travel ban countries for us

Watch CBS News

U.S. lifts travel ban for specific countries. Here's an overview of the changes.

Updated on: November 8, 2021 / 7:10 PM EST / AP

More than a year and a half after COVID-19 concerns prompted the U.S. to close its borders to international travelers from countries including Brazil, China, India, South Africa, the United Kingdom and much of Europe, restrictions are shifting to focus on vaccine status.

Beginning Monday,  bans on travel from specific countries are over . The U.S. will allow in international travelers, but they must be vaccinated — with a few exceptions.

The U.S. is also reopening the land borders with Canada and Mexico for vaccinated people. Most trips from Canada and Mexico to the U.S. are by land rather than air.

Here are some questions and answers about the changes:

Why are these changes happening?

The goal is to restore more normal travel while limiting the spread of COVID-19, the government says. The travel industry and European allies have pushed for an end to country-specific bans. Americans have been allowed to fly to Europe for months, and Europeans have been pushing the U.S. to change its policies.

In 2019, before the pandemic, about one-fifth of the roughly 79 million visitors to the U.S. came from Europe.

What are the main requirements?

All adult foreign nationals traveling to the U.S. must be fully vaccinated before boarding their flight. Like before, travelers will still have to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of departure to the U.S.

Does everyone need to be vaccinated?

Yes, with some exceptions. Children under 18 don't need to be vaccinated but they do need to take a COVID-19 test. Kids 2 and younger are exempt from testing requirements.

What about adults who aren't vaccinated?

Since half the world remains unvaccinated, and vaccine distribution has been so skewed to rich countries, the Biden administration is leaving a loophole for people who live in countries where vaccines are scarce. That list includes about 50 countries where fewer than 10% of people have been vaccinated. Travelers from those countries will need permission from the U.S. government to come, and it can't be just for tourism or business travel.

The U.S. government says it will permit unvaccinated international visitors to enter the country if there is a humanitarian or emergency reason, such as an emergency medical evacuation. Those exceptions will be applied "extremely narrowly" and will require approval from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There could also be a medical exception, with documentation from a doctor.

What will Americans have to do?

Americans who are unvaccinated have to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test within one day of international travel. If you're vaccinated, you need to take a test within three days of your departure, for both Americans and citizens of other countries. This does not apply to flights within the U.S.

Who is going to enforce the vaccine rules?

The airlines. They will have to verify vaccine records and match them against ID, and if they don't, they could face fines of up to nearly $35,000 per violation. Airlines will also collect information about passengers for contact-tracing efforts. There will be CDC workers spot-checking travelers for compliance in the U.S.

Which vaccines will you let it in?

Most but not all of them . Any COVID-19 vaccine approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization, which include the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines used in the U.S. as well as most used overseas, such as AstraZeneca and China's Sinovac. Not currently allowed is Russia's Sputnik V vaccine, which is authorized in 70 countries. The WHO is  reviewing Sputnik  but hasn't approved it.

What if you drive in from Mexico or Canada?

The land borders have only been open for "essential" travel. Now, anyone can come, if they're vaccinated against COVID. Be prepared to show proof of the shot to Customs and Border Protection agents. Children are exempt from the requirement.

How will this affect travel?

While the administration is characterizing this as a reopening, some people who were technically allowed to fly to the U.S. earlier in the pandemic are now blocked because of their vaccination status. Other roadblocks to normal travel resuming are big delays in issuing U.S. visas, which people in most countries need to visit the U.S. for business and tourism, and restrictions in other countries that make travel difficult.

Even though people coming from China will now be allowed into the U.S., for example, not many are expected to travel because of restrictions at home. Before the pandemic, Chinese tourists were a lucrative market for the U.S. travel industry.

Industry experts do expect a big influx in people flying from Europe, and hope that a broader recovery in travel follows as more people globally get vaccinated, U.S. visa processing speeds up, other countries lift their own restrictions and people feel less scared about getting COVID because of travel.

• United Kingdom

More from CBS News

"Hardest Geezer" completes epic 10,000-mile run across Africa

Inflation runs hot for a third straight month, led by by gas and rent

Why you should open a high-yield savings account with inflation increasing again

Inflation is sticking around. Here's what that means for your money.

• Skip to main content
• Keyboard shortcuts for audio player

The U.S. restricts travel from 8 countries as omicron variant spreads

Travelers exit the International Arrivals area at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia, on Monday. The Biden administration is banning travel for non-U.S. citizens from several African countries over concerns about the omicron variant. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Travelers exit the International Arrivals area at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia, on Monday. The Biden administration is banning travel for non-U.S. citizens from several African countries over concerns about the omicron variant.

The U.S. is enacting travel bans in an effort to limit the spread of the new omicron variant of the coronavirus, which the World Health Organization warns poses a "very high" global risk .

Coronavirus Updates

As omicron spreads, studies suggest that travel bans alone don't do much good.

Starting Monday, President Biden has imposed travel restrictions for non-U.S. citizens from the following eight countries:

• South Africa

The Coronavirus Crisis

Biden says omicron variant is cause for concern but not panic.

The European Union , Canada, United Kingdom, and Israel have announced travel restrictions from southern African countries as well.

