The outgoing US president has lifted entry restrictions for Europe and Brazil. But his successor Joe Biden immediately rejected it.
Shortly before the handover, Donald Trump ordered an end to the entry ban for foreigners from large parts of Europe to the USA – but the future government of his successor Joe Biden does not want to implement the order. A decree circulated by the White House said restrictions on travellers from the Schengen area, Great Britain and Ireland, and Brazil would be lifted on January 26th.

From this date on, Trump pointed out that proof of a negative corona test would be a must on all international flights to the USA before departure. The entry bans for foreigners from China and Iran remain in place, according to him. “This measure is the best way to continue to protect Americans from Covid-19 while enabling a safe resumption of travel,” Trump said in one of the statements.

Trump’s term of office ends this Wednesday with the swearing-in of his successor Joe Biden, six days before the new travel order comes into effect. According to Biden’s spokeswoman, the future president does not want to lift the entry bans for Europeans “on the advice of our medical team”. Jen Psaki announced this on Twitter. Instead, security measures should be strengthened when travelling internationally.
Biden has made fighting the pandemic one of its most important immediate goals. Since the first case became known about a year ago, according to statistics from Johns Hopkins University, more than 24 million coronavirus infections have been detected in the United States. Around 400,000 people died.