Blaine, Bellingham businesses welcome back British Columbians as travel restrictions ease

Blaine, Wash. -

Brant Baron opened up the doors to his Blaine, Wash., business Friday with eager customers waiting.

“It has been tremendously exciting. When we opened today, I think we had nine cars out front, ready and excited to come in and get their packages that they've been waiting for a very long time,” said Baron, owner of Mail Boxes International.

On April 1, Canada lifted its pre-entry testing requirement, meaning fully vaccinated Canadians will no longer need to provide a negative COVID-19 test to return home.

Baron said some packages that have been sitting on the shelves since the start of the pandemic are finally getting picked up thanks to the loosened travel restrictions.

He said one customer picked up roughly 60 parcels.

“So it's kind of sad to see these March of 2020 dates on the stickers, but at the same time, happy to see them go to the rightful owner,” he said.

Long-time customer Garry Matta, who lives in Delta, B.C., said he was ecstatic to be running his errands in Blaine again.

“I'm crossing the border after two years. It's so refreshing things have changed,” Matta told CTV News.

He said the cost of getting a COVID-19 test was a huge barrier.

“It's a big hassle actually to have the test. And then you know, it takes a lot of money also every time so you can cross the border…you have to pay like $300 or $200 just for the test. So this is a big relief,” he explained.

Sandy Ward, president and CEO of Visit Bellingham, said locals hope the increased visitor traffic continues.

“A lot of it has to do with parking-flying packages that are being offered at our hotels, and airlines have really stepped up flights out of Bellingham International Airport,” she explained. “We’d obviously like to have a flood of people coming in, but we think it might start with the trickle. And then as people get more and more comfortable, and the virus goes away more and more, I think we'll see people getting way more comfortable and back to pre-pandemic habits, we hope.”

Canadians returning home still have to fill out their vaccination information via the ArriveCAN app.

Air passengers may also be subjected to a random PCR test at the airport.

Partially vaccinated or unvaccinated Canadians will still have to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test.