Joe Biden to block Donald Trump plan to lift Covid-19 travel restrictions on Europe, Brazil
- Trump announces restrictions imposed on people travelling from Europe and Brazil will be lifted from January 26
- Biden spokeswoman said the incoming administration planned to block Trump’s move
Trump said in a White House announcement Monday that the bans could be lifted because of a decision last week by the administration to require international travellers to present either the results of a negative recent coronavirus test or evidence that they had already recovered from the disease. The change would go into effect starting January 26, six days after Biden takes office.
But Jen Psaki, a spokeswoman for Biden, said the incoming administration planned to block Trump’s move.
“On the advice of our medical team, the Administration does not intend to lift these restrictions on 1/26. In fact, we plan to strengthen public health measures around international travel in order to further mitigate the spread of COVID-19,” she tweeted.
Trump said in a White House announcement that the moves could be eased safely.
“This action is the best way to continue protecting Americans from Covid-19 while enabling travel to resume safely,” Trump said in a proclamation rescinding the order. Under his plan, travel bans would remain in place for China and Iran, the White House said, citing their “lack of cooperation” with the US in fighting the virus.
The airline industry and European countries have been lobbying the White House to end the blanket bans – first implemented last March – arguing testing standards and increased vaccination rates should allow the US to roll back the travel prohibition.
But Trump’s effort to roll back travel restrictions comes after the discovery of a new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus was discovered initially in the UK. Sequencing has subsequently shown the new strain of the virus circulating in other countries, including the US.