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Canada and U.S. still talking about future of non-essential travel ban: Trudeau

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attends a news conference in Ottawa

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada and the United States are still in talks on the future of a ban on non-essential travel between the two nations and will have more to say later this week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday.

The ban, introduced in March to help fight the coronavirus outbreak, has been extended several times and is due to expire on July 21. The measure does not include trade.

Infections have risen rapidly in about 40 of the 50 U.S. states over the last two weeks, according to a Reuters analysis, and the premiers of some major Canadian provinces say the frontier must remain shut.

"Every month we have been able to extend the border closures ... and those discussions are ongoing with the United States right now," Trudeau told a briefing, describing the situation south of the border as complex. "We will have more to say later this week, I'm sure."

Last week Trudeau said Canada had handled the outbreak better than the United States, in a rare public comment on the faltering U.S. effort. The United States has recorded more than 135,000 deaths compared to 8,783 in Canada.

Trudeau also said he had talked to U.S. President Donald Trump earlier on Monday and reiterated his opposition to the possible imposition of tariffs on Canadian aluminum exports.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Tom Brown)