The White House announced Monday that the United States will allow entry to all travelers from abroad starting “early November” provided they are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
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Travelers will also need to get tested within three days of their trip to the United States, and wear a mask.
In addition, a passenger tracking system will be set up by airlines, which will have to collect information to contact them, said the White House’s anti-epidemic coordinator, Jeff Zents.
Thus, Washington is lifting the restrictions that it had imposed since March 2020 on travelers from the European Union, the United Kingdom or China, and later applied to India or Brazil.
The land border between Canada and the United States will remain closed to non-essential travel for another month, until October 21.
Jeff Zents insisted on the fact that this decision, which comes in the context of great tension between France and the United States, was “dictated by science.”
According to him, the United States took the time to create a global system based on “individuals” and not on differences in treatment depending on the country of origin.
He did not immediately indicate which vaccines the United States would recognize to allow entry to travelers.
Epidemic control coordinator Joe Biden also specified that unvaccinated Americans who return to the United States after staying abroad will be subject to stricter testing obligations.
They will therefore be required to be tested the day before their return, and to be retested again after arriving on US soil.
The White House has toughened its tone in recent weeks and doubled down on ads to force a vaccination where federal authorities can afford it. However, it has not yet made one of the most radical decisions in its power, which is to impose vaccination on domestic flights in the United States.
