US not to lift international travel restrictions soon due to Delta variant: Official
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Currently, the US has restricted entry of any visitor and most non-US citizens who, in the last 14 days, have travelled to the UK, Ireland, China, India, South Africa, Iran, brazil and 26 Schengen countries without border controls
Contrary to assumptions, rumours and expectations, the US will not be lifting the existing travel restrictions for now, due to the fear of the possible widespread of the Deadly Delta variant of coronavirus.
"Given where we are today with the Delta variant, the United States will maintain existing travel restrictions at this point," a White House official was quoted by news agency 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."
Currently, the US has restricted entry of any visitor and most non-US citizens who, in the last 14 days, have travelled to the UK, Ireland, China, India, South Africa, Iran, brazil and 26 Schengen countries without border controls.
In addition to this, all land borders with Mexico and Canada will also remain closed to non-essential travellers till at least August 21, even though Canada is planning to allow fully vaccinated Americans to enter the country from August 09.
A few days ago White House spokesperson, Jen Psaki, had said that allowing free international travel is "something we would all like to see — not just for tourism, but for families to be reunited".
The announcement has come at a time when several states are reporting an alarming increase in Covid infections, especially of the Delta variant.
Several experts and government officials have also urged locals to get fully vaccinated against the deadly coronavirus as soon as possible. US President Joe Biden has reached out to anti-vaxxers on several occasions and has requested them to drop their hesitancy and get vaccinated to put an end to the pandemic.