WASHINGTON (REUTERS) – The White Home on Friday (Oct 15) introduced it would carry journey restrictions for totally vaccinated overseas nationals efficient from Nov 8, at land borders and for air journey.
Curbs on non-essential travellers at land borders have been in place since March 2020 to handle the Covid-19 pandemic.
Restrictions on non-US residents have been first imposed on air travellers from China in January 2020 by then President Donald Trump after which prolonged to dozens of different international locations, with none clear metrics for a way and when to carry them.
America had lagged many different international locations in lifting such restrictions, and allies welcomed the transfer.
The US restrictions have barred travellers from a lot of the world, together with tens of hundreds of overseas nationals with kinfolk or enterprise hyperlinks in america.
The White Home on Tuesday introduced that it might carry restrictions at its land borders and ferry crossings with Canada and Mexico for totally vaccinated overseas nationals in early November.
They’re related however not similar to necessities introduced final month for worldwide air travellers.
Unvaccinated guests will nonetheless be barred from coming into the US from Canada or Mexico at land borders.
Canada on Aug 9 started permitting totally vaccinated US guests for non-essential journey.
The US Centres for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC) instructed Reuters final week the US will settle for the use by worldwide guests of Covid-19 vaccines authorised by US regulators or the World Well being Organisation.
There are nonetheless some remaining inquiries to be resolved, together with how and what exemptions the Biden administration will grant to the vaccine necessities.
The White Home introduced on Sept 20 that america would carry restrictions on air travellers from 33 international locations in early November.
It didn’t disclose the exact date on the time.
From Nov 8, the US will admit totally vaccinated overseas air travellers from the 26 so-called Schengen international locations in Europe, together with France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Greece, in addition to Britain, Eire, China, India, South Africa, Iran and Brazil.
The unprecedented US restrictions have barred non-US residents who have been in these international locations throughout the previous 14 days.
The US has allowed overseas air travellers from greater than 150 international locations all through the pandemic, a coverage that critics mentioned made little sense as a result of some international locations with excessive Covid-19 charges weren’t on the restricted checklist, whereas some on the checklist had the pandemic extra below management.
The White Home mentioned final month it might apply vaccine necessities to overseas nationals travelling from all different international locations.
Non-US air travellers might want to present proof of vaccination earlier than boarding a flight, and might want to present proof of a current damaging Covid-19 take a look at.
International guests crossing a land border won’t want to point out proof of a current damaging Covid-19 take a look at. The CDC plans to quickly situation new guidelines on contact tracing for worldwide air travellers.