US President Joe Biden will impose an entry ban into the country from Saturday on most non-US citizens who recently traveled to South Africa in an attempt to contain the spread of a new variant of the coronavirus, US health officials told Reuters.
The new White House tenant will also re-impose on Monday an entry ban on almost all non-American travelers who have visited Brazil, the United Kingdom, Ireland and 26 countries in Europe with borders. remain open, the sources said on condition of anonymity. On January 18, former President Donald Trump ordered the lifting of restrictions on Brazil and Europe effective Tuesday, but Joe Biden’s proclamation will overturn that decision.
The new president, who took office on Wednesday, is taking an aggressive approach to combat the spread of the coronavirus. Some US health officials are concerned that current COVID-19 vaccines may not be effective against the variant of the virus detected in South Africa. This variant, known as 501Y.V2, is 50% more contagious and has been detected in at least 20 countries. Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have said they are open to expanding the list of countries affected by entry bans if necessary. The 501Y.V2 variant has not yet been found in the US but at least 20 US states have detected the variant found in the UK
