Fully vaccinated travelers can enter via land or air.

For approximately the past year and a half, the border between the United States and Canada has remained closed to all but essential travel. As COVID-19 cases spiked in the United States, the Canadian government made the choice to close the border in the interest of the safety of their populace, which was experiencing lessened cases. Now that vaccines are proliferating throughout both countries, the Canadian government has decided it’s time to reopen the border to nonessential travel, and separated families and business owners are excited.

“We were all so eagerly waiting for that day,” Asawari Kaur of Indiana told the Detroit Free Press as he waited to see his family, from whom he’s been separated for over a year.

“Let’s get this thing going,” said Joel Villanueva, owner of Primo’s Mexican Grill in White Rock, British Columbia. “A lot of our customers are from the United States, and we are literally minutes from across the border. We welcome our Americans, and we depend on their foot traffic.”

While the border has reopened, travel between Canada and the US is being carefully regulated. In nearly all cases, travelers must be confirmed to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 at least two weeks prior to their trip. Information regarding the nature of the trip, as well as a negative COVID test, must also be submitted to the Canadian government website at least three days prior. Unvaccinated children are permitted to enter as long as they are accompanied by fully vaccinated adults, while those who are unable to be vaccinated due to confirmable health conditions will need to undergo a modified quarantine procedure upon entry.

As soon as the news broke at midnight last night, cars lined up for miles to enter Canada. Wait times for new passports are also up to 12-18 weeks as a sudden surge of new applicants has overwhelmed the system.