The United States is finally reopening its land and air borders on Monday to foreign visitors fully vaccinated against Covid-19, including Indians, ending 20 months of travel restrictions that kept families separated, hobbled tourism and strained diplomatic ties. Fully vaccinated travellers, however, must still provide negative tests to US health authorities.
In an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus, US borders were closed after March 2020 to travellers from large parts of the world, including the European Union, Britain and China, India and Brazil. Overland visitors from Mexico and Canada were also banned.
The travel ban, imposed by former president Donald Trump in early 2020 and upheld by his successor Joe Biden, has been widely criticised and become emblematic of the upheavals caused by the pandemic. The restrictions were particularly unpopular in Europe and US neighbours Canada and Mexico.
The months of restrictions affecting hundreds of millions of people helped fuel both personal and economic suffering brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. “It’s been so hard,” Alison Henry, 63, told AFP. “I just want to see my son.” The British woman plans to fly Monday to see her son in New York, after 20 months of separation.
HASSLE-FREE TRAVEL FOR INDIANS
For Indians, too, travel to the US will be hassle-free with the country giving the green light to Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin on November 4 after the vaccine got a nod from WHO. The AstraZeneca vaccine, known as Covishield in India, is also on the approved list. At the moment, other approved vaccines on the list include Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech, Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines.
Here’s all you need to know about the reopening even as some restrictions remain:
1. Lifting the travel ban will affect more than 30 countries.
2. Entry will not be totally unregulated as US authorities plan to closely monitor travellers’ vaccination status.
3. Travellers must still present negative Covid-19 tests.
4. Fully vaccinated air passengers should be tested within three days before travel.
5. Airlines will be required to put in place a contact tracing system.
6. The land border opening will happen in two phases: Starting Monday, vaccines will be required for “non-essential” trips — such as family visits or tourism. Unvaccinated travellers will still be allowed into the country for “essential” trips, as they have been for the last year and a half.
7. In the second phase, beginning in early January, all visitors must be fully vaccinated to enter the US by land, no matter the reason for their trip.
8. All vaccines approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization will be accepted for entry by air.
No comment on rising cases in Europe
The US, however, has not yet commented on the increase in Covid-19 cases in Europe. The WHO has expressed “grave concern” over rising infections in Europe, warning that the current trajectory could mean “another half a million Covid-19 deaths” by February.
But speaking for the US, surgeon general Vivek Murthy said Sunday on ABC that he was “cautiously optimistic about where we are”, while adding: “We can’t take our foot off the accelerator until we’re at the finish line.”
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