- January 19, 2021
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President Trump issued an Executive Order to lift some COVID-19 Travel Restrictions
Listen to this articleOn Monday night, President Trump announced he’s lifting COVID-19-related travel restrictions he placed on foreign nationals coming from much of Europe and Brazil. But, travel restrictions will continue for most coming from China and Iran. These restrictions would be lifted on 26th January 2021, after President-elect Joe Biden comes into office. On Monday, Biden spokeswoman Jen Psaki tweeted that the new administration doesn’t need to lift the travel conditions on 26th January. She said, “With the pandemic worsening, and more contagious variants emerging around the world, this is not the time to be lifting restrictions on international travel”. Point to be noted that Trump cited coordination with US officials and transparency as the justification for lifting travel restrictions on Europe and Brazil.
The president’s proclamation said, “Unrestricted entry into the United States of persons who have been physically present in the Schengen Area, the United Kingdom (excluding overseas territories outside of Europe), the Republic of Ireland, and the Federative Republic of Brazil is no longer detrimental to the interests of the United States and find that it is in the interest of the United States to terminate the suspension of entry into the United States of persons who have been physically present in those jurisdictions”. It is noteworthy that President Donald Trump restricted travelers coming from China in late January 2020. He also restricted travelers coming from Europe in March 2020. Now, most countries have restricted travelers coming from the US due to high infection rates in the states.
On Monday, the incoming Press Secretary of White House said President-elect Joe Biden doesn’t intend to follow through on President Trump’s order to lift international travel restrictions on a number of countries. She said, “With the pandemic worsening, and more contagious variants emerging around the world, this is not the time to be lifting restrictions on international travel. On the advice of our medical team, the Administration does not intend to lift these restrictions on 1/26. In fact, we plan to strengthen public health measures around international travel in order to further mitigate the spread of COVID-19”. Her statement came after President Trump issued an executive order lifting travel restrictions on the UK, Ireland, Brazil, and a group of 26 European countries. The order will be effective on 26th January 2021.
