World
Biden to reinstate travel curbs to stop spread of South Africa coronavirus variant
Washington D.C: US President Joe Biden plans to reinstate curbs on entry into the U.S. on Monday in a bid to stop the spread of the South African variant of the novel coronavirus, White House officials have confirmed to US media.
The ban would restrict or ban most non-American citizens from entry into the U.S. if they have recently travelled to South Africa.
A new, more infectious and possibly more deadly variant of the coronavirus has been discovered in the African nation, one that is being studied for the possibility that it may evade vaccine produced antibodies.
The new restrictions will also effect travel to the U.S. from Brazil, UK, Ireland and much of the Schengen countries, all effected by new variants of the deadly virus. Cases of the UK variant have already been reported across the U.S. although the numbers remain relatively low. Biden is also expected to reinstate restrictions that had been in place during the previous administration, however, they were rescinded days before former President Donald Trump departed the White House.
Those restrictions are expected to be lifted on Tuesday.
With over 418,000 dead and more than 25 million infected by the novel coronavirus, America is one of the worst-hit countries in the world.On Sunday, Center for Disease Control (CDC) issued a notice stating that beginning Tuesday, the monitoring body will not consider any exception to the rule that visitors to the country present a negative coronavirus test on entry. Previously, airlines had asked the CDC to relax the rules for countries with limited testing capabilities.
"As variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus continue to emerge in countries around the world, there is growing evidence of increased transmissibility of some of these variants, as well as unknown health and vaccine implications," a CDC spokesman said in a statement. "Testing before and after travel is a critical layer to slow the introduction and spread of COVID-19 and emerging variants."