Some health officials and public health experts caution that travel restrictions alone may not be effective in controlling the spread of infectious disease , and could even have harmful effects, like exacerbating xenophobia and deterring countries from being transparent about the state of the virus in the future.

The variant was first reported last week in South Africa, where vaccination rates are about 24% .

Cases of the omicron variant have since been confirmed in Botswana, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Israel, the Netherlands, Australia and Hong Kong.

Biden is encouraging children and adults to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

"This pandemic will not end until we have global vaccinations," he said last week in a statement .

In an address on Monday, he said the variant is "a cause for concern — not a cause for panic."

Tien Le is an intern on NPR's News Desk.

This story originally appeared on the Morning Edition live blog .

• president biden
• coronavirus
• World Health Organization

Situation in Haiti April 5, 2024

U.s. citizens in haiti, update january 10, 2024, information for u.s. citizens in the middle east.

• Travel Advisories |
• Contact Us |
• MyTravelGov |

Find U.S. Embassies & Consulates

Travel.state.gov, congressional liaison, special issuance agency, u.s. passports, international travel, intercountry adoption, international parental child abduction, records and authentications, popular links, travel advisories, mytravelgov, stay connected, legal resources, legal information, info for u.s. law enforcement, replace or certify documents.

Share this page:

Worldwide Caution

Caution October 19, 2023

Due to increased tensions in various locations around the world, the potential for terrorist attacks, demonstrations or violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests, the Department of State advises U.S. citizens overseas to exercise increased caution.  U.S. citizens should:

• Stay alert in locations frequented by tourists.
• Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program ( STEP ) to receive information and alerts and make it easier to locate you in an emergency overseas.
• Follow the Department of State on Facebook and Twitter .

Learn about your destination

External link.

You are about to leave travel.state.gov for an external website that is not maintained by the U.S. Department of State.

Links to external websites are provided as a convenience and should not be construed as an endorsement by the U.S. Department of State of the views or products contained therein. If you wish to remain on travel.state.gov, click the "cancel" message.

You are about to visit:

'No point in getting irate, the queue will still be there': International tourists arrive to long lines

A rush of international travelers headed into the United States Monday as the COVID-19 travel ban ended and people from dozens of countries begin flooding in, more than 600 days since they were barred from entry.

That's more than 86 weeks. Nearly 20 months. Enough time for grandchildren to be born , or for couples to lose track of the number of nights they fell asleep to  FaceTime calls  with their partner. Long enough to lose hope in a U.S. vacation or honeymoon after having to delay plans over and over. 

Lines began forming at the Canada and Mexico borders well before daybreak, and eager travelers boarded flights from Europe, including dueling departures from London's Heathrow airport. The U.S.-Mexico border is typically the world's busiest border crossing, with about 350 million people crossing annually.

► US drops travel ban Nov. 8: Expect bottlenecks at airports under strict entry rules

►Vacation travel: Hawaii opening for fully vaccinated international travelers, but some virus restrictions linger

Learn more: Best travel insurance

The new U.S. entry requirements require foreign air passengers to test negative for the coronavirus before boarding a plane to the country and, if they are 18 or older , show proof of full vaccination. Travelers entering the U.S. on land or by ferry for nonessential reasons must show proof of vaccination. Although federal officials had warned of the potential for long lines at entry points, there seemed to be few delays as visitors arrived by land and air.

It's a long-awaited moment for travelers from more than 30 countries. The U.S. initiated its first COVID-19-related travel ban on China in February 2020 . By the end of March, it had added travel bans on the United Kingdom , Ireland, Iran  and 26 countries in the European Schengen Area . Brazil, India and South Africa were later added to the list.

Want more?  Sign up for USA TODAY's Travel newsletter  to receive updates directly to your inbox and follow us on Twitter .

Federal officials warned of delays: 'No staff around to help'

The smooth sailing for international travelers at JFK Airport ended Monday afternoon as arrivals ramped up after a relatively quiet morning. Passengers arriving from England on Virgin Atlantic reported lines of up to two hours to clear Customs and Border Protection processing due to the arrival of multiple flights from the United Kingdom. CBP officials had warned lines would grow from recent levels given the return of international passengers. 

Paul Richards, the 58-year-old head of safeguarding for Stoke City F.C., arrived on a Virgin Atlantic flight from London at 3:35 p.m. ET for vacation and to celebrate his son's 21st birthday. He ultimately waited about two hours before being cleared into the country.

"No point in getting irate, the queue will still be there,'' he said as he waited.

Marc Evans, a 42-year-old police officer, flew from Manchester, England, with his wife and two children to visit family for the first time in 20 months, ultimately waiting more than an hour.

"It was apparently a PR stunt to show the USA was back open but seems they weren't concerned about the queues at customs," Evans said via Twitter message, noting that they have a friend waiting to pick them up at the airport.

Evans said he was frustrated as his family has been told to wait as other families with children have been able to jump the queue. There are "no staff around to help," he said.

But the problem extends beyond a pesky wait, according to Evans. "Other people were getting connecting flights and told to stay in line," he said.

