Biden’s Team Says COVID-19 Travel Ban Won’t Be Lifted

• Biden is expected to be sworn in at a scaled-down inauguration ceremony on January 20

US President-elect Joe Biden’s spokesperson quickly dismissed Donald Trump’s announcement on Monday that a Covid-19 ban on travelers arriving from much of Europe and Brazil would be lifted, underlining the fractious transition of power.

“On the advice of our medical team, the Administration does not intend to lift these restrictions on 1/26,” Biden’s Press Secretary, Jen Psaki tweeted.

“In fact, we plan to strengthen public health measures around international travel in order to further mitigate the spread of COVID-19.”

“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 added.

Read also: Trump Officials Bypassed CDC Scientists To Publish ‘Dangerous’ COVID-19 Testing Guidelines, Says Report

AFP reports that prior to Psaki’s tweet, President Trump said he would lift the travel ban on Europe and Brazil, although travel bans for China and Iran would remain in place.

“This action is the best way to continue protecting Americans from COVID-19 while enabling travel to resume safely,” he said in a statement released by the White House.

Trump had announced an initial ban on January 31, 2020 on non-American travelers entering from China to stop the spread of the coronavirus. The ban was extended to European countries on March 14, the US shutting itself off from the world as the pandemic entered full force.

Both Biden and Trump’s statements come days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that all air passengers bound for the US will be required to test negative for Covid-19 within three days of their departure.