US to reopen to vaccinated international travellers in November
Vaccinated visitors from China, India, Britain and other European nations will be allowed in
WASHINGTON: The US will reopen to air passengers from China, India, Britain and many other European countries who have received Covid-19 vaccines in early November, the White House said yesterday, rolling back tough travel restrictions that started early last year.
The White House plans to allow non-US citizen travellers from countries which have been barred from the US since early last year as it moves to the new requirements, White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients said.
The restrictions were first imposed on travellers from China in January last year by then-President Donald Trump and then extended to other countries in the following months, without any clear metrics for how and when to lift them, Reuters reported.
Vaccinated travellers to the US will also have to test negative for the virus within three days of departure, The Washington Post reported.
Unvaccinated Americans returning to the US have to test negative within one day of leaving and again after arriving.
Mr Zients did not specify which vaccines will be accepted and said the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would make that determination.
The CDC also plans to require airlines to collect contact information for all travellers flying to the US, he said.
In April this year, President Joe Biden added new travel restrictions on India, barring most non-US citizens from entering the country.
Mr Biden also reversed plans by Mr Trump in January to lift restrictions on European countries.
It currently bars most non-US citizens who within the last 14 days have been in Britain, the 26 Schengen countries in Europe without border controls, Ireland, China, India, South Africa, Iran and Brazil.
CONSISTENCY
Mr Zients said the new policy would create consistency across all nations.
"This is relying on individuals, rather than a country-based approach, so it is a stronger system," he added.
There will be some exceptions to the vaccine policy, officials said, including for children not yet eligible to be vaccinated.
The new rules do not yet apply to travellers crossing land borders with Mexico and Canada.
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