— Morgan Hines, Dawn Gilbertson, USA TODAY

'What happens here, only happens here': McCarran welcomes tourists

When the first U.K. passengers arrived in Las Vegas on Monday afternoon, McCarran International Airport made sure to give them a "fabulous Las Vegas welcome," complete with waving showgirls as the plane taxied to its gate and free T-shirts and hats promoting the city's new slogan, "What happens here, only happens here."

Karl Watson, 37, of London plans to spend his week in Nevada visiting national parks and watching a Bryan Adams performance. But his first stop? A bar.

"First of all, I'm going to get really drunk," he said. 

Watson said getting through customs and security was a long process, with the lines taking more than an hour to get through, but the Las Vegas airport was still "buzzing" with excitement when the plane landed. 

"Everyone on the plane was cheering when the plane landed," Watson said. "Usually when people clap I'm like, shut up, you don't do that when a bus parks. But this time, it was exciting. It was really cool."

"It's just such a fun place. Vegas never stops," added Ann Kirk, 64 of Birmingham, England who landed in Las Vegas with her husband Mark.

The two plan to spend five weeks in the U.S., but that's nothing compared to two- or three-month vacations they used to take before the travel ban. The couple usually spends most of their time at a home they own in Lake Havasu City in Arizona, and already have their next visit planned for February. 

"It's the warmth. The heat. The sunshine," Mark Kirk, 62, said.  

"We've really missed it," Ann Kirk added.

— Bailey Schulz, USA TODAY

Changes affect most air travelers

Arriving at Hartsfield-Jackson's Atlanta International Airport from Korea, Seongbin Woo, 26, said his travel experience for his first U.S. visit was "not that smooth," largely because he had to rush to get test results back before departing Seoul. Although Korean nationals were not banned from travel to the U.S., anyone arriving as of Monday must follow new protocols, including showing proof of vaccination.

"I heard that everyone here is not wearing masks, so it's good for me because I am tired of masks," he said. He added he is still concerned about getting sick.

Ivana Pedroso, 30, tearily reunited with her parents as they arrived from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Pedroso lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, where she's a graduate student at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. She had been able to visit Brazil several times, but this is the first time her parents will see the house she bought.

"It's great. Exciting. I have been waiting for this moment for two years because she doesn't know my house," Pedroso said. "They don't know where I live. So I've been waiting for this moment for two years."

Pedroso said her parents will stay for her graduation in December, on a trip they've been rescheduling for two frustrating years. Her parents said the flights and border control checks went smoothly, and they were confident they would be safe.

"She was a little bit nervous, but since they followed the protocols and all the companies, Delta Airlines and the airport followed the protocols with COVID, everything was OK," Pedroso said of her mom. "Sanitizers and masks all the time. They're good."

Waiting for "my guy," Deb Halleck, 61, wore a Manchester United jersey waiting for Stephen Donnelly to arrive in Atlanta from England via Amsterdam. Wearing a similar jersey, Donnelly strode through the terminal and swept her into a hug that seemed to make time stop. The two had been friends for years but this summer realized they wanted more.

"We've just been friends and recently, more than that, so just excited," Halleck said moments before he arrived. "I can't wait."

Since July, they've talked on the phone every day and FaceTimed. Every week they make dinner together, long distance, and share a meal. Donnelly also buys her flowers and takes a picture and sends them to her weekly. Donnelly, 62, said the mood was apprehensive on the plane due to the new rules, but was happy to finally be in the U.S. with Halleck.

What are their plans now? "She's in charge. I just go with the flow," Donnelly said.

By late afternoon the arrivals terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport began filling with loved ones awaiting passengers on a string of flights from cities like Amsterdam, Frankfurt and London, along with other places not previously banned.

All eyes were either staring down the corridor at the sliding doors coming from customs or glued to their phones. Locals eagerly checked to see how much longer it would take for their family, friends and significant others to make it through customs.

One woman remained dedicated to holding up a sign that said  #HappyMama while another family, whose kids had been holding up "Welcome Home" signs set them down, sitting in the floor to wait. They had waited this long. What's a little longer?

— Eve Chen, USA TODAY

Romance reignited and 'already have Disneyland booked'

At LAX, the happy emotions ran the gamut — hugs and kisses, laughter and tears — when Damia Suuck, 20, of Claremont, California, saw her German boyfriend, Eric Reuschel, 19, for the first time in almost a year as he came off the plane from Frankfurt.

"We were waiting, waiting. We booked so many tickets," said Suuck, who was waiting at LAX with her mother, Fadia Suuck. 

Damia Suuck, who has German and American citizenship, was able to visit her boyfriend in Germany last Christmas, but Monday was the first day he could visit the U.S. They began dating about two years ago when she was living briefly in Germany. 

"We haven't seen each other in almost 12 months, so to meet again, I can't explain it. It's crazy," said Reuschel. 

Their plans for Reuschel's one-month visit?

"We already have Disneyland booked. That was No. 1," Damia Suuck said.

— Bill Keveney, USA TODAY

Scattered delays create a 'stressful' experience

Julien Yomtov of Paris said he faced several frustrating delays leaving France – first at security and then again when the plane's departure was delayed an hour. He said he's excited to get back to Las Vegas, traveling via Los Angeles, to play in the World Series of Poker, which he normally does annually with his brother.

