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President Joe Biden to reimpose COVID-19 travel ban than former President Trump had lifted with less than 48 hours as president, a White House official confirmed to CBS News. Mr Biden is expected to reinstate the ban on Monday.
The ban will apply to all non-US travelers returning to the United States from Brazil, the United Kingdom, Ireland and 26 countries in Europe. There will also be travel restrictions for non-Americans entering the United States from South Africa.
News of the travel ban was first reported by Reuters.
On January 18, the Trump administration announced it would lift some of the travel ban restrictions put in place in March. As of January 26, the Trump administration has said it will remove restrictions on travel from Brazil, the UK, Ireland and parts of Europe. Restrictions on Iran and China would remain in place under the Trump administration’s ban.
Mr. Trump cited coordination with U.S. officials and transparency as the rationale for lifting travel restrictions to Europe and Brazil.
White House Press Secretary Biden Jen Psaki immediately tweeted that the incoming administration did not intend to comply with the change.
“With the pandemic worsening and more contagious variants emerging around the world, now is not the time to lift restrictions on international travel,” Psaki wrote.
The White House official with first-hand knowledge of the action also said on Sunday that the Centers for Disease Control would not consider granting temporary waivers to airlines for exempt countries with limited COVID testing capacity. CDC officials will review humanitarian exemptions on a case-by-case basis.
A White House official also confirmed to CBS News that CDC Director Rochelle Walensky will sign a separate order on Monday requiring masks on all planes, trains, subways, ferries, buses and ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft.
Kathryn Watson contributed to this report.
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