The U.S. – Canadian border will not be reopening anytime soon.

In a recent interview,  Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country is committed to keeping the border closed until the United States controls COVID-19.

“The U.S. is not in a place where we would feel comfortable reopening those borders,” he told the hosts of “Smart Start,” which airs on Canada’s Global Television Network. “We will continue to make sure that Canadian safety is top of mind when we move forward. We see the cases in the United States and elsewhere around the world, and we need to continue to keep these border controls in place.”

The latest numbers show that the United States has reported more than 7 million COVID-19 cases and more than 216,000 deaths.

And while COVID-19 infection rates are lower than the United States, Canada is currently experiencing a second wave.  

According to the Canadian government, the country reported nearly 31,000 new cases and 372 deaths in the first two weeks of October.

Cumulatively, Canada has reported more than 193,000 cases and almost 9,750 deaths.

“I think this second wave is really exhausting,” Trudeau acknowledged. “It’s frustrating for everyone to have to keep going through this. We showed that we [could] pull together and get through this, as we did in the spring. Then people got used to the slow burn in the summer. Now that cases are spiking again – with the approach of winter, with the approach of flu season – we need to get things back under control.”