"The experience was stressful because the employees are (not) ready to welcome so many travelers," he told USA TODAY via Whatsapp. "Hope in LAX it will be easier."

Although Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world, the international terminal's arrival hall on Monday, which was almost tranquil and relatively empty through early afternoon. Many fellow passengers made connections to other cities, and those who made Atlanta their final destination described their trips as smooth and even "better than before."

— Bailey Schulz, Eve Chen, USA TODAY

Trip delayed four times

In Los Angeles, Jan Hutten tiptoed up to his sister-in-law Jeannette Gross for a surprise hug, kicking off a family reunion three years in the waiting. His wife Henny followed with a hug of her own, grasping her sister as the Huttens arrived from Amsterdam for a three-week visit. The two had tried to visit four times previously, but had to keep rescheduling due to the ongoing travel ban.

Gross and her son, Gary Loth live in Valencia, north of Los Angeles, and will be taking the Huttens for sushi and Mexican food in sunny Los Angeles — a welcome change from the rainy weather they left behind.

"Fantastic! Finally," Henny Hutten said in Dutch, her native language, when asked how it felt to get together with her sister after having to settle for Skype calls in the three years since they last saw each other.

"I'm very happy to see her," Gross said, adding they usually get together once a year. The separation "was very painful, not being able to hug her. We Skyped, but it's not the same."

Henny Hutten offered a one-word response when asked about the sibling separation: "Terrible!"

The Huttens were supposed to visit in April 2020 to celebrate Gross's retirement. That was the first COVID-related postponement. After more reservations and cancellations, Gross quickly texted her sister when the Nov. 8 opening was announced.

"I said, ‘Change your flight. We're opening up.' She did. She got right on the ball," Gross said.

Families begin to reunite: 'Everything is so exciting'

Simone Thies of Cologne, Germany, is flying in to see her fiancé, who she has seen just twice since the ban began-- once during a trip to Aruba in June, and again when he visited her in Germany in August. Before those trips, they had been separated a year. Thies stayed overnight in a Düsseldorf hotel near the airport before catching her Delta flight, headed ultimately to Lincoln, Nebraska.

"I want to avoid stress because everything is so exciting," she said.

Getting through the line at the Düsseldorf airport was quick — "5 minutes at most," she said — but she had one more stop in Paris before crossing the Atlantic.

There, she had to show her passport, proof of vaccination and results of her negative coronavirus test. Even as the first person in line, the wait took about 20 minutes because one employee was still learning which documents to check, she said.

"The line is very long, but (I'm) done for now," she said before departing.

Alan Marques said the border closure for tourists nearly ended his relationship with his boyfriend, who is a flight attendant. They've been together four years, but hadn't seen each other in four months, until Marques, 33, flew in from Sao Paulo to Atlanta on Monday. He said the separation has been "very difficult and distressing," because his boyfriend's visits to Brazil have only been for a few hours, instead of the days they are used to.

How does it feel to be properly reunited? "So good," he said.

Mexico border busy ... then quiet

After a busy few hours after midnight ET at the El Paso-Ciudad Juárez border crossing in Texas, the normally bustling border crossing fell quiet. Traffic was minimal at crossings between El Paso and Ciudad Juárez and passenger vehicles zipped up the El Paso's Bridge of the Americas freely, no line to stop them.

"I've sold hardly anything," said newspaper salesman José Fierro, whose rack was still filled with El Diario newspapers and PM tabloids at 8 a.m. He had been there on the curb since 3 a.m., he said. There was 6 a.m. traffic, then nothing. "Everyone crossed yesterday, panicked about how the lines were going to be today."

Constantino Castellanos, 68, and his wife, Lizbeth, 62, bought quesadillas at the foot of the Bridge of the Americas, a street vendor handing over a Styrofoam tray wrapped in plastic.

They could take their time. The bridge – usually a wall of slow-moving cars and trucks – was an empty ribbon of asphalt. The border had been closed to tourists or people visiting family, although a wide variety of essential workers had been permitted to cross during the closure. During  that time, Mexican nationals holding tourist cards were banned from traveling over the land border; air travel between points in the interior of both countries never ceased.

"It's been two years," said Lizbeth Castellanos. "We're going to Marshalls and Walmart."

The crossing reopened at just after midnight Eastern time. At 6 a.m. Eastern, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported no significant crossing delays at either the Mexico or Canada borders.

Susana Hernández of Juárez was crossing for the first time since the pandemic restrictions to buy clothes in El Paso for her business. She smiled and flashed her vaccine card.

"We're happy," she said. "We're home, we feel like we're back home."

Cross-border traffic of essential travelers between El Paso and Juárez reached nearly 800,000 crossings of passenger vehicles in August, according to the Border Region Modeling Project at the University of Texas at El Paso. 

"Nobody anticipated that this pandemic would last as long as it has, in terms of travel restrictions," said Hector Mancha, U.S. Customs and Border Protection director of field operations in El Paso. "People have not crossed over and visited with family in going on two years... Unfortunately, the pandemic has kept us from (reopening). I think it's overdue." 

