Lifting of Ban on Non-Essential Travel at Border Good News for San Diego

It’s been a long time, a very long time, in terms of its impact on small businesses, the economy and even on families and relationships.

With San Diego being a border city and economically and culturally connected to Tijuana, when non-essential travel across the border was banned due to the pandemic, it was bigger news here than probably anywhere in the country.

The San Ysidro Port of Entry has been considered the busiest port in the Western Hemisphere for decades. So the ban hit hard.

For 20 months now, shoppers, tourists and many family members and friends were not allowed to cross the border. But as of today, for the first time since March of 2020, that has changed with the U.S lifting its ban which means non-citizen travelers can now enter the U.S. for non-essential reasons.

But only those who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and can show proof of being vaccinated can cross the border.

Today’s change brings a huge sigh of relief to the many businesses on this side of the border that depend on the commerce, some of which have barely survived and some having to shut down. And all that commerce means a lot to the economy for all of San Diego.

It may take a time for things to fully recover, but as more and more people become fully vaccinated and the pandemic becomes less and less of a problem, the economy is expected to get better and better.

(Photo Getty Images)