Biden to Block Trump’s Plans to Lift COVID-19 Restrictions for Travellers From Europe
The spokeswoman for President-elect Joe Biden responded to the announcement shortly after the White House released a declaration by outgoing US President Donald Trump declaring that the entry ban on arrivals from the 26 Schengen Region Member States, Ireland and the United Kingdom will be lifted.
Biden’s spokeswoman Jen Psaki has tweeted immediately after the decision was made known, pointing out that the new Administration of the White House will surely reverse the decision, upon the inauguration of the new President of the US, which is set to take place on January 20.
“With the pandemic worsening, and more contagious variants emerging around the world, this is not the time to be lifting restrictions on international travel,” spokeswoman Psaki tweeted.
“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,” she further announced, thus extinguishing the hopes of all those who for a short period of time hoped they could travel to the EU from Europe.
On Monday, the outgoing President Donald Trump announced he had decided to lift the entry ban on travellers from the Schengen Area, Ireland, as well as the United Kingdom, imposed back in spring last year.
A proclamation of the President, published by the White House, explains that after the head of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention signed an order requiring nearly all air travellers to present a negative COVID-19 test or proof of recovery from COVID-19 to enter the United States starting on January 26, Trump contacted the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
The latter advised Trump to abolish the restrictions on travellers from the Schengen Area, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Brazil while leaving in place the restrictions applicable to the People’s Republic of China and Iran.
After president-elect Joe Biden takes office, he has the legal authority to reimpose the restrictions.
Donald Trump signed a proclamation banning travellers from the 26 Schengen Area Member States from entering the territory of the United States, on March 11, 2020, after the World Health Organization officially called the COVID-19 a pandemic.
Immediately after, amid the increasing number of COVID-19 cases, he signed another proclamation, restricting entry to the US for travellers from the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The move had been criticized by many, including the now president-elect Joe Biden who claimed that “a wall would not stop the Coronavirus.”