The White House said on Monday that in early November, the United States would allow entry to passengers vaccinated against Covid-19 arriving by air from Brazil, China, India, the United Kingdom and most European countries. Relaxation of some travel restrictions in place at the beginning of last year.
The White House’s coronavirus response coordinator, Jeff Zents, said the White House plans to allow entry to foreign travelers from countries that have been on the US’s no-go list since early 2020 as it adopts new requirements in the midst of the pandemic.
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The US restrictions were first imposed on travelers from China in January 2020 by then-President Donald Trump and later expanded to other countries in the following months, with no clear metrics on how and when to lift them.
US President Joe Biden added new travel restrictions in April of this year over India, preventing most foreigners from entering the United States. Biden also backed away from Trump’s plans to lift restrictions on European countries in January.
Currently, the US is denying entry to most foreigners who have transited in the past 14 days through the UK, European countries in the Schengen Area, Ireland, China, India, South Africa, Iran and Brazil.
Officials said there will be some exceptions to the vaccination policy, including for children who are not yet eligible for vaccination. The new rules do not yet apply to travelers crossing the land borders with Canada and Mexico.
Airlines have been campaigning intensely with the White House for months to lift restrictions, but they have been unsuccessful in getting them canceled in time for the northern hemisphere’s summer travel season. The White House said in July that it had concerns about the highly contagious delta type of the novel coronavirus and a growing number of COVID-19 cases in the country.
The seven-day daily moving average of reported COVID-19 cases in the United States has more than doubled since then.
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