CNN – President Donald Trump on Monday lifted travel restrictions related to the coronavirus for much of Europe, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Brazil, effective January 26 – a move the government of President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to block .
In an executive order issued Monday evening, Trump said he had been advised to lift restrictions on incoming travelers to the United States from the 26 European countries in the Schengen zone, the UK, Ireland and Brazil, but lift the restrictions. travel from Iran and China.
“I agree with the Secretary that this move is the best way to continue to protect Americans from COVID-19 while allowing them to resume travel safely,” Trump wrote in the order, referring to the Secretary of Health and Human Resources. Services Alex Azar.
Biden will take over the presidency on Wednesday and his new press secretary, Jen Psaki, said his government would not lift the restrictions.
“As the pandemic worsens and more contagious variants emerge around the world, now is not the time to lift restrictions on international travel,” Psaki said on Twitter. “On the advice of our medical team, the government does not intend to lift these restrictions by January 26. In fact, we plan to strengthen public health measures around international travel to further reduce the spread of COVID-19.”
Reuters was the first to report the order.
The expected relaxation of travel restrictions comes after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last week that it requires a negative Covid-19 test of all air passengers entering the United States – a move he believes could help slow the spread of the coronavirus . Airline passengers must undergo a test and provide written documentation of their lab results or documentation of their recovery from Covid-19 within three days before their flight to the United States, the agency said in a statement to CNN.
CNN has contacted the White House Task Force Coronavirus to find out if the panel has approved the expected move.
The combination of the testing program announced last week and the lifting of travel restrictions is in line with the interests of several airlines negotiating with the CDC and the White House. Earlier this month, a group of major airlines asked the Trump administration to expand a US passenger testing program on a large scale while lifting travel restrictions.
Airlines for America – with members including American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines – wrote Vice President Mike Pence asking the government to “implement a global program that requires testing for travelers to the United States.” Such a program would allow authorities to lift restrictions on US entry from the European Union, UK and Brazil, the group wrote.
Last month, the CDC announced that passengers arriving to the United States from the UK should test negative for Covid-19 before departure in response to a new coronavirus variant that is said to have originated in the UK and may be more transmissible. According to data published by the CDC last week, at least 72 cases of a variant first identified in the UK have been found in 10 US states.
Many of the countries affected by Trump’s order have their own recent requirements for US travelers seeking to enter their borders. US travelers must have a negative Covid-19 test within the previous 72 hours to travel to the UK or Ireland, and along with proof of a completed health certificate for travelers to enter Brazil. American travelers cannot enter countries in the Schengen zone, including Spain (subject to special permission or requirements), Germany, France, Italy and Sweden.
The possible reversal of travel restrictions would come if the Trump administration shifts to another element of the coronavirus response during the president’s final days.
The Department of Health and Human Services was expected to announce sweeping changes to vaccine rollout guidelines last week in an effort to boost the lagging number of vaccinations in the first month – effectively by adopting the approach suggested by Biden’s incoming administration.
Since then, hopes of an increase in shipments of Covid-19 vaccines under a new policy of releasing second doses in reserve seem to be evaporating – with the revelation that those doses have already been distributed, contrary to recent government directions -Trump.
A senior government official told CNN that when the government announced it would release reserved doses last Friday, many of those reserves had already been released into the system from last year when production got underway.
This story has been updated with further developments.