The rising
number of COVID-19 cases in the US has become a never-ending concern for the
Canadians. As part of the safety measures, the borders of the two countries had
been closed since March 21 and will continue to remain shut till August 21, with a
likely chance for it to be extended, reported BBC.

Even though the
closure of the border has a considerable amount of economic and personal
repercussions, majority of the Canadians want it shut. According to the BBC report, a July poll by Ipsos Reid found that eight in ten Canadians wanted the
border to stay closed at least till the end of 2020.

Tension between American drivers and
Canadian residents also continues. Although non-essential travel is forbidden,
drivers who transport goods and people who work in essential services across
the border are allowed to cross. But cases of harassment and vehicles with
American licence plate being vandalised are being reported.

Mr Saunders, an immigration lawyer, told
BBC, “They’re all scared of driving their cars in the lower mainland because of
vandalism, dirty looks and just getting treated as some ‘horrible American’.”

About 300,000 people crossed the border each day before
coronavirus, including Canadians who regularly made daytrips to score a bargain
at US outlet malls or gas stations, and American tourists seeking Niagara Falls’s
wonders. According to the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA), there has
been a drop of at least 95 percent in the non-commercial land border crossings
to Canada.

Giving a view in the economic sense,
Ambarish Chandra, a professor of economics at the University of Toronto,
explained that its necessary for the government to give aid to border towns as
they rely mainly on foreign tourism. But he also maintained that the borders be
closed until the pandemic gets to a halt, reported BBC.

Canada has so far recorded 121 thousand
cases, and the US, which remains at the top in terms of cases, has recorded 5.21
million cases.