Donald Trump Plans To Rollback Travel Restrictions Ahead Of Inauguration Day But Joe Biden Said He’s Not Having It

Donald Trump is trying to lift some of the current travel restrictions.

On Monday, Trump announced that he would be walking back some of the travel restrictions he made at the beginning of the global Covid-19 pandemic. NBC News reports that he plans to open up travel from Europe and Brazil, which will go into effect on Jan. 26, the same day that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention will require negative air traveler tests for those coming into the States. 

However, President-elect Joe Biden plans to block Trump’s move and keep the restrictions in place, according to a tweet from Biden’s press secretary. 

“With the pandemic worsening, and more contagious variants emerging around the world, this is not the time to be lifting restrictions on international travel,” said Biden’s press secretary, Jen Psaki. “… In fact, we plan to strengthen public health measures around international travel in order to further mitigate the spread of COVID-19.”

Last year, the government placed a temporary hold on non-U.S. citizens and residents from affected regions traveling into the U.S. Trump claims he is pushing to reopen entry for Europe and Brazil because the country will make sure visitors are Covid-free. China and Iran would still be restricted partially because of what Trump says is “their lack of cooperation with the United States thus far in combatting the pandemic, cast doubt on their cooperation,” NBC News reports. 

The U.S. currently has 400,000 deaths related to the coronavirus. According to John Hopkins University, more than 2 million people around the world have died from the virus. A new Covid-19 variant, which was discovered in the U.K., has now been confirmed in 10 states. 

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.

— Jen Psaki (@jrpsaki) January 19, 2021