DETROIT — After a 17-month COVID-induced closure, the Detroit-Windsor border is expected to reopen Monday to fully vaccinated Americans, but with more than a handful of requirements.

The Canada Border Services Agency is expected to reopen the Ambassador Bridge and Windsor Tunnel in Detroit, among other border spots in Michigan, starting midnight on Monday to non-essential travelers. Non-essentials travelers previously could visit Canada by air but had to comply with a host of restrictions including a 14-day quarantine upon arrival that discouraged visits.

Here’s what tourists should know before trying to visit across the Detroit River, the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron or the crossing in Sault Ste. Marie.

Residents visiting for tourism or other reasons must have all of the following:

— Fully vaccinated at least 14 days prior to entering Canada with doses from Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca or Johnson & Johnson.

— Residents must be living in and traveling from the United States.

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— Show a negative pre-arrival COVID-19 molecular test result taken no more than 72 hours before arriving in Canada. This would have to be a nasal swab test including PCR (Polymerase chain reaction), Nucleic acid test (NAT). Antigen tests are not accepted.

— Residents have to be asymptomatic.

— Individuals must show proof of vaccination on arrival.

— All the information has to be uploaded to the border’s database ArriveCAN, via the website at Canada.ca/ArriveCAN or a downloaded app within 72 hours before arrival.

— Residents must be admissible under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, show United States identification by enhanced ID or passport.

— Individuals must take a COVID-19 test on arrival, if required. Failure to do so could result in a ticket.

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Border officials say even though travelers are fully vaccinated, they must also provide a quarantine plan in ArriveCAN and be prepared to quarantine.

“At any time after entry, if a fully vaccinated traveler tests positive or is exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, they must follow all local public health requirements, including quarantine or isolation,” Canadian Border Service Agency officials said.

Only fully vaccinated U.S. citizens or permanent residents living in the U.S. are eligible to come to Canada for non-essential purposes. The border remains closed to Canadians attempting to leave for non-essential purposes.

U.S. travelers must submit mandatory information including digital proof using ArriveCAN starting after a new version of the software is released at midnight on Monday. Travelers using the app must ensure that they have the most up-to-date version available in the Google Play Store and the App Store for iPhone as of Monday as it will be needed before and after crossing the border.

If travelers are unable to enter their information themselves, they can have a friend or family member enter the information for them, officials said.

It’s essential the residents arriving must show receipt of uploading to ArriveCAN on their phones, but also bring a paper copy proof of vaccination.

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Starting Monday, the border testing surveillance program will be randomly requiring COVID-19 testing for some travelers to track new COVID-19 variants and not complying could result in a ticket.

“Fully vaccinated travelers will not need to take a post-arrival test unless they have been randomly selected to complete a Day 1 COVID-19 molecular test,” border officials said. “All travelers who are randomly selected for the border testing surveillance program must complete the mandatory testing requirements. Failure to do so may result in fines.”

Vaccinated parents traveling with unvaccinated children under 12 years of age will be exempt from quarantine.

However, unvaccinated youth between 12-17 and dependent children 18 and older due to mental or physical health condition are permitted to enter but are subject to the 14-day quarantine mandate.

All unvaccinated children, except those under 5 years old, will be subject to Day 1 and Day 8 testing requirements. Certain provinces and territories in Canada may have more stringent rules about people who recently returned from travel.

Travelers to Canada may experience delays at the border due to the enhanced public health measures. The Canada Border Services Agency has said it “will not compromise the health and safety of Canadians for the sake of border wait times.”

On Friday, commercial truck drivers waiting to cross the Ambassador Bridge into Windsor were waiting roughly 90 minutes at noon, according to a Canadian border wait time system. There was no delay for regular traffic flow, although the border is not open yet for most travelers.

For more information on travel restrictions visit travel.gc.ca.


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