Coronavirus crisis: US, Canada to close shared border to ‘non-essential traffic’

President Trump said Wednesday that the US and Canada will temporarily close their border to “non-essential traffic” because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We will be, by mutual consent, temporarily closing our Northern Border with Canada to non-essential traffic. Trade will not be affected,” Trump wrote in a tweet. “Details to follow!”

Canadian and US officials have been discussing how to close the mutual border to try to stem the flow of the virus without hindering trade, the Associated Press reported earlier Wednesday.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he talked to Trump earlier on Wednesday and the two leaders agreed that it was essential to keep the supply chains open between the countries.

They “ensure that food, fuel and lifesaving medicines reach people on both sides of the border. Supply chains, including trucking, will not be affected by this new measure,” Trudeau said during a news conference.

He was asked if Trump assured him that the border would remain open even if the pandemic worsens.

Trudeau said he and Trump are “committed” to keeping the border open “to ensure the smooth flow of goods and essential materials and medication across the border.”

“We will work in close collaboration on an ongoing basis to make sure that that continues,” he said, adding that the measures “will last in place as long as we feel they need to last.”

Truck drivers and Canadians who live part of the year in the US are exempted.

“Nearly 200,000 people cross that border every day, and that border and that traffic that goes across that border is literally a lifeline for both the Canadians and the Americans on both sides of that border,″ said Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland.

There are more than 6,000 coronavirus cases in the US; Canada has about 600 cases.

Canada relies on the US for 75 percent of its exports and much of its food supply comes from the US.

But 98 percent of its oil exports go to the US.