Washington: The US administration as a ramping up pandemic response will re-impose a Covid-19 travel ban on most non-US citizens.
A White House official said President Biden has extended the ban to travelers who have recently been to South Africa. The new administration has tightened mask wearing rules and ordered quarantine for people flying into the United States.
Biden has said that the Covid-19 death toll would likely rise from 420,000 to half a million next month and therefore, drastic action was needed to check its spread.
Trump had announced an initial ban on non-American travelers entering from China to try to stop the spread of the coronavirus. The ban was extended to European countries on March 14 as the pandemic entered full force.
Biden has made fighting the coronavirus a priority and is pushing for Congress to approve a $1.9-trillion relief package that would include billions of dollars to boost vaccination rates.
