President Trump announced late Monday that he will be lifting coronavirus related travel restrictions placed on travelers coming from the UK, Ireland, Brazil and most of Europe. The change would go into effect on January 26 after President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated.
The president's announcement stated, "unrestricted entry into the United States of persons who have been physically present in the Schengen Area, the United Kingdom (excluding overseas territories outside of Europe), the Republic of Ireland, and the Federative Republic of Brazil is no longer detrimental to the interests of the United States and find that it is in the interest of the United States to terminate the suspension of entry into the United States of persons who have been physically present in those jurisdictions."
Trump said in a statement that lifting the restrictions for these countries is "the best way to continue protecting Americans from COVID-19 while enabling travel to resume safely."
Travel from Europe was originally restricted by the President in March of 2020.
Shortly after the announcement, Biden spokeswoman Jen Psaki tweeted Monday that the Biden administration will reverse the decision to lift the restrictions and will instead "plan to strengthen public health measures around international travel in order to further mitigate the spread of COVID-19."
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
"With the pandemic worsening, and more contagious variants emerging around the world, this is not the time to be lifting restrictions on international travel."
This is a sharp reversal from the statements of candidate Biden in March.
A wall will not stop the coronavirus.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) March 13, 2020
Banning all travel from Europe — or any other part of the world — will not stop it.
This disease could impact every nation and any person on the planet — and we need a plan to combat it.
"A wall will not stop the coronavirus. Banning all travel from Europe — or any other part of the world — will not stop it. This disease could impact every nation and any person on the planet — and we need a plan to combat it."
We are in the midst of a crisis with the coronavirus. We need to lead the way with science — not Donald Trump’s record of hysteria, xenophobia, and fear-mongering. He is the worst possible person to lead our country through a global health emergency.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) February 1, 2020
President Trump was harshly criticized by Democrats, including Biden, for restricting travelers coming from China at the beginning of the outbreak in January 2020.
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