President Joe Biden will re-impose a travel ban on most non-American citizens entering the country from the UK, Brazil and South Africa, White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced on Monday afternoon.
Psaki said the move was needed “as we see faster-spreading variants emerging across the world.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported the variant emerged with an unusually large number of mutations. This variant spreads more easily and quickly than other variants. The strain, known as B.1.1.7, was traced to the UK and is widely circulating in South Africa.
CDC has reexamined its policies on international travel and after reviewing the public health situations within the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Federative Republic of Brazil, and the Republic of South Africa, they concluded further measures were needed to protect the public health from travelers entering the United States from those jurisdictions.
Beginning on Jan. 26, travelers to the United States are required to provide proof of a negative test within three days of travel to airlines prior to departure. This will include American citizens arriving from abroad.
“With the pandemic worsening and more contagious variant contagious variants spreading, this isn’t the time to be lifting the restrictions on international travel,” said Psaki.
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-CNJ staff