Beijing, January 21 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced on January 20 that in order to curb the spread of the new crown virus in the United States, all foreign nationals will be required to show proof of completion of vaccination when entering the United States through land and water ports, including truck drivers and nurses who cross borders for "necessary" work reasons.
According to foreign media analysis, the new regulations may further exacerbate the us capacity tension.
People line up for testing at a COVID-19 testing site in San Francisco, USA, on Jan. 19. Recently, with the accelerated spread of the mutated new coronavirus Omiljung strain in the United States, the epidemic in the United States has rebounded seriously, and a number of epidemic indicators have repeatedly set new records. (Xinhua News Agency, photo by Li Jianguo)
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Majorcas said on the 20th: "Starting from Saturday (22nd), the Department of Homeland Security will require non-Americans entering through land ports or crossings on the northern and southern borders to complete the full vaccination of the new crown vaccine and show the relevant vaccination certificates." ”
U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents are exempt from this new rule.
With the spread of the mutated new coronavirus Omiljung strain, the epidemic in the United States spread rapidly this winter, and the new cases have repeatedly broken records, with the highest number of new cases confirmed in a single day exceeding one million.
Statistics from Johns Hopkins University in the United States show that the cumulative number of confirmed cases in the United States so far is about 69.3 million, and the cumulative number of deaths has exceeded 860,000, far exceeding other countries and regions.
On January 19, medical staff conducted a test sample of the new crown virus at a testing site in Manhattan, New York, USA. (Photo by Xinhua news agency reporter Wang Ying)
The U.S. government has been enforcing international travel restriction orders since the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. On November 8 last year, the United States relaxed entry restrictions, allowing foreign passengers who have completed the full process of vaccination with the World Health Organization's emergency use of the new crown vaccine to enter the country on international flights, but requiring adult travelers to show vaccination certificates and negative covid-19 test certificates within 72 hours before departure.
In addition, the U.S. government allows travelers who have completed the full vaccination to enter from Canada and Mexico through land and water ports for "non-essential" activities such as visiting relatives, friends, or travel, and need to show proof of vaccination completion at the time of entry.
The United States Government exempts "essential" travel, particularly for aliens entering the United States through land and water ports from Mexico and Canada for occupational reasons. However, under the new rules, this exemption will expire on the 22nd, when commuters who live and work across borders between Mexico and Canada and the United States will be affected.
On November 8, 2021, at the Canadian-U.S. border in Surrey, Canada, vehicles entered the United States from the Canadian side. On the same day, the United States relaxed entry restrictions and allowed foreign passengers who had completed the full course of COVID-19 vaccination to take international flights or enter through land and water ports. (Xinhua News Agency, photo by Liang Sen)
Reuters interpreted that the new vaccination requirements may exacerbate the problem of cross-border transportation capacity tensions in countries such as the United States and Canada.
According to Reuters, annual trade in goods between Canada and the United States is around $521 billion, more than two-thirds of which is transported by road. In order to contain the spread of the epidemic, Canada has required U.S. truck drivers entering the country to complete the full COVID-19 vaccination since the 15th of this month. At the time, some Canadian businesses feared that vaccination requirements would disrupt supply chains and exacerbate Inflation in Canada.
The Canadian Trucking Union estimates that there are 160,000 cross-border truck drivers between Canada and the United States, and about 32,000 are expected, or 20 percent, that is, 20 percent of them may leave as a result of the request.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau supported the vaccination regulations on the 19th, saying that the United States is Canada's trading partner and that Canada and the United States are "consistent" in the regulations. Transport Canada said on the 20th that vaccination measures did not have a negative impact on the supply of goods, and there was no significant change in cross-border trucking. (Liu Xi)