— Lauren Villagran, Martha Pskowski ,  El Paso Times  

'Welcome back world'

Times Square was relatively quiet Monday morning as the city that never sleeps prepared to welcome vaccinated international tourists back to the U.S. 

Around 8:45 a.m., the Times Square Alliance unfurled a "Welcome Back World" sign on the Red Steps in Times Square. 

The Steps, considered an iconic New York landmark for tourists, had about 190,000 people walk by them each day before the pandemic, according to the Times Square Alliance, the not-for-profit group that maintains it. At the pandemic's worst, that number dropped to 30,000, and New York businesses hope the flood of tourists will boost their finances.

TJ Witham, the vice president of communications for the Times Square Alliance, told USA TODAY the alliance chose the red steps as it is an "iconic meeting place" for people visiting the Big Apple. 

Chris Dickson, a 41-year-old bus scheduler from Newcastle, England, flew to New York City on Monday for 48 hours, using credit from a British Airways trip he'd had to cancel seven months ago.

Dickson planned to drop his bag at his Brooklyn hotel and start exploring the city he last visited more than two years ago.

"I just wanted to come to America at the first opportunity,'' he said. "I'm going to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, I'm going to go through Central Park, I'm going to do some running, some jogging in that area. I'm just going to enjoy the weather and enjoy being back in America.''

Mainda Kiwelu, 45, arrived in New York on the second British Airways flight of the day. She said this was her first trip to the U.S. in about five or six years, and was hoping to visit the Brooklyn Bridge and Central Park later this week, after work meetings.

"The flight was ok," Kiwelu said. "It was just a bit nerve-wracking sort of doing all the logistics for the travel and making sure the vaccination certificate, app, everything works."

Dueling takeoffs from London to New York

A pair of simultaneous flights left London's Heathrow airport early Monday morning, taking off on parallel runways and following similar flight paths for New York's JFK International Airport. British Airways Flight 1 and Virgin Atlantic Flight 3 took off at 3:51 a.m. ET and landed within minutes of each other. The airlines are rivals but teamed up to commemorate the reopening of foreign travel to the U.S., and British Airways' CEO was aboard his company's flight, which touched down about 11 a.m. ET

American Airlines, which is a BA travel partner, saw bookings from London to US surge 70 percent in the past week, with a lot of the travel for remainder of 2021, said Chief Revenue Officer Vasu Raja.

Clive Wartten, who runs a business-travel group in the UK, arrived on the British Airways flight and was headed for a run in Central Park before meetings with colleagues. Wartten planned to fly home Tuesday night.

"It just feels good to be back on an airplane," he said. "There was a real buzz at the airport and aboard the aircraft, lots of cheering when we took off. It was a bit of a holiday party flight."

Wartten, who is the CEO of the Business Travel Association, later tweeted that he made it from the plane to one of New York's famed yellow taxis in just seven minutes.

"This is a big step for us to come back and open business travel with our US friends," he told USA TODAY while passing through the terminal.

British Airways CEO Sean Doyle  has been pushing the Biden administration to ease travel restrictions between the UK and the US for months because it is one of the busiest travel corridors in the world. At one point during the spring, he said, the second runway at Heathrow was closed because the airport hadn't seen such a limited number of flights since World War II.

"This has been a crisis like no other,'' he said Monday after arriving in New York.

Doyle believes the border reopening took too long – the UK and European Union started welcoming US tourists back over the summer – but on Monday said he didn't want to dwell on the past. Instead, he gushed about what the reopening means to British Airways and its passengers.

"The North Atlantic is very important to British Airways and today's a very, very important turning point and milestone in the future of the country,'' he said.

Is he worried travel restrictions could return if COVID cases spike on either side of the Atlantic? 

"You always have to keep an eye on things,'' he said. "But I do think that we're seeing a sort of pragmatic framework emerge across a number of jurisdictions.''

He said he hopes that that framework – basing entry requirements on vaccination and testing – remains despite any COVID trends going forward.

— Dawn Gilbertson, Morgan Hines, USA TODAY

Anticipation at airports

Ahead of the British Airways first flight arrival, family members waited in the Terminal 7 arrivals area at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, which is decked out with balloons and New York symbols including the back half of a taxicab filled with a floral arrangement and NYC-themed cookies. 

Louise Erebara, from Danbury, Connecticut, arrived at the airport with her family early to welcome her sister and her sister's husband after 730 days apart. 

"It's everything, we can't thank British Airways enough," a choked-up Erebara said, noting the airline paid for her relatives' flight. "They want to reunite ex-pats and they're doing it." 

In Atlanta, Ari Bell, waited anxiously for her fiancé to arrive from the UK after 21 months apart. They've bridged the distance with Snapchat, video calls and texts, and she was waiting to surprise him at the airport as he starts a three-week visit that will include his first-ever Thanksgiving.

"He actually came over for a quick job interview in February, right before the shutdown, got back to London and then that March, everything closed up. So we've just kind of been hanging on a string," Bell said. "It was a little bit confusing to get him here, just because he didn't know he needed a negative (test) so that three days prior we actually had to make that last minute. And he came back negative. He's already fully vaccinated. I'm vaccinated. I got my booster yesterday, just in case — I'm just excited to see him."

