President-elect Joe Biden’s team indicated that he won’t keep President Trump’s directive rescinding many of the travel restrictions originally imposed to combat the spread of COVID-19.
Jen Psaki, who has been tapped to serve as press secretary in the Biden administration, criticized Trump’s decision shortly after the White House released a statement about lifting 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,” she wrote.
With the pandemic worsening, and more contagious variants emerging around the world, this is not the time to be lifting restrictions on international travel.
— Jen Psaki (@jrpsaki) January 19, 2021
In an official proclamation released by the White House on Monday, Trump declared that passengers U.S.-bound from the Schengen area, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, and Brazil would no longer be subjected to travel restrictions effective Jan. 26.
The directive was issued as updated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines will require a negative COVID-19 test or proof of previous diagnosis for passengers to enter the United States. The guidelines are set to go into effect the same day, Jan. 26.
“The Secretary has explained that this [CDC] action will help to prevent air passengers from the Schengen Area, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, and the Federative Republic of Brazil from spreading the virus that causes COVID-19 into the United States,” read the president’s proclamation. “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 criticized China and Iran, once hot spots for the disease’s spread, for their handling of the pandemic.
“The governments and state-owned enterprises of the People’s Republic of China and the Islamic Republic of Iran … repeatedly have failed to cooperate with the United States public health authorities and to share timely, accurate information about the spread of the virus,” he wrote. “Those jurisdictions’ responses to the pandemic, their lack of transparency, and their lack of cooperation with the United States thus far in combatting the pandemic, cast doubt on their cooperation in implementing CDC’s January 12, 2021, order.”
While the CDC guidelines will not stop all disease transmission, the requirement of a negative coronavirus test seemed to instill confidence in some public health officials that travel could begin to resume.
“Testing does not eliminate all risk, but when combined with a period of staying at home and everyday precautions like wearing masks and social distancing, it can make travel safer, healthier, and more responsible by reducing spread on planes, in airports, and at destinations,” said CDC Director Robert Redfield.
The coronavirus is continuing to spread rapidly throughout the U.S. The nation has suffered more than 24 million cases, with nearly 400,000 deaths attributed to the disease, according to the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus tracker.
