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Exemption put in place to help flood-affected B.C. residents ends on Monday night

The government says Canadians should still avoid non-essential travel
27987864_web1_Sumas-Prairie-flood
The Sumas Prairie is flooding and on an emergency evacuation alert as search crews attempt to rescue those who remain. (City of Abbotsford)

Border and travel exemptions put in place after storms flooded parts of British Columbia will end next week.

The measures allowed B.C. residents affected by flooding to cross into the United States for essential supplies and immediately return to Canada without providing a negative PCR test for the virus that causes COVID-19.

The federal government says the exemptions, which were put in place in November, will end on Monday at 9 p.m.

Storms in November washed out key highways and caused millions of dollars in damage to the Sumas Prairie area of Abbotsford, which is home to much of the province’s agriculture industry.

The government says Canadians should still avoid non-essential travel outside of the country.

The exemptions led to some initial confusion with travellers being wrongly ticketed for violating quarantine restrictions.

– The Canadian Press