers, the United States has yet to reciprocate.

Pettis Y. Cousins left her house at 11:30 p.m. Sunday to reach the Rainbow Bridge across the Niagara River at midnight for what she thought would be a timely crossing. It turned into a three-hour stop-and-go wait on the bridge. “Good thing my gas tank was on F,” she wrote to The Washington Post.

By the end of the first day of the opening, waits died down. Around noon Tuesday, estimated wait times varied at different crossing points from no delay to 45 minutes.

Brittany Mayne and her 6-year-old daughter had not been together with her partner and his daughter for 17 months. Normally, either of them makes a quick drive between Toronto and Buffalo.

After a long wait, her Monday crossing into Canada was almost pre-pandemic-like: There were three lanes open and no wait at the Lewiston-Queenston border crossing. The whole thing took about five minutes, she said. For her coronavirus test, she went to a Walgreens and received free results within two hours.

“We are so very happy to have had the chance to reunite, even just for a short time,” she wrote to The Post.

Days ahead of the reopening, Canadian customs officers started a work-to-rule strike in which they adhere to only officially set hours and breaks. But border staff and the Canadian government reached a tentative deal late Friday, averting further delays.

Rosemary Mosco hadn’t seen her parents for a year and seven months. She was always worrying.

“It was really hard, like a part of me was missing,” she said.

“The prep was a lot,” she said of the trip back to Canada. Mosco took two tests ahead of time, just in case. Though there were no lines at Saint-Armand, near Highgate, Vt., on the day the border opened, things were confusing, she said. She got pulled over for a random test and had to download an additional app, but that wasn’t a major problem, she said.

All told, the experience took about a half-hour, she said. After the crossing, she took another home test as she approached her parents’ house — just for a last check — and pulled up to give them a big hug.

“Now I’m home. My mom made me breakfast while my dad made me tea. I feel like I’m whole again,” she wrote.

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