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WASHINGTON: President-elect Joe Biden’s spokesman dismissed President Donald Trump’s announcement on Monday (January 18) that the COVID-19 ban on travelers arriving from much of Europe and Brazil would be lifted. January 26.
“On the advice of our medical team, the administration does not intend to lift these restrictions on (January 26),” Jen Psaki, Biden’s press secretary, tweeted.
“In fact, we plan to strengthen public health measures around international travel in order to further mitigate the spread of COVID-19.”
He added: “With the pandemic worsening and more contagious variants emerging around the world, this is not the time to lift restrictions on international travel.”
Minutes before Psaki’s tweet, Trump said in a statement that he would lift the ban on travel to Europe and Brazil. Travel bans for China and Iran will remain in effect, he said.
“This action is the best way to continue to protect Americans from COVID-19 while allowing travel to resume safely,” Trump said.
Biden will be inaugurated on Wednesday.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced last Tuesday that all air passengers bound for the US must test negative for COVID-19 within three days of their departure.
The testing policy takes effect on January 26 and expands on an earlier test rule that targeted Britain and took effect in December, following the emergence of a variant of coronavirus believed to be more transmissible.
The CDC recommends that travelers get tested again three to five days after arrival and stay home for at least seven days.
Some epidemiologists have warned that new, more communicable variants are likely already being established in the US, the country hardest hit by the pandemic in the world.
As of Monday, the US had recorded more than 24 million COVID-19 cases, with nearly 400,000 deaths.
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