U.S. residents who live in Point Roberts, Wash., will not require COVID-19 testing if they are travelling through Canada for essential services, Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee announced Wednesday.
Point Roberts, located on the Tsawwassen Peninsula, is only accessible on land via a 40-kilometre trip through B.C.
On Feb. 15, the Canadian government announced anyone arriving at a border by land must provide a recent negative COVID-19 test.
Inslee’s office said Wednesday when the new rules went into effect, state officials immediately reached out to the Canadian government to express concerns about Point Roberts residents.
The exemption, which was granted Wednesday, states that habitual residents of Point Roberts will not have to take a COVID-19 test in either the United States or Canada.
“Point Roberts residents have had very real concerns about transit ever since the pandemic struck, and this exemption will ease some of the burden,” Inslee said in a release.
The Canadian and U.S. border has been closed to non-essential travel since March, 2020.
The Canadian government had previously announced it was relaxing the rules for the border towns of Stewart, B.C., Hyder, AK., Campobello Island, N.B. and The Northwest Angle of Minnesota.
Residents of those four isolated communities can enter the nearest Canadian or American community for essential grocery shopping and medical appointments without having to quarantine for 14 days upon entry to Canada.
-with files from Kristen Robinson