Covid-19: the United States still restricts access to its soil

No one believed it, and for good reason: six days after Donald Trump's announcement to reopen American borders, Joe Biden will close them.

On January 18, the outgoing president launched the astounding idea of ​​allowing Schengen nationals, the British, Irish and Brazilians to travel to the United States by lifting the restrictions he had imposed in March 2020, as the new variants spread and the United States is still experiencing an epidemic outbreak.

All doctors are "against", replied the spokesperson for the future president, adding that new restrictions would quickly be imposed.

On Sunday, the bar of 25 million cases of coronavirus observed was exceeded.

And, according to the Johns-Hopkins University real-time count, 419,208 people have died from Covid-19.

That is a fifth of the fatal world toll.

In fact, with Trump's ordinance due to go into effect tomorrow Tuesday, it will be announced this Monday that most non-Americans who have visited the UK, Ireland and much of Europe, as well. than in Brazil and South Africa, can no longer enter the United States.

One in five deaths from Covid-19 comes from the United States

"We are adding South Africa to the shortlist due to the disturbing variant present which has already spread beyond South Africa," said Dr Anne Schuchat, Senior Deputy Director of Control Centers and Disease Prevention (CDC), in an interview on Sunday.

“With the pandemic worsening and these more contagious variants appearing, now is not the time to lift restrictions on international travel,” she said.

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The English evolution of the virus, B.1.1.7, is 70% more infectious and has been detected in at least 60 countries;

the South African variant, 501Y.V2, is 50% more infectious and has been detected in at least 20 territories.

501Y.V2 has not yet been found in the United States but B.1.1.7 is present in at least twenty American states, including very populous ones.

The United States is not alone in tightening restrictions on travelers over the new variants: France, Sweden, the Netherlands and Israel have followed suit, worried that current vaccines may not be effective against the variant. South African, while they seem to lose very little in effectiveness against the British variant.

Other countries have taken the same decision, including France

As of Tuesday, all travelers - except children under the age of 2 - arriving from abroad by plane, from a destination other than those now prohibited, will have to present a negative test of less than 72 hours to enter the American territory.

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Many U.S. airlines last week requested waivers for people arriving from countries with limited screening facilities, but the CDC denied the request.

Humanitarian exemptions could be considered on a case-by-case basis for certain travelers.

To date, 120 countries require testing for international travel.

The CDC order says travelers must self-quarantine for seven days upon their return to the United States and get re-tested mid this week.

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This Monday, the director of the CDC, Rochelle Walensky, will also sign the ordinance which requires the wearing of masks on all planes, ferries, trains, subways, buses, taxis and carpooling vehicles for all, from age 2 years.

The measure, unprecedented across the whole of the United States, despite the insistence of health authorities, must come into force in the next few days.