Biden government reimposes travel ban on European countries; Africa added in the list as well

Joe Biden, the new President of the United States of America, has reimposed the travel ban on European countries and also added South Africa to the list, considering the new COVID-19 strains. The Biden government has taken the crucial step of banning travellers from South Africa as well, after cases of a new Coronavirus strain were found in recent weeks. South Africa travel ban is all set to take effect this Saturday.

Along with 26 European countries, the travel ban is extended to Brazil, the United Kingdom and Ireland. The ban was set to expire this Tuesday under a proclamation signed by ex-President Donald Trump.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki in a press briefing said, “With the pandemic worsening and more contagious variants spreading, this isn’t the time to be lifting restrictions on international travel”.

Anthony S. Fauci, US government’s top infectious-diseases expert said that the ban will be helpful. He said, “We have concern about the mutation that’s in South Africa. It is clearly different and more ominous than the one in the UK.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has already warned that the new COVID-19 strain would become a huge problem in the United States in the coming two months. The US has already started giving anti-Coronavirus shots to its citizens.

Moderna said their vaccine is going to protect people from both the UK and South African variants of the virus. But, as per the officials, when tested, the vaccine’s response to the African strain was little diminished. Therefore, the firm said it has started working to develop a new vaccine to cope up with the new threat.
As of now, all international travellers to the United States need to show negative Coronavirus test reports.