United States President Joe Biden will reimpose coronavirus travel restrictions on most non-American citizens who have been in Britain, Brazil, Ireland, and most of Europe, said a White House official. Besides, the newly-elected president will also extend the ban to those who have recently traveled to South Africa to combat the spread of a new variant of Covid-19.
“We are adding South Africa to the restricted list because of the concerning variant present that has already spread beyond South Africa,” News agency Reuters quoted Dr. Anne Schuchat, the CDC’s principal deputy director as saying.
Earlier last week, Biden had unveiled his “wartime” national strategy to boost the fight against the raging Covid-19 pandemic, including making the coronavirus test followed by quarantine mandatory for all travelers coming from overseas.
Announcing the measures, a day after he was sworn in as the 46th president, Biden said it would take months to defeat the pandemic but America would “get through this” if people stood together.
“In addition to wearing masks, everyone flying to the United States from another country will need to test before they get on that plane before they depart, and quarantine when they arrive in America,” Biden said at a White House event where he signed the orders.