COVID response coordinator Jeff Zients announced the administration will lift the travel ban on fully vaccinated travelers in November.
The ban started in March 2020.
From The New York Times:
Foreign travelers who provide proof that they are fully vaccinated before boarding a flight will be able to fly to the United States starting in “early November,” Jeff Zients, the White House pandemic coordinator, said Monday.“International travel is critical to connecting families and friends, to fueling small and large businesses, to promoting the open exchange ideas and culture,” Mr. Zients said. “That’s why, with science and public health as our guide, we have developed a new international air travel system that both enhances the safety of Americans here at home and enhances the safety of international air travel.”The administration has restricted travel for foreigners looking to fly to the United States from a group of European countries, Iran and China for more than a year. Fully vaccinated travelers will also need to show proof of a negative test for the coronavirus within three days before coming to the United States, Mr. Zients said.
Zients said unvaccinated Americans returning to the states have stricter requirements:
They will need to test negative for the coronavirus one day before traveling to the United States and will need to be tested again after arriving, Mr. Zients said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will also soon issue an order directing airlines to collect phone numbers and email addresses of travelers for a new contact-tracing system. Authorities will then follow up with the travelers after arrival to ask whether they are experiencing symptoms of the virus.
British Prime Minister Bors Johnson visits Biden on Tuesday. He will likely celebrate the news.
The United Kingdom and European Union wanted Biden to lift the restriction a lot sooner. Officials became disappointed when Biden did not announce a lift during the G7 conference in June.
The lack of response from Biden continued to frustrate our allies:
British officials note that the United States had not imposed a similar ban on people from Caribbean nations, which had a higher rate of infection than Britain, or from Argentina, which had lower percentage of its population vaccinated. About 82 percent of people in Britain above the age of 16 have had two shots.The European Union and Britain both allowed fully vaccinated people from the United States to travel without quarantining and officials there were annoyed when the United States did not reciprocate.
EU Home Commissioner Ylva Johansson said the administration never gave her an explanation.
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