Mexico City – The Mexican government has once again asked the United States to extend non-essential travel restrictions at the international border to slow the spread of COVID-19.
“Due to the development of the spread of COVID-19 and because various states are at an orange traffic light, Mexico proposed to the United States the extension, for one more month, of the restrictions on non-essential land traffic at its common border,” Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Relations announced in a series of tweets on Monday evening.
With this latest extension, the border will remain closed through at least 11:59 pm on February 21, 2021.
The travel restrictions, which were to expire on January 21, 2021, apply to non-essential land traffic to and from Mexico and the United States, have been extended every month since the partial closure was first announced on March 21 as a measure to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
The move comes as the number of coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths continue to spike in both countries.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the United States remains the center of the coronavirus pandemic with, according to Johns Hopkins University, the most coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, more than 22.7 million and nearly 380,000, respectively; while Mexico ranked thirteenth worldwide in the number of cases with more than 1.5 million, and the fourth highest number of COVID-19 deaths at just over 134,000.
While tourists haven’t been permitted to drive into Mexico, flights between the two countries have largely continued since the early days of the pandemic, and thousands of U.S. travelers have been flocking to beach destinations such as Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos and Cancún since hotels and restaurants reopened, albeit with limited capacity, in June.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also announced the decision to keep the border closed on Tuesday, telling media the extension is “an important decision, and one that will keep people on both sides of the border safe,” according to a story posted by Global News.