CNN – President Donald Trump on Monday lifted coronavirus-related travel restrictions for much of Europe, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Brazil, effective January 26, a move by President-elect Joe Biden’s administration ‘has agreed to block.
In an executive order issued Monday evening, Trump said he had been advised to lift restrictions on travelers entering the United States from the 26 European countries in the Schengen area, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Brazil, but to drop the restrictions. about travel from Iran and China.
“I agree with the secretary that this action is the best way to continue to protect Americans against COVID-19 and allow travel to resume safely,” Trump wrote in the order, referring to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Alex Azar.
Biden plans to take over the presidency on Wednesday and his new press secretary, Jen Psaki, said his administration would not lift the restrictions.
“With the worsening of the pandemic and the more contagious variants appearing around the world, this is not the time to remove restrictions on international travel,” Psaki said on Twitter. “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 to further mitigate the spread of COVID-19.”
Reuters was the first to report the order.
The forecast for easing travel restrictions comes after U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last week that it will require a negative Covid-19 test of all air passengers entering the United States, a measure which can help slow the spread of coronavirus. Air passengers will be required to take a test within three days prior to the departure of the flight to the United States and provide written documentation of their lab results or documentation of recovery from Covid-19, the agency said in a statement. a statement to CNN.
CNN has addressed the White House coronavirus working group to find out if the group approved the planned move.
The combination of the testing program announced last week and the removal of travel restrictions fits the interests of several airlines that have been in negotiations with the CDC and the White House. Earlier this month, a group of major airlines called on the Trump administration to widely expand a program to test passengers bound for the United States and at the same time lift travel restrictions.
Airlines for America (with members including American Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta Air Lines) wrote to Vice President Mike Pence asking the administration to implement “a comprehensive program that requires testing for travelers to the United States.” This program would allow authorities to release restrictions on entry into the United States from the European Union, the United Kingdom and Brazil, the group wrote.
Last month, the CDC announced that passengers arriving in the United States from the United Kingdom should test negative for Covid-19 before departure in response to a new coronavirus variant that is said to have originated in the United Kingdom. and that it is potentially more transmissible. At least 72 cases of a variant first identified in the UK have been found in ten U.S. states, according to data released last week by the CDC.
Many of the countries affected by the Trump order have their own recent requirements for American travelers who want to enter their borders. American travelers must have a negative Covid-19 test from the previous 72 hours to travel to the UK or Ireland, and along with the Traveler Health Declaration test completed to enter Brazil. American travelers cannot enter Schengen area countries, including Spain (except for special requirements or permits), Germany, France, Italy, and Sweden.
The possible reversal of the travel restriction would occur as the Trump administration shifts to another element of the coronavirus response in the final days of the president’s term.
The Department of Health and Human Services was expected to announce radical changes last week in vaccine deployment guidelines in an effort to increase the number of delayed vaccines during the first month, effectively adopting the approach proposed by the incoming administration. of Biden.
Since then, it seems that hope for an increase in shipments of vaccines against Covid-19 is evaporating under a new policy to release second doses in reserve, with the revelation that these doses have already been distributed. , contrary to recent indications from the Trump administration.
A senior administration official told CNN that when the administration announced it would release reserved doses last Friday, many of those reserves had already been released into the system as of last year as production increased.
This story has been updated with other developments.