OVERVIEW: Canada will open up to visitors in August/Sept: other international developments

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Fri, 2021-07-16 10:19 — mike kraft

The Latest: Vaccinated Americans to be able to enter Canada TORONTO — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday Canada could start allowing fully vaccinated Americans into Canada as of mid-August for non-essential travel and should be in a position to welcome fully vaccinated travelers from all countries by early September. AP NEWS

TORONTO — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday Canada could start allowing fully vaccinated Americans into Canada as of mid-August for non-essential travel and should be in a position to welcome fully vaccinated travelers from all countries by early September.

Trudeau spoke with leaders of Canada’s provinces and his office released a readout of the call. He noted that if Canada’s current positive path of vaccination rate and public health conditions continue the border can open.

“Canada would be in a position to welcome fully vaccinated travelers from all countries by early September,” the readout said. “He noted the ongoing discussions with the United States on reopening plans, and indicated that we could expect to start allowing fully vaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents into Canada as of mid-August for non-essential travel.”

Other Developments:

-- WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden says he hopes to know in the next several days when the U.S. will be lifting COVID-19 travel restrictions on much of Europe.

Speaking during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Biden acknowledged that she had pushed him on the matter. The Schengen Zone has continued to face stricter requirements than parts of the world that are now seeing more significant outbreaks of the virus. ...

-- SEOUL, South Korea – South Korean officials are pushing for tightened pandemic restrictions beyond the hard-hit capital area as they wrestle with a record-breaking surge in coronavirus cases.

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum during a virus meeting Friday called for all local governments outside the greater Seoul area to simultaneously enforce four-person limits on gatherings after 6 p.m. to slow the viral spread. ...

-- HONOLULU — Hawaii Gov. David Ige said Thursday he will maintain a requirement that people wear masks indoors as the spread of the COVID-19 delta variant fuels a spike in cases.

Ige told a news conference the number of new cases in Hawaii has exceeded 100 during three of the last five days. That contrasts to the past couple of months when the seven-day average of new hovered around 50. ...

-- DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The capital of the United Arab Emirates has announced a sudden overnight lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic, even as the rest of the country remains open for tourism.

The state-run WAM news agency announced late Thursday the lockdown would begin Monday and last each day from 12 a.m. to 5 a.m. It comes just ahead of the long Eid al-Adha holidays in the UAE, which begins Monday as well. ...

-- PHOENIX — Arizona reported 1,014 daily coronavirus cases amid increasing hospitalizations.

The seven-day rolling average of daily cases increased in the past two weeks from 550 on June 29 to 795 on Tuesday, according to Johns Hopkins University data. ...

Public health officials have attributed recent increases in COVID-19 cases to several factors, including the delta variant, lagging vaccinations and Fourth of July gatherings. ...

-- PORTLAND, Maine — Maine residents age 50 and older who are fully vaccinated for the coronavirus has topped 80%.

About 45% of Maine’s population is at least 50 years old, and the state has one of the highest median ages in the country. The office of Maine Gov. Janet Mills says more than two thirds of the state’s eligible population is fully vaccinated for coronavirus, among the highest in the nation.

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