After nearly 20 months, snowbirds are rejoicing with the reopening of the US and Canada border.
The occasion was marked this morning when the M.V. Coho ferry, escorted by a flotilla, crossed the ocean and made its way to Victoria’s harbour from Port Angeles, Washington.
Check out the warm welcome here:
At 10:30 a.m. the vessel made its return trip to Port Angeles – the first time Canadians have been able to take a ferry to Washington State since the start of the pandemic.
Each day, the Coho Ferry will depart Victoria at 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. and Port Angeles at 8:20 a.m. and 2 p.m.
The border has been closed to non-essential travel for nearly 20 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now, travellers will need to be fully-immunized with a COVID-19 vaccination approved by the US Centre for Disease Control (CDC) and approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Air travellers will still be required to show a negative COVID-19 test upon arrival and departure.
Non-essential travellers who are travelling by land will not be required to show a negative COVID-19 test, but must prove their vaccination status to a border agent.
By January, essential travellers crossing at a land border will also be required to be fully vaccinated.
