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November 9, 2021

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US reopens borders after 20 months

THE United States was to reopen its land and air borders yesterday to foreign visitors fully vaccinated against COVID-19, ending 20 months of restrictions on travel from around the globe.

The ban, imposed by former president Donald Trump in early 2020 and upheld by his successor Joe Biden, has become emblematic of the upheavals caused by the pandemic.

The restrictions were particularly unpopular in Europe and US neighbors Canada and Mexico.

In an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus, US borders were closed after March 2020 to travelers from large parts of the world, including the European Union, Britain, China, India, Brazil. Overland visitors from Mexico and Canada were also banned.

The months of restrictions affecting hundreds of millions of people helped fuel both personal and economic suffering brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s been so hard,” Alison Henry, 63, said. “I just want to see my son.”

The British woman plans to fly to see her son in New York, after 20 months of separation.

To cope with surging demand, airlines have increased the number of transatlantic flights and plan to use larger planes, as they work their way out of the pandemic crisis.

Authorities in Mexican border cities warned on Sunday there would be long lines at crossings. The reopening also caused a shortage of dollars in currency exchange centers in Ciudad Juarez.

The Ciudad Juarez government has implemented a special system to direct traffic, including installing portable toilets on the three bridges crossing into the United States “as waiting times of up to four hours are estimated,” said the local director of road safety, Cesar Alberto Tapia.

Lifting the travel ban will affect more than 30 countries, but entry into the United States will not be totally unregulated: US authorities plan to closely monitor travelers’ vaccination status and will still require them to present negative COVID-19 tests.

It will require air passengers to be fully vaccinated and be tested within three days before travel. Airlines will be required to put in place a contact tracing system.

The land border opening will happen in two phases.

Vaccines will be required for “non-essential” trips, such as family visits or tourism, although unvaccinated travelers will still be allowed into the country for “essential” trips, as they have been for the last year and a half. A second phase, beginning in January, will require all visitors to be fully vaccinated to enter the United States by land.

US health authorities have said all vaccines approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization would be accepted for entry by air.

Washington has not yet commented on Europe’s COVID-19 case increase. The WHO has expressed “grave concern” over the rising pace of infections in Europe, warning the current trajectory could mean “another half a million COVID-19 deaths” by February.


 

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