UPDATE - Trump says US, Canada agree to partial border closure

ADDS DETAILS THROUGHOUT

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The U.S. and Canada have agreed to close their border to "non-essential traffic" as both countries seek to stem the tide of the coronavirus, President Donald Trump announced Wednesday.

The partial closure will not affect trade, Trump said in a Twitter post. He did not offer additional details, but said they would be forthcoming.

The "mutual" decision to tighten the border came during a Wednesday morning telephone call between Trump and Canadian Premier Justin Trudeau, Vice President Mike Pence told reporters at the White House during a news briefing with the president and his coronavirus task force.

Trump added that he expects the temporary border tightening to last about 30 days "and hopefully" after that time passes "we will be in great shape."

Speaking in Canada, Trudeau said the action was a necessary step to try to slow the spread of the virus.

But Trudeau said Canada and the U.S. agreed to keep the 5,525-mile border open to commercial vehicles to maintain critical supply lines of goods like food and prescription drugs.

“Essential travel will continue,” Trudeau said.

Almost 200,000 people cross the border every day, as well as five million commercial vehicles annually carrying $169 billion in goods, according to Canadian government figures.

The deal will allow Canadians wintering in warmer climes in the southern United States, to cross the border into Canada.

The deal that only essential goods will be allow to cross the border could be a nightmare, starting with a definition of “essential.” Neither Ottawa nor Washington have definitively stated what that would include.

Moreover, it is almost as easy to cross the border as stepping over your neighbor’s picket fence, given the immense length and numerous non-official crossing points.

Confirmed cases of coronavirus in the U.S. have passed the 7,300 mark, and total deaths have hit 115, according to an unofficial tally compiled by Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

The university has counted 598 cases in Canada, including 8 deaths.