In one of his last acts as President, Donald Trump has issued a decree to remove the restrictions on entry into the US from the UK, Ireland, Europe’s Schengen area and Brazil that have been in place since May last year.
The president said that an order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) which comes into force on 26 January, which requires proof of a negative Covid-19 test or documentation of having recovered from Covid-19 for all air passengers arriving into the United States, means the restrictions are no longer necessary.
The ban on arrivals from China and Iran would continue, the President said, as a result of a failure on the part of these governments to cooperate with the United States' public health authorities.
However, the ban looks set to continue after Jen Psaki, a spokeswoman for incoming president Joe Biden, who takes over from Trump at midday tomorrow, announced on Twitter: “With the pandemic worsening, and more contagious variants emerging around the world, this is not the time to be lifting restrictions on international travel.”
She added: “On the advice of our medical team, the Administration does not intend to lift these restrictions…In fact, we plan to strengthen public health measures around international travel in order to further mitigate the spread of Covid-19”.