In three weeks, Canada will re-open the border with United States to fully vaccinated American travelers.

“Starting August 9th, fully vaccinated American citizens and permanent residents will be able to enter Canada for discretionary travel provided they are currently residing in the U-S and that they are arriving from the United States,” said Safety Minister Bill Blair. “This will be followed on September 7th by the reopening of our border to discretionary travel for fully vaccinated travelers from any country who meets specific entry requirements.”

These travel rules will only apply if the COVID-19 situation looks good but cases are rising in every US state this week.

There are other changes too.

Mandatory post-arrival testing for fully vaccinated travelers will be scrapped on August 9th in favour of a random testing.

Also on that date, Canada’s hotel quarantine system will end for ALL travelers.

Children under 12 travelling with fully vaccinated parents don’t need to quarantine for 14 days. But they face other restrictions like not going to group settings like daycare or camps.

The United States has yet to announce when it will allow Canadians to head south.