An unnamed White House official is reporting the United States will not lift any existing travel restrictions in the foreseeable future due to concerns regarding the highly transmissible COVID-19 Delta variant.
According to Reuters.com, senior White House officials in the administration of President Joe Biden conducted a meeting late Friday and decided the rising number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. would mean long-running travel restrictions would remain in place.
The U.S. travel restrictions currently in place were first imposed on China in January 2020 and expanded to other countries as the COVID-19 outbreak spread worldwide. The decision to keep American borders closed dooms hopes of salvaging summer travel by Europeans and others covered by the protocols.
“Given where we are today with the Delta variant, the United States will maintain existing travel restrictions at this point,” the source told Reuters. “Driven by the Delta variant, cases are rising here at home, particularly among those who are unvaccinated and appear likely continue to increase in the weeks ahead.”
Despite airlines and tourism officials heavily lobbying the White House for months to lift the restrictions, the Department of Homeland Security said land borders with Canada and Mexico would remain closed to non-essential travel until at least August 21.
The decision to keep the borders closed came days after Canada revealed it would begin allowing in fully vaccinated American tourists starting August 9.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said last week the seven-day average of new cases in the U.S. was up 53 percent over the previous week, with the Delta variant comprising of more than 80 percent of new cases nationwide.
U.S. Travel Association Executive Vice President of Public Affairs and Policy Tori Emerson Barnes issued the following statement on the Biden administration’s decision to uphold travel restrictions:
“Covid variants are of concern, but closed borders have not prevented the Delta variant from entering the U.S. while vaccinations are proving incredibly durable to the virus’ evolution. This is why America’s travel industry is a vocal proponent of everyone getting a vaccine—it’s the surest and fastest path to normalcy for everyone.
“While other nations, like Canada, the U.K. and much of the E.U., have all taken steps to welcome inbound travelers this summer and rebuild jobs and local economies, the United States remains closed to one of the most important segments of the travel economy—the international inbound traveler.
“Given the high rates of vaccination on both sides of the Atlantic, it is possible to begin safely welcoming back vaccinated visitors from these crucial inbound markets.
“We respectfully urge the Biden administration to revisit its decision in the very near term and begin reopening international travel to vaccinated individuals, starting with air corridors between the U.S. and nations with similar vaccination rates.”