Mexico to keep US border closed to non-essential travel

MEXICO CITY  — Mexico plans to extend the closure of its shared border with the United States for another month to non-essential travel, Mexico Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said Thursday.

Dulce Garcia, right, carries a cup of coffee as she crosses the border from Mexicali, Mexico, to Calexico, Calif., Wednesday, July 22, 2020. Like many in Mexicali, Garcia lives in Mexico but works in Calexico. “Everybody’s scared of the pandemic but we have to cross,” Garcia said. “We have to survive.” (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

The current agreement runs through Aug. 21, but Ebrard said it does not make sense to reopen the border at this time.

“We already told the United States that we’re of the idea that it’s extended because of what we have along the strip on their side,” Ebrard said, referring to a surge in cases in the southwestern United States.

The travel restriction at the shared land border was first announced March 18 and has been renewed monthly. It has included the U.S.-Canada border as well.

“The border couldn’t be opened right now,” Ebrard said. “It wouldn’t be logical that we change it right now, so it will be another month.”

Mexico has reported about 500,000 confirmed COVID-19 infections and about 55,000 deaths, both considered to be significant undercounts due to very limited testing.

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