White House considers removing ban on European travel to the US

The U.S. may soon end its entry ban on travelers coming from certain countries. According to five sources, the White House is considering ending its ban on non-U.S. citizens entering the country from Brazil, Ireland, the U.K. and 26 other European countries.

As first reported by Reuters, White House coronavirus task force members have backed the plan, as have public health and other federal agencies. However, President Donald Trump has not yet made a final decision on the matter.

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Notably, the plans don’t include removing the ban for travelers who have recently been in China or Iran.

The White House, Department of Homeland Security and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not comment on the report.

Since as early as January, the White House banned non-U.S. citizens from entering its borders if they had been in a number of high-risk countries in the past 14 days. Notably, the whole of Europe — including the U.K. and Ireland — were part of the ban as of March.

The ban, which includes 26 Schengen Area countries, U.K., Ireland, China, Iran and Brazil, only applies to non-citizens coming directly from those countries. As such, a U.K. passport holder could still enter the U.S. provided they spend 14 days outside of Europe, China, Iran or Brazil.

Additionally, there have been some exemptions to the ban, including those who travel for “national interest” related to “humanitarian travel, public health response and national security.” Reuters says that the U.S. has also approved exemptions for some European business travelers, investors, academics, students and journalists.

Airlines that rely heavily on transatlantic operations, such as Virgin Atlantic and a number of U.S. carriers, have felt the effects of the ban. As Europeans haven’t been able to directly enter the U.S., demand on transatlantic routes has dropped significantly.

Industry group Airlines for America, which represents American, Delta and United, among others, said on Tuesday that it had “been advocating for the federal government to set a national standard on testing in order to lift travel restrictions.”

The news of a potential lifting of the ban comes the same week as the U.K. announced the loosening of its restrictions on incoming travelers. On Tuesday, England’s Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced that the country will implement a Test to Release strategy as of December 15.

England never completely shut its borders during the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, it required that arrivals from high-risk countries quarantine for 14 days, which deterred tourists from coming on short-term stays.

Once the Test to Release program comes into effect, travelers entering England from any country not on its travel corridor list — including those coming from the U.S. — can test out of a 14-day quarantine. The passengers must opt to pay for a government-approved COVID-19 test, which they will take after five days of quarantine. If the test comes back negative, they will be able to forgo the rest of their quarantine.

However, aside from the U.K., nearly every European country bans Americans from entering. That is unlikely to change at this time, given the EU’s guidance to not permit travelers from countries with high rates of infection.

Brazil is open to American tourists at this time.

President Trump first banned non-citizens from entering from China on Jan. 31, before adding Iran to that list in February. Then, in March, Europe was added to the banned list, followed shortly thereafter by the U.K. and Ireland. Finally, Brazil was added in May.

Featured photo by Marc Fluri/Getty Images.

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White House considers removing ban on European travel to the US

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