Bell said she's excited to just watch a movie together — for months, they've been watching movies simultaneously but separated by the Atlantic Ocean.

"We're homebodies. We like to game together. But yeah, that's mostly what we're looking forward to — just being in the same space together," she said. "This is going to be our first Thanksgiving together, his first Thanksgiving period. He's never celebrated. So we're actually gonna make the big meal and have all my family come over. He's a little nervous. But you know, he loves my dad. They're both ex-army. So they get along great."

And Rosa Chorra, 37, eagerly awaited her parents' arrival from Spain, waiting with her 10-month-old Aurora for their plane to land in Atland. Chorra's parents missed her pregnancy and granddaughter's birth, although Chorra was able to take Aurora to visit them three months ago. She said she missed having the help they could have provided with a newborn.

"It was absolutely horrible. I think it's been the hardest time of my life. I mean, when she was born, the first months that are the hardest, and it's been tough," Chorra said.

— Dawn Gilbertson, Morgan Hines, Eve Chen, USA TODAY

Headed to Disney World

For UK resident Emma Barbour and her family, the border reopening means one thing: Florida's Disney World with their 10-year-old daughter.

They usually come annually, but put those plans on hold after 2019, and rescheduled this trip three times as they waited for the Biden administration to lift the ban. Barbour, 41, said the airports were busy but staff seemed cheerful despite long lines.

"We honestly wouldn't travel if we felt unsafe or nervous, we are fully vaccinated and will wear our masks. I definitely won't let it tarnish our time there by worrying about it," she said from Paris as they waited to board their Atlanta-bound flight.

The British are coming

Sam Nagy and his family are headed to Florida, to the Universal Orlando Resort, their first trip to the U.S. since 2018. He said lines at the Manchester, England, airport were smooth, raising his hopes for the family vacation they've rescheduled four times already.

"That once-a-year trip is so much more to us than just a vacation, it honestly feels like it's ‘home' as cliché as that may be to say," said Nagy.

Paul Richards is flying from London to New York on Virgin Atlantic and described the airport scene as chaotic, with long check-in lines this morning. He is headed to New York City for vacation to celebrate his son's 21st birthday.

"They are working really hard to get people through, however, some passengers hadn't completed the attestation forms or just stood in the wrong queue,'' he said. "Once through check in, security was pretty slick.''

— Dawn Gilbertson, USA TODAY

Lines at the Canada-US border

At th Sweetgrass, Montana, border crossing, wait times climbed to 240 minutes -- four hours — according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Normal wait time is about 45 minutes.

Windsor, Ontario, Mayor Drew Dilkens said a Canadian travel requirement – having negative polymerase chain reaction test that can cost $200 – is likely to prevent many who want to drive from Ontario to Michigan from doing so.

He explained the testing provision doesn't make sense for day-trippers nor does it provide the kind of health assurance the government thinks it does because someone could easily contract the virus during their visit.

He wants to see that requirement lifted.

— Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press

How did the international travel ban start?

The travel ban barred most foreign nationals who had been in the listed countries in the past 14 days from entering the U.S., regardless of vaccination status. The country also cut off nonessential travel across the U.S. land borders with Mexico and Canada  in March 2020. 

It wasn't until September  that the White House announced that it would end the travel ban for fully vaccinated travelers – months after many other nations  reopened to U.S. tourists. 

The new U.S. entry requirements, which went into effect Monday, require foreign air passengers to test negative for the virus before boarding a plane to the country and, if they are 18 or older , show proof of full vaccination. Travelers entering the U.S. on land or by ferry for nonessential reasons also need to show proof of vaccination. 

As airports and border crossings get adjusted to the new travel rules, international travelers should prepare for lines .

The first flight from a country listed the travel ban is set to fly into Chicago from Dublin just before 7 a.m. CT, according to flight tracker Flight Aware and flight-data firm OAG.

Plenty more will follow; there are more than 2 million international flights scheduled to arrive in the U.S. next month, compared to just 728,820 in December of 2020, according to OAG and Flight Aware.

► US drops travel ban: Expect bottlenecks at airports under strict entry rules

• Type 2 Diabetes
• Heart Disease
• Digestive Health
• Multiple Sclerosis
• COVID-19 Vaccines
• Occupational Therapy
• Healthy Aging
• Health Insurance
• Public Health
• Patient Rights
• Caregivers & Loved Ones
• End of Life Concerns
• Health News
• Thyroid Test Analyzer
• Doctor Discussion Guides
• Hemoglobin A1c Test Analyzer
• Lipid Test Analyzer
• Complete Blood Count (CBC) Analyzer
• What to Buy
• Editorial Process
• Meet Our Medical Expert Board

U.S. Lifting Travel Ban for Fully Vaccinated Travelers From 33 Countries

Anna Shvets/Pexels

Key Takeaways

• The U.S. government has announced that it will lift a nearly two-year travel ban for vaccinated travelers from 33 countries, including China, Brazil, South Africa, and more.
• Travelers must test negative for COVID within three days of departure. Americans returning to the country must test negative within one day of arriving. 
• Infectious disease experts say that the lift should not be considered a “turn” of the pandemic and that travelers should still travel with COVID-19 safety precautions in mind.

