New York's bleak travel advisory for Ontario urges Americans to 'protect' themselves

As trade tensions and travel frictions continue between Canada and the U.S., New York health officials are closely monitoring Ontario's ongoing measles outbreak, and its travel warning remains in effect.

In April, the New York State Department of Health (NYSDH) flagged Ontario as a measles hotspot, delivering a blunt message: "Measles is only a car ride away!" The advisory urged Americans travelling north to protect themselves by checking their vaccination status, highlighting the risk of contracting the highly contagious virus during peak travel periods.

There's been a dramatic and prolonged surge in measles cases in Ontario over the past 10 months. According to Public Health Ontario, the outbreak began in October 2024, after a travel-related case in New Brunswick spread to Ontario. While New Brunswick declared its outbreak over in January 2025, Ontario and several other provinces have continued to report related cases, with the first confirmed cases in Ontario appearing in late October 2024.

As of August 12, 2025, Ontario has reported 2,362 measles cases (2,050 confirmed, 312 probable) linked to this outbreak, across 26 public health units. However, there were just more two cases from August 5, suggesting weekly counts may be slowing.

So far, 164 people (6.9%) have been hospitalized, including 12 admitted to the ICU. Most hospitalized patients were unvaccinated, particularly infants and children, with typical hospital stays lasting around three days. Tragically, one death has been reported in a premature infant with congenital measles and other medical conditions.

The NYSDH advisory reads: "Measles is only a car ride away! Measles is a highly contagious virus. Around 90% of people who are exposed to a person with measles will become infected if they are not vaccinated. Because measles is so contagious, it easily crosses borders.

"The best way to protect against measles is to make sure you are up-to-date on immunization with the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine."

This advisory is one of many cross-border travel warnings issued over the past few months. The most recent Canadian travel advisory for the U.S., updated July 31, 2025, maintains an overall risk level of "take normal security precautions" while highlighting ongoing concerns, including crime, electronic device searches by U.S. border agents, registration requirements for Canadians staying more than 30 days, visa rules, expedited removal, and more.

In addition, the U.S. passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on July 4, introducing new costs for certain non-immigrant visas. Some Canadians, including permanent residents and those entering for specific work or family reasons, must now pay a US$250 (about CA$345) visa integrity fee in addition to existing charges. The fee is expected to take effect on October 1, 2025, but most Canadian citizens travelling for short visits won't have to pay it. For those who do, refunds may be available if they meet strict departure requirements.

With Ontario still reporting new cases and New York keeping its warning in place, both sides of the border are urging travellers to stay cautious and up to date on their vaccines.

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