Less than an hour after U.S. President Donald Trump issued an order to end the country’s CoVid-19 travel restriction, the incoming Biden administration said that it would immediately reverse the decision.
President-elect Joe Biden’s spokesperson, Jen Psaki, said that the incoming administration will make sure that the restrictions imposed on international travelers from the UK, Brazil, and Europe will stay in place.
“With the pandemic worsening, and more contagious variants emerging around the world, this is not the time to be lifting restrictions on international travel,” Psaki said.
Trump initially imposed the travel restrictions in March as part of the country’s effort to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, which was already wreaking havoc throughout the nation. During his announcement on Monday, Trump said that the country would still restrict travelers coming from China.
Under the order, non-U.S. citizens are prohibited from entering the country if they had traveled to Brazil, Europe, and other countries on a specific list of high-risk regions. Most of Europe still restricts travelers coming in from the U.S.
Last week, the U.S. announced that it would start to allow some travelers – particularly U.S. citizens – if they had tested negative for the virus before their flights. That order is set to go into effect on Jan. 26.
U.S. airlines have repeatedly requested for officials to lift or ease the bans to help the travel industry recover faster. Since the ban was imposed, airlines and tourism companies have incurred billions of dollars in losses.