Starting on November 8, the U.S. government will lift the travel ban for some travelers, ending a 21-month long restriction that prevented international travelers from entering the counter.

The travel ban was implemented with the intention of curbing the spread of COVID, especially the highly contagious  Delta variant.  Travelers countries such as China, India, South Africa, Iran, Brazil, and a number of European nations, were barred from entering the U.S. 

Social isolation was an unfortunate byproduct of those measures. When the news of the travel ban lift was circulated, many people rejoiced. For some people overseas, it means that they will finally be able to reunite with loved ones after a nearly two-year separation.

However, because the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet over, there are some rules in place for people looking to come to the U.S.

Requirements

There are two requirements for travelers coming to the U.S. after the travel ban lifts . Travelers must be fully vaccinated with a World Health Organization (WHO)-approved vaccine and test negative for COVID before they will be allowed to enter the country.

Vaccination

As defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s interim public health recommendations for fully vaccinated individuals, you are considered fully vaccinated:

• 2 weeks after their second COVID-19 dose in a 2-dose series (Pfizer and Moderna)
• 2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine (Johnson & Johnson)

According to the CDC, people will also be considered fully vaccinated after they have received two "mix-and-match" doses of vaccines on the WHO’s approved list.

Bojana Beric-Stojsic, PhD, MD , associate professor of public health and program director of the Master of Public Health program at Farleigh Dickinson University, tells Verywell that it should not matter which vaccines are combined, because "each vaccine is providing immunity and protection" against COVID.

COVID Testing

Along with vaccination, travelers will also be required to get tested for COVID . Only people that test negative for COVID within three days of departure will be allowed to enter the country.

The same applies to Americans who will be returning to the states. But those who are unvaccinated will be required to test negative within one day of departure or arrival.

“I think it is a good idea for both land and air travel to the U.S. to be permitted to vaccinate persons who tested negative within 72 hours before travel,” says Beric-Stojsic, adding that the reason for this is because there is now more data about COVID-19, including its symptoms and spread; the safety and efficacy of the vaccines, and the best ways to mitigate outbreaks.

While the lifting of the travel ban "might be a sign that the pandemic is getting under control," Beric-Stojsic "would not call it the major turn in the pandemic, yet."

Are the Requirements Enough?

Vaccines and negative tests have helped curb COVID transmission, but Beric-Stojsic says that a regular cadence of checking vaccine and COVID status at border control points will be necessary moving forward.

“As long as the airline companies and border control points are following the policy–checking the vaccination status and proof of negative tests for travelers–we should be safe,” says Beric-Stojsic. “All the other variants seem to be less invasive.” 

Karen L. Edwards, PhD , professor and chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California, Irvine, tells Verywell that monitoring should also be a consistent effort. 

“We do need to monitor for the emergence of new variants that may be able to evade the current vaccines," says Edwards. "However, as of now, the vaccines are very effective against the most common variants that are in circulation."

Vaccines Work

Research has shown that the COVID-19 vaccines protect against variants, including Alpha and Delta.  For example, a recent study showed that two doses of the COVID-19 vaccines were 93.7% effective against Alpha and 88% effective against Delta.

Still, Beric-Stojsic and Edwards recommend erring on the side of caution because there are still so many unknowns. Preliminary data has shown that mixing and matching vaccines can amplify immune responses, but the duration of protection is less clear.

Edward says that "we still need more data" but that "as long as people are fully vaccinated using an approved vaccine, risks should be within reasonable limits."

Impact of the Ban on Travelers 

People around the world felt the effects of the ban; whether it meant that they were apart from family and friends or had to change travel plans. Some people, such as healthcare workers , were dispatched to help as the pandemic took hold and have been waiting a long time to be reunited with loved ones.

When the ban was in place, some people were able to continue to travel because they qualified for the National Interest Exception (NIE). However, public health workers traveling to alleviate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic or to continue ongoing research were not automatically considered for the NIE. Instead, these workers had to apply for it.

Even though there's reason to be relieved and excited about the travel ban being lifted, if COVID-19 has shown the world anything, it’s that it's highly unpredictable. That's why experts continue to stress that the best protection against contracting and spreading the virus is getting vaccinated.

For those traveling as well as those still at home, Beric-Stojsic reminds us of the steps that we can all take to stay safe: "Get vaccinated, wear masks indoors, isolate at the first sign of the disease, get tested, and consult with a physician in case of a positive test."

What This Means For You

Starting November 8, 2021, people who are fully vaccinated with a World Health Organization-approved vaccine and a negative COVID-19 test may travel to the U.S.

The information in this article is current as of the date listed, which means newer information may be available when you read this. For the most recent updates on COVID-19, visit our  coronavirus news page .

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People .

Lopez Bernal J, Andrews N, Gower C, et al. Effectiveness of Covid-19 Vaccines against the B.1.617.2 (Delta) Variant . N Engl J Med . 2021;385(7):585-594. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2108891

Shaw RH, Stuart A, Greenland M, et al. Heterologous prime-boost COVID-19 vaccination: initial reactogenicity data . Lancet . 2021;397(10289):2043-2046. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01115-6

The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs. COVID-19 Travel Restrictions and Exemptions .

