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September 22, 2021

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US to ease air travel restrictions

Source: Agencies | 00:05 UTC+8 September 22, 2021 | Print Edition

THE United States will reopen in November to air travelers from 33 countries including China, India, Brazil and most of Europe who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the White House said on Monday, easing tough pandemic-related restrictions that started early last year.

The decision, announced by White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients, marked an abrupt shift for President Joe Biden’s administration, which said last week it was not the right time to lift any restrictions amid rising cases.

The United States had lagged many other countries in lifting such restrictions, and allies welcomed the move. The US restrictions have barred travelers from most of the world including tens of thousands of foreign nationals with relatives or business links in the United States.

The United States will admit fully vaccinated air travelers from the 26 Schengen countries in Europe including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Greece, as well as Britain, Ireland, China, India, South Africa, Iran and Brazil. The unprecedented US restrictions have barred non-US citizens who were in those countries within the past 14 days.

Zients said passengers will need to show they were fully vaccinated before boarding planes bound for the United States, as well as providing proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within three days. Fully vaccinated passengers will not be required to quarantine.

Restrictions on non-US citizens were first imposed on air travelers from China in January 2020 by then-President Donald Trump and then extended to dozens of other countries.

Zients did not give a precise start date for the new rules beyond saying “early November,” and many details of the new policy are still being decided.

There will be no immediate change to US land border policies, which restrict much cross-border travel with Mexico and Canada.

The United States has allowed foreign air travelers from more than 150 countries throughout the pandemic, a policy that critics said made little sense because some countries with high COVID-19 rates were not on the restricted list, while some on the list had the pandemic more under control.

Monday’s action means COVID-19 vaccine requirements will now apply to nearly all foreign nationals flying to the US.

Americans traveling from abroad who are not vaccinated will face tougher rules than vaccinated citizens, including needing to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test within a day of travel.

The US will accept full vaccination of travelers with any of the vaccines approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization, the CDC said.

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