The US will lift Covid-19 travel restrictions to permit fully vaccinated passengers from the united kingdom and most European Union (EU) countries to travel into the country from early November, the White House has announced.
he move signals the top of a travel ban imposed by Donald Trump quite 18 months ago within the early stages of the pandemic, and comes after intense lobbying from Brussels and London.
In addition to the united kingdom and therefore the 26 Schengen countries in Europe, the easing of restrictions also will apply to eire , China, Iran, Brazil, South Africa and India.
It was welcomed by Boris Johnson, British prime minister, who tweeted: “It’s an incredible boost for business and trade, and great that family and friends on each side of the pond are often reunited once more .”
owning Street hailed the choice because the results of a bilateral “travel taskforce” that has been meeting fortnightly since the summer, though was unable to mention what benefit it had brought, as long as the easing of restrictions applies to many other countries also because the UK.
Under current policy, only US citizens, their immediate families, positive identification holders and people with national interest exemptions (NIE) can travel into the US if they need been within the UK or EU within the previous fortnight .
The White House coronavirus response coordinator, Jeff Zients, said on Monday international travellers would require proof of full vaccination before boarding a flight and a negative Covid-19 test within 72 hours of departure. they’re going to not be required to quarantine upon arrival.
There will be some exceptions to the vaccine policy including for youngsters not yet eligible to be vaccinated. The new rules don’t yet apply to travellers crossing land borders with Mexico and Canada.
“This new international travel system follows the science to stay Americans and international aviation safe,” Zients told reporters. “By requiring foreign nationals to be fully vaccinated so as to fly to the us and in implementing additional strict safety protocols, we’ll protect Americans here reception and enhance the security of international travel.
“This is predicated on individuals instead of a country-based approach.”
The new policy will become in “early November”, Zients added, to permit airlines and travel partners time to organize to implement the new protocols.
British Airways chief executive Sean Doyle said the US announcement “marks a historic moment and one which can provide an enormous boost to global Britain because it emerges from this pandemic”.
Shares in US airlines were little changed, while some European carriers gained. British Airways parent IAG SA rose 11.2%, while Air France-KLM and Deutsche Lufthansa AG closed up quite 5%.
The International air transportation Association, or IATA, which has 290 member airlines accounting for 82% of worldwide aviation , described it as “a major step forward”.
“This is superb news for families and loved ones … It’s good for the many livelihoods within the US that depend upon global tourism. And it’ll boost the economic recovery by enabling some key business travel markets,” IATA director general Willie Walsh said.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will issue a contact tracing order that obliges airlines to gather a telephone number , email address and other information from US-bound travellers.
Zients explained: “This will enable the CDC and state and native public health officials to follow up with inbound travelers and people around them if someone has potentially been exposed to Covid-19.”
The changes are going to be a part of a replacement travel system the US, including updated rules on contact tracing and masking which will mean unvaccinated Americans will face stricter testing requirements.
Restrictions were first imposed on travellers from China in January 2020 by Trump then extended to other countries within the following months, with none clear metrics for a way and when to lift them.
In April this year Joe Biden added new restrictions on India, barring most non-American citizens from entering the US. He also reversed plans by Trump to lift restrictions on European countries.
This caused growing frustration in Europe, especially after its vaccination rate recovered from a slow start to overtake that in America. Airlines were unsuccessful in their efforts to influence the White House to lift the restrictions for the summer travel season.
Biden had been likely to face renewed pressure when he comes face to face with Johnson and other European leaders at the United Nations general assembly in ny in the week . About 3.8 million British nationals visited the US per annum before the pandemic, consistent with the ministry .
Dame Karen Pierce, British ambassador to Washington, said: “Today’s travel announcement is great news for families and businesses on each side of the Atlantic. We are grateful the US has recognized the progress the united kingdom has made against Covid-19, including high vaccination rates and declining cases.”
She added: “This decision means more Brits can reunite with loved ones within the us , more British holidaymakers can spend their hard-earned pounds within the American tourism sector, and more commercial activity can boost both of our economies.”
A state department official denied that the change in policy was an effort to mollify Europe following the rupture between the US and France over the Aukus Australian submarine deal, which Washington negotiated without Paris’s knowledge, prompting France to recall its ambassador to the US.
Erica Barks-Ruggles, a senior official within the Bureau of world organization Affairs, said: “This is basically driven by the science of Covid and as more people are being vaccinated round the world, we in fact want people to be ready to travel more freely.”
Speaking during an appointment call with reporters before the United Nations general assembly, Barkes-Ruggles said: “We’re really always being driven by the science, and that we still do this .”
The EU and UK had moved to permit vaccinated Americans travellers into their territories without quarantines, in an attempt to spice up business and tourism travel. But the EU recommended last month that some travel restrictions be reimposed on US travellers due to the spread of the Delta variant.
The US announcement also came within the context of Biden pushing other countries to hitch the US in donating vaccines to the worldwide Covax initiative. The president is about to host a summit on the sidelines of the UN general assembly.
