Biden will reinstate covid-19-related travel restrictions

(CNN) -

President Joe Biden will reinstate covid-19 travel restrictions on Monday for non-U.S. Citizens who have been to Brazil, Ireland, the United Kingdom and much of Europe, a White House official confirmed to CNN. .

Biden will also extend the restrictions to travelers who have recently been to South Africa, the official said.

The move, which was first reported by Reuters, comes just a week after President Donald Trump signed a decree in his last days in office that lifted restrictions on travelers from these countries as of January 26. .

"I agree with the secretary that this action is the best way to continue to protect Americans from covid-19 and at the same time allow travel to resume safely," Trump wrote in the decree, referring to the then secretary. Health and Human Services Alex Azar.

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However, Biden's transition team promised that same night that the new government would not lift the restrictions.

"With the pandemic worsening and more contagious variants emerging around the world, this is not the time to lift restrictions on international travel," then-incoming White House press secretary Jen Psaki wrote on Twitter. .

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“On the advice of our medical team, the government does not intend to lift these restrictions on January 26.

In fact, we plan to strengthen public health measures around international travel to further mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

The decision to reinstate travel restrictions, and extend restrictions in the case of South Africa, marks the latest effort by the Biden administration to break away from Trump's discursive focus on the pandemic as cases continue to rise across the world. country.

Biden signaled on his first full day in office Thursday that his strategy would be based on science, not politics, and signed a series of executive actions related to the coronavirus, including increasing vaccination supplies and demanding travelers. international organizations that provide a negative result of a COVID-19 test before traveling to the United States.

Many of the countries that would have been affected by Trump's measure have their own recent requirements for American travelers seeking to enter their borders.

US travelers must have a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours prior to traveling to the UK or Ireland, and along with proof of a completed Traveler's Health Declaration to enter Brazil.

American travelers generally cannot enter countries such as Spain, Germany, France, Italy, and Sweden without meeting specific requirements.