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The anonymous official said the change is part of a plan to reopen the United States for travel from multiple countries.
A White House official said that President Joe Biden’s administration is taking the first step to require almost all foreign tourists to the United States to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Currently, all travelers to the United States, whether vaccinated or not, must present a certificate of a negative COVID-19 test within three days of air travel to the country.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the policy being developed, told several news organizations on Wednesday that the new vaccination requirements will be part of the government’s method of relaxing travel restrictions for foreign citizens in the country in stages.
The official said that the Biden administration recognizes the importance of international travel and hopes to reopen it to tourists from abroad in a “safe and sustainable way.”
The official added that there are limited exceptions to vaccine requirements.
The official said that the timetable has not yet been determined because the inter-agency working group is studying how and when to resume normal travel safely.
On Wednesday, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters that the policy change is not imminent.
She said: “Given our use of the Delta variant today, we will maintain the current travel restrictions for now.”
These restrictions severely restrict international travel to the United States and prohibit entry to non-US residents who have been to China, the European Schengen Area, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Brazil, South Africa and India in the past 14 days.
The Biden administration is under pressure to remove some restrictions on affected allies, the air travel industry, and families separated from their loved ones due to rules.
Many people also complain that travel restrictions do not reflect the current virus situation, especially because the number of cases in the United States is worse than in many banned countries.
The Delta variant of the coronavirus has Set off a wave The vast majority of COVID-19 cases in the United States are people who have not been vaccinated.
At the same time, as the latest wave of infections pushed the number of hospitalizations to the level of a year ago, the country on Monday achieved Biden’s goal of vaccinating 70% of adults with at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. A month.
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