Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Travel Restrictions To US Back In Effect, South Africa Added To List
AP: Biden Orders COVID-19 Travel Restrictions, Adds South Africa
President Joe Biden on Monday reinstated COVID-19 travel restrictions on most non-U.S. travelers from Brazil, Ireland, the United Kingdom and 26 other European countries that allow travel across open borders. He also added South Africa to the list. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said South Africa was added to the restricted list because of concerns about a variant of the virus that has spread beyond that nation. “This isn’t the time to be lifting restrictions on international travel,” Psaki said. (Madhani and Miller, 1/25)
The Hill: Biden Keeps COVID-19 Travel Restrictions For Europe And Brazil, Adds South Africa
“On advice of our administration’s medical and COVID team, President Biden has decided to maintain restrictions previously in place for the European Schengen Area, United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and Brazil,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Monday. ... The Schengen area covers 26 countries in Europe. (Chalfant, 1/25)
The New York Times: White House To Extend Travel Bans On Europe, Brazil And Adding South Africa
Mr. Biden’s travel ban is a presidential proclamation, not an executive order; typically, proclamations govern the acts of individuals, while executive orders are directives to federal agencies. It will go into effect Saturday and apply to non-U.S. citizens who have spent time in South Africa in the last 14 days. The new policy, which was earlier reported by Reuters, will not affect U.S. citizens or permanent residents, officials said. (Shear and Stolberg, 1/25)
In related news about travel restrictions —
The New York Times: How Travel Restrictions Work
One of the biggest lessons of the pandemic has been the success of travel restrictions at reducing its spread. And this is a moment when they have the potential to be particularly effective in the U.S., given the emergence of even more dangerous coronavirus variants in other countries. (Leonhardt, 1/26)
Reuters: UK To Unveil Hotel Quarantine Plans, Public Told Not To Book Vacations
Britain will announce on Tuesday whether it will bring in mandatory quarantine in hotels for some or all arrivals, the country’s coronavirus vaccination minister said as he warned the public not to book summer vacations. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he was looking at the option of introducing quarantine hotels for those coming to Britain to prevent the risk of “vaccine-busting” new coronavirus variants entering the country. (Holton and Holden, 1/26)
