Home United States USA — Political Trump lifts Covid-19-related travel restrictions for much of Europe, the UK, Ireland...

Trump lifts Covid-19-related travel restrictions for much of Europe, the UK, Ireland and Brazil

224
0
SHARE

President Donald Trump on Monday lifted coronavirus-related travel restrictions for much of Europe, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Brazil, effective on January 26 — nearly a week after he leaves office.
In an executive order issued Monday evening, Trump said he had been advised to lift restrictions for European countries in the Schengen Zone, which consists of 26 countries, the UK, Ireland and Brazil but leave in place restrictions on travel from Iran and China. « I agree with the Secretary that this action is the best way to continue protecting Americans from COVID-19 while enabling travel to resume safely, » Trump wrote in the order, referring to Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar. President-elect Joe Biden is set to take over the presidency on Wednesday and his incoming press secretary, Jen Psaki, said that his administration would not lift the restrictions. « 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 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 in order to further mitigate the spread of COVID-19. » Reuters was first to report the order. The expected easing of travel restrictions comes after the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last week it will require a negative Covid-19 test from all air passengers entering the United States — a move it says may help slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Continue reading...