The mining towns of Hyder and Stewart form one of many cross-border communities along the U.S.-Canada frontier that have been severed for months by coronavirus travel restrictions.

Now several such communities are pushing for local reopenings. Hyder and Stewart, which have reported no cases of covid-19, are pushing Canada to designate the region an “integrated trans-border community,” exempt from travel restrictions and quarantines. Lawmakers representing Point Roberts, Wash., and Minnesota’s Northwest Angle have asked Canadian Public Safety Minister Bill Blair to ease and clarify the rules.

“This is our local traffic only that we’re advocating for,” said Jane Beaumont, a registered nurse in Stewart who grew up in Hyder and has family there. “We’re not advocating for tourism.”

The measures are widely supported in Canada, which has fared far better against the coronavirus than the United States (though several provinces have seen cases climb in recent weeks). The restrictions have had minimal impact on trade, but they’ve hit tourism, split families and upended life in tightly knit border communities in …continued .
[Source: Washington Post]