U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration plans to renew travel restrictions on most non-citizens who have recently been in the European Union, Britain, Ireland, and Brazil, according to U.S. media reports.
Along with extending travel restrictions the White House will impose restrictions on people who have been in South Africa, where a new variant of the coronavirus has caused concern among scientists, according to reports in CNN and NBC.
The White House has already said that the administration plans to renew the travel restrictions, which former President Donald Trump ordered to end on Tuesday.
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“With the pandemic worsening, and more contagious variants emerging around the world, this is not the time to be lifting restrictions on international travel,” Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary tweeted earlier this week.
“On the advice of our medical team, the Administration does not intend to lift these restrictions (on Jan. 26).
“In fact, we plan to strengthen public health measures around international travel in order to further mitigate the spread of COVID-19,” Psaki added.