President Donald Trump said on Monday that he is ending Covid-19 travel restrictions for travelers from Europe and Brazil, a move the new government quickly rejected.
In a proclamation, Trump said the restrictions would be lifted from January 26, the same day that an order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention demanding a negative test for travelers arriving in the U.S. takes effect.
But until then, Joe Biden will be the president, and his new press secretary tweeted that the restrictions would remain in effect.
“With the worsening of the pandemic and more contagious variants emerging around the world, this is not the time to lift restrictions on international travel.” Biden’s press secretary Jen Psaki tweeted on Monday. “… In fact, we plan to strengthen public health measures in relation to international travel to further mitigate the spread of COVID-19.”
The travel restrictions put in place last year prevented most people without US citizenship or residency from traveling to the United States from the affected regions.
Trump’s proclamation said that the restrictions would be lifted for Europe and Brazil because the U.S. is confident it will comply with an order requiring a negative Covid-19 test for air travelers to the U.S.
It leaves restrictions in place for China and Iran.
The CDC earlier this month announced that, as of January 26, all air passengers from other countries would be required to test negative for Covid-19 before coming to the US
If restrictions are lifted as in Trump’s proclamation, travelers from the UK, the Schengen Area in Europe, Ireland and Brazil will still have to test negative for Covid-19.
But the current restrictions that prohibit all non-American citizens who have been in those countries in the past 14 days would be lifted, according to a White House official.
Trump said he was leaving the restrictions in place for China and Iran in part because “his lack of cooperation with the United States so far in fighting the pandemic casts doubt on his cooperation” with the trial order.
The CDC in late December said that all UK travelers would be required to test Covid-19 before leaving for the United States after a variant was discovered in that country that is believed to be more transmissible.
The public health agency said on January 12 that the requirement would be expanded to include air passengers entering the United States beginning January 26.
The variant discovered in the United Kingdom was found in several states in the USA. It is believed to be more transmissible, but not more deadly.
More than 2 million people worldwide died from Covid-19, according to Johns Hopkins University, which is following up on the cases. The 2 million mark was passed on Friday.
In the United States, there were more than 399,800 deaths and more than 24 million cases in the pandemic, according to a count of reports from NBC News.
The Associated Press contributed.