U.S. to allow vaccinated travelers from all countries, bows to pressure from Europe

The U.S. will let vaccinated foreign nationals fly into the country in early November without quarantining, the White House said Monday, a major change after European partners grumbled that the Americans did not reciprocate their efforts to ease long-standing pandemic bans.

Travelers still must present a negative test within three days of departure for the U.S., according to White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients.

He said the U.S. will set up a contact tracing system that collects phone numbers and email addresses to keep track of travelers and see if they develop symptoms.

“International travel is critical to connecting families and friends, to fueling small and large businesses, to promoting the open exchange of ideas and culture,” Mr. Zients said.
 
Unvaccinated Americans returning home from abroad must take a test within one day of departure and test again upon arrival.

The White House characterized the new framework as one that focuses on individuals, rather than singling out countries.

“We will have a consistent approach across all countries,” Mr. Zients said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will determine what qualifies as fully vaccinated — for instance, which vaccines would pass muster — before the system takes effect. The new policy focuses on air travel, so Mr. Zients was unable to provide an updated policy on land travel to Mexico and Canada.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said an “interagency” discussion will determine by November whether prominent vaccines produced in Russia and China, for instance, are good enough to ensure protection.

Travel restrictions were imposed during the early days of the pandemic under former President Donald Trump.

The bans started with travelers from China and Iran and eventually expanded to places such as the United Kingdom, the European Union, Brazil, South Africa and India.

Restrictions took a toll on the airline business and families with relatives abroad. Patchwork rules also sparked confusion and accusations that some countries were treated lightly despite having worse transmission amid the fast-evolving pandemic.

Europeans, in particular, were banking on Mr. Biden lifting the restrictions sooner and grew frustrated when they eased their rules ahead of the summer tourism season only to see the U.S. keep a tight lid on who could enter.

The EU started to tighten up its protocols on travelers from the U.S., particularly the unvaccinated, in recent weeks. The move coincided with worsening caseloads in the U.S., though some saw it as just desserts amid ongoing U.S. restrictions.

Mr. Biden’s decision comes on the cusp of the U.N. General Assembly in New York and simmering tensions with European leaders over the messy exit from Afghanistan and the fallout from a U.S.-Australia nuclear submarine deal that enraged France, which lost a deal it had inked to provide diesel subs to Canberra.

Ms. Psaki said officials forged the new plan after the completion of a full review and not out of expediency.

“If we were going to make things much easier for ourselves, we would have done it prior to June, when the president had his first foreign trip or earlier this summer,” she said. “This is when the process concluded.”

Top European officials cheered the news.

“Travel ban lifted!” tweeted Stavros Lambrinidis, the EU’s ambassador to the U.S. “Vaccinated, pre-flight tested Europeans will again be able to travel to the US from November, just as vaccinated Americans are today allowed to travel to the EU.”

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is set to meet with Mr. Biden on Tuesday, said he is “delighted.”

“It’s a fantastic boost for business and trade, and great that family and friends on both sides of the pond can be reunited once again,” he tweeted.

At home, the U.S. Travel Association, a nonprofit that represents all aspects of the travel industry, said the new procedures will “help revive the American economy and protect public health.”

“This is a major turning point in the management of the virus and will accelerate the recovery of the millions of travel-related jobs that have been lost due to international travel restrictions,” said U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow.