Aerial view of Colonia Libertad neighbourhood in Tijuana, Baja California State, Mexico, next to the US border fence (left), taken on May 21, 2020, during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. - Overcrowded neighbourhoods and a big population within poverty levels are a big challenge Latin American countries are facing during this global pandemic. (Photo by  ARIAS / AFP) (Photo by GUILLERMO ARIAS/AFP via Getty Images)
Trudeau skips summit with Trump as Canada's case numbers fall
02:22 - Source: CNN
CNN  — 

If public opinion and recent activity are any indication, the United States’ northern and southern neighbors agree that the American border should remain closed due to a surge in coronavirus cases stateside.

A new poll concluded that a vast majority of Canadians want the border to remain shut. The poll, conducted by Nanos Research for The Globe and Mail, found 81% of Canadians said the border should remain closed while just 14% said it could open now – but only in areas where infection rates are low.

The United States has more deaths from the coronavirus, with over 130,000 dead, than Canada has confirmed cases, with 108,000. Just 8,700 Canadians have died of Covid-19 causes since the pandemic began.

In Mexico, concerned residents have taken a similar stance.

A number of border towns are reportedly pleading with the Mexican government to keep cross-border movement restricted, hoping to curb both workers and tourists alike from bringing the virus from the US into Mexico.

Photos posted by the the public security secretariat in Mexico's Sonora state show checkpoints meant to stop tourists.

Some citizens are not waiting for the government to take action.

Over the weekend, residents of Sonoyta, a Mexican town on the Arizona border, used personal vehicles to block the road leading to Puerto Peñasco, a beach town popular with American tourists, The Guardian reported. They say they plan to continue to block parts of the border in the coming weeks, as more Americans flock to the country’s beaches this summer.

Sonoyta Mayor José Ramos Arzate released a statement on Facebook last Friday asking tourists to stay away from Mexico, citing the “accelerated rate of Covid-19 contagion in the neighboring state of Arizona.”

The US Embassy in Mexico City called on American citizens to stay home over the July Fourth weekend, saying, “The most patriotic thing you can do for you and your family is to stay home, practice social distancing, and not risk spreading the coronavirus by crossing borders unnecessarily.”

It added in the statement on its website that ,”Mexican border and local authorities are conducting enforcement actions to discourage non-essential travel in some areas,” and that anyone entering Mexico may have their temperature checked and “face the possibility of being returned to the United States or asked to quarantine in Mexico.”

The US, Mexico and Canada agreed to limit nonessential travel across both borders in March as “part of a North American approach to stop the spread of the virus,” according to a Department of Homeland Security release.

The border reopening date has since been extended multiple times – and could be again.

Border states hit hard

Arizona and Texas have been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

On Tuesday, Arizona saw its lowest-ever number of available ICU beds. Dr. Murtaza Akhter told CNN’s Don Lemon that so many patients are coming in that he is already being forced to make tough decisions over resources.

And Texas had its highest single day increase in coronavirus cases Tuesday, with 10,028 new cases reported. The total for the state is now more than 210,000 cases and 2,715 deaths.

That Canadians and Mexicans would prefer to restrict Americans from crossing the border is certainly a new dynamic since President Donald Trump’s election.

Trump and the wall

Throughout his campaign and into his presidency, Trump promised to build a “big beautiful wall” on the southern border, claiming it would prevent everything from drug cartels to rapists from entering the US.

“My administration has done more than any administration in the history to secure our southern border. Our border has never been more secure,” Trump said during a visit there in June.

The wall is again expected to be a cornerstone of his campaign, and as the election year ramps up his key promise is taking on renewed urgency. The administration billed the June trip as a celebration of the completion of 200 miles of new wall system.

CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez and Catherine Shoichet contributed to this story