A White House official said on Wednesday (August 4) that with the spread of the pandemic, the United States has closed its borders to most parts of the world, and eventually plans to begin allowing fully vaccinated foreigners to enter.
The official said that President Joe Biden’s government recognizes the importance of international travel and hopes to reopen it to tourists from abroad in a “safe and sustainable manner”.
The official added that it is developing “a phased approach, which means that, with a few exceptions, foreign citizens traveling to the United States from all countries will need to be fully vaccinated”, but did not specify Explain the timetable.
The plan marks a tentative but significant evolution in the United States’ approach to contain the epidemic. Washington recently stated on July 26 that it will continue to restrict international immigration and avoid European pressure.
The official said a working group is developing a “consistent and safe” new system for international entry, “so that when we can reopen for travel.”
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the United States has restricted travel from the European Union, the United Kingdom, China and Iran for more than a year, and later added other countries including Brazil and India.
Under pressure from countries that rely on tourism, such as Greece, Spain, and Italy, the European Union opened up to travelers from the United States in June, usually requiring vaccination certificates or negative tests.
The Delta variant has driven a surge in Covid cases in the United States, the vast majority of which are unvaccinated people.
The United States achieved Biden’s goal on Monday to vaccinate 70% of adults with at least one dose of Covid vaccine nearly a month later, as the latest wave of infections pushed the number of hospitalizations to the level of last summer.
