Former U.S. ambassador to Canada Bruce Heyman is in no mood to entertain ideas of the two countries reopening their land border to non-essential travel anytime soon.

In an interview on BNN Bloomberg, Heyman said the worrying rise of virus case counts south of the border and the laissez-fair attitude of the Trump administration should give Canada pause when it comes to reopening traffic along the longest unprotected border on the planet.

“We have thousands of people who are dead, 200,000 in the U.S. and still losing quite a bit on a daily basis,” Heyman said. “So, we still have a very significant problem on our hands and politics is playing such a significant role in this; where people are getting together and not wearing masks. [They] think: ‘Hey, I’m really showing my stuff,’ which is sheer idiocy as far as I’m concerned”

“They’re not only putting themselves at risk, but their community at risk, and our border at risk,” he added. “Why would you open your border given what you see on the U.S. side of the border?”

Canada and the United States first introduced border restrictions on discretionary travel in March in a bid to stem the spread of COVID-19, and have since extended the closures several times. The current ban on recreational travel extends to at least Sept. 21.