President Joe Biden will reinstate the COVID-19 travel ban previously imposed President Trump lifted with less than 48 hours left in his presidency, a White House official confirmed to CBS News. Mr. Biden is expected to reinstate the ban on Monday.
The ban applies to all non-US travelers re-entering the US from Brazil, the United Kingdom, Ireland and 26 countries in Europe. There will also be travel restrictions on non-Americans going to the US from South Africa.
The news of the travel ban was first reported by Reuters.
On January 18, the Trump administration announced that it would lift some of the travel ban restrictions imposed in March. Effective January 26, the Trump administration said it would remove travel restrictions from Brazil, the United Kingdom, Ireland and parts of Europe. Restrictions on Iran and China will apply under the Trump administration ban.
Mr. Trump cites coordination with U.S. officials and transparency as the justification for lifting travel restrictions on Europe and Brazil.
Press Secretary of the Biden White House Jen Psaki immediately tweeted that the incoming administration did not intend to keep up with the change.
“With the worsening pandemic and more contagious variants emerging around the world, this is not the time to lift restrictions on international travel,” Psaki wrote.
The White House official with direct knowledge of the action also said on Sunday that the disease control centers would not consider granting temporary exemptions to airlines to exempt countries with limited COVID testing capability. CDC officials will consider humanitarian exemptions on a case-by-case basis.
A White House official also confirmed to CBS News that CDC director Rochelle Walensky will sign a separate order on Monday requiring masks on all planes, trains, subways, ferries, buses and ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft.
Kathryn Watson contributed to this report.