President Joe Biden will reinstate the COVID-19 travel ban that President Trump had raised with his presidency less than 48 hours away, a White House official confirmed to CBS News. Biden is expected to reinstate the ban on Monday.
The ban applies to all non-American travelers returning to the United States from Brazil, the United Kingdom, Ireland and 26 countries in Europe. There will also be travel restrictions for non-Americans entering the US from South Africa.
News of the travel ban was first reported by Reuters.
On January 18, the Trump administration announced that it would lift some of the travel ban restrictions that went into effect in March. As of January 26, the Trump administration has said it will remove travel restrictions from Brazil, the UK, Ireland and parts of Europe. The restrictions on Iran and China would remain in effect under the Trump administration’s ban.
Mr. Trump cited coordination with the American authorities and transparency as a justification for lifting travel restrictions in Europe and Brazil.
White House press officer Biden Jen Psaki immediately tweeted that the new administration did not intend to accept the change.
“With the worsening pandemic and more contagious variants emerging around the world, this is not the time to lift restrictions on international travel,” wrote Psaki.
The White House official with direct knowledge of the action also said on Sunday that the Centers for Disease Control will not consider granting temporary exemptions to airlines to exempt countries with limited COVID testing capabilities. CDC officials will consider humanitarian exemptions on a case-by-case basis.
A White House official also confirmed to CBS News that CDC director Rochelle Walensky will sign a separate order on Monday that will require masks on all planes, trains, subways, ferries, buses and ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft.
Kathryn Watson contributed to this report.