No COVID-19 test at U.S. land border: Higgins

WASHINGTON - The office of New York congressman Brian Higgins says U.S. Customs and Border Protection won't be requiring a negative COVID-19 test for fully vaccinated travellers in order to cross the land border with Canada.

A spokesperson for Higgins says the agency is expected to release additional details in the next few days before the U.S. relaxes its border restrictions Nov. 8.

Higgins has already called on Canada's federal government to abandon its requirement that travellers submit the results of a costly PCR test before arriving at a land-border crossing.

He says the $200 test remains a significant deterrent to travel and a drag on the economic recovery in border communities.

As of Nov. 8, fully vaccinated travellers who are flying to the U.S. for non-essential purposes will have to show the results of a negative test that's no more than 72 hours old before boarding their flight.

Later today, the Washington-based Wilson Center will release a final report from its task force on public health and the border, a group that includes former public safety minister Anne McLellan and ex-Quebec premier Jean Charest.