One of the executive orders of President Joe Biden pertains to non-US citizens who traveled to some selected countries. These are Brazil, Ireland, the United Kingdom, South Africa and much of Europe. President Donald Trump withdrew the restrictions on travelers from these countries. It was supposed to be effective January 26. This was as per the executive order he issued in his final days in office. However, President Joe Biden has nullified it through his executive order. It means Travel restrictions would remain on non-US citizens who visited those countries.

COVID-19 is a highly contagious disease and has taken hundreds of thousands lives all over the world. Hence, everyone has to be cautious and take precautions to ensure they are not infected. The infection can spread through physical contact and face masks are a must as well as personal hygiene. Moreover, medics advise people to avoid crowded places. The result is empty cinema halls and stadiums, cancellation of outdoor events, aircraft parked on tarmacs, cruise ships anchored in ports and reduction of traffic on the roads. Everyone is on high alert because any carelessness could result in serious after effects including death.

The Biden transition team was not on the same frequency with that of Trump and reinstated the ban.

Its purpose was to check the spread of the infection which was straining the resources to the limit.

Travel restrictions would remain

The Biden administration decided against lifting the restrictions because the pandemic was worsening. There were reports of more contagious variants emerging from different countries and the situation was not conducive to lifting restrictions on international travel.

The then-incoming White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced this on Twitter. Her remarks were – “On the advice of our medical team, the Administration does not intend to lift these restrictions on 1/26." She added that the broad plan was to strengthen public health measures around international travel. That would help to further mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

In May 2020, the US decided to extend border control and travel restrictions due to coronavirus.

The decision on travel restrictions was scientific

Reinstating the travel restrictions was an effort by the Biden administration to move away from the discursive approach of Trump to the pandemic. His administration ignored the continuous increase in the number of cases. President Biden explained that his strategy would be "based on science, not politics." He signed several executive actions related to Coronavirus. These included boosting vaccination supplies. As to international travelers, they would have to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test before traveling to America. Incidentally, many countries have their own norms for travelers from America who plan to enter their borders.

Every country wants to play safe given the nature of the pandemic. Prince Harry had to shelve his plan to visit Britain because of a ban on non-essential travel.

New variant of the virus affects travel

The discovery of a new mutant variant has affected the travel plans of many. President Biden wants to ensure that this new strain does not enter the US. Hence, there would be a travel ban. It would affect non-US citizens who recently visited some countries where the new virus struck. The president is serious about tackling the spread of the virus. It seems the South African variant is more infectious and has appeared in several countries. This variant has not arrived in the US but the UK variant has surfaced in some states.

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