US Keeps Covid-19 Travel Restrictions Due to Delta Variant

Photo source: @John F. Kennedy International Airport

The United States will keep all existing Covid-19 travel restrictions in place due to concerns over the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced during a press briefing on Tuesday.

“Given where we are today… with the Delta variant, we will maintain existing travel restrictions at this point,” Psaki said.

She also confirmed that, driven by the Delta variant, cases are also rising in the US, particularly among those who have not been vaccinated against the coronavirus.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki

According to a Reuters report, the United States currently bars most non-U.S. citizens who within the last 14 days have been in the United Kingdom, the 26 Schengen countries in Europe without internal border controls, or in Ireland, China, India, South Africa, Iran and Brazil.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is also advising US citizens to avoid trips to the UK or make sure that they are fully vaccinated before travel.

The CDC is also warning against travel to Spain, Portugal, Cyprus and Kyrgyzstan and has raised its travel advisory to “Level Four: Very High” for those countries due to the rising number of coronavirus cases.