By Kayla Hui, MPH Hui is a health writer with a master's degree in public health. In 2020, she won a Pulitzer Center Fellowship to report on the mental health of Chinese immigrant truck drivers.

U.S. Relaxes Travel Ban for 33 Countries Starting Today

Stuart McDill and Antony Paone, Reuters

November 8th, 2021 at 6:47 AM EST

Have vaccine, will travel will be the story of 2021. Spreading vaccine access to more people in more countries will be the key for everyone's long-term health.

Jason Clampet

Travellers excited at the prospect of seeing family and friends in the United States for the first time since the pandemic started took off early on Monday from London, Paris and other cities following the lifting of U.S. travel restrictions.

The extraordinary U.S. travel restrictions, first imposed in early 2020, had barred access to non-U.S. citizens travelling from 33 countries – including China, India and much of Europe – and had also restricted overland entry from Mexico and Canada.

From Monday, travellers who can show official proof of vaccination against COVID-19 and have had a recent, negative viral test can again fly to the United States.

“Really, really exciting. I mean, I was meant to go just before COVID happened, and obviously it’s been delayed this long, so it’s really exciting to finally be able to go,” Alice Keane, travelling to Miami to see her sister, said at London’s Heathrow airport.

The unprecedented travel ban, first imposed by the Trump administration , has dealt a huge blow to tourism but has also kept loved ones from attending weddings, funerals, or meeting new babies.

“I think we might just start crying,” said Bindiya Patel, who was going to see her young nephew in New York for the first time. “We’ve been facetiming the whole year. But, you know, to actually see (them) in person…” said her mother, Bhavna Patel, delighted about getting to meet her grandson for the first time.

Long-term rivals British Airways and Virgin Atlantic carried out a simultaneous take-off from London’s Heathrow parallel runways just before 0900 GMT.

The flights are full, Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss said, while passenger volume is expected to remain high in the coming weeks with the approach of Thanksgiving and winter holidays.

‘Finally!’

Travellers were equally excited in Paris, which has also seen a huge increase in bookings.

“Very happy,” Michel Valente, travelling from Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport with his wife, relieved that he would finally see his family in the United States in person rather than via video calls.

For Paul Fuchs, it was about the chance to do some tourism again and travel to Disney World. “Finally the opportunity to go back to the U.S!,” he said.

Airlines, which have warned of long queues at first, will check vaccination documentation for international travellers as they already do for COVID-19 test results.

U.S. land borders are also reopening to non-essential travel, though differing rules over coronavirus vaccines threaten to hold up some family reunions for people seeking to cross the 2,000 mile (3,200 km) border with Mexico.

The prospect of easing restrictions has also encouraged migrants to try their luck seeking U.S. asylum, posing a new test for President Joe Biden’s administration.

At the land border crossings from Mexico and Canada, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will ask travellers if they have been vaccinated and will spot-check some documentation.

Under-18s are exempt from the new vaccine requirements. Non-tourist travellers from nearly 50 countries with nationwide vaccination rates of less than 10% are also eligible for exemption.

(Reporting by Tara Oakes, Stuart McDill, Sarah Young, Antony Paone, David Shepardson; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Gareth Jones)

Copyright (2021) Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions

This article was written by Stuart McDill and Antony Paone from Reuters and was legally licensed through the Industry Dive publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to [email protected] .

The Daily Newsletter

Our daily coverage of the global travel industry. Written by editors and analysts from across Skift’s brands.

Have a confidential tip for Skift? Get in touch

Tags: coronavirus , usa

Photo credit: Masked travelers at Atlanta's international airport. The U.S. lifted it's travel ban on vaccinated travelers from nearly three dozen countries on November 8, 2021. Chad Davis / Wikimedia

clock This article was published more than  2 years ago

Travel ban will end Nov. 8 for international visitors who show proof of vaccination, negative coronavirus test

Children under 18 do not have to show proof of vaccination but will be required to show proof of a negative test.

Vaccination will not be required for children under age 18 to travel to the United States once officials lift a ban on international visitors, but they will have to show proof of a negative coronavirus test before boarding a flight, according to rules outlined Monday by the Biden administration.

With about two weeks to go before the United States lifts a travel ban on visitors from 33 countries, federal health officials offered more specifics for travelers and airlines before restrictions are lifted Nov. 8. Although vaccination won’t be required for children, most non-U.S. citizens and nonimmigrants arriving by air will have to show both proof of vaccination and proof of a negative coronavirus test taken within three days of departure.

“With science and public health as our guide, the United States has developed a new international air travel system that both enhances the safety of Americans here at home and enhances the safety of international air travel,” the White House said in a statement.

Federal health officials said the exception was made for children because many do not have access to or are not yet eligible for the vaccines. However, children must still be tested before traveling to the United States. Those traveling with vaccinated adults must be tested within the previous three days, while those traveling with unvaccinated adults or who are traveling alone must show proof of a negative test taken one day before their flight.

The new rules don’t require U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents to be vaccinated but do outline different testing requirements depending on their vaccine status. Those who have been vaccinated must show proof of a negative test taken within of their departure. Those who are unvaccinated must show proof of a test taken one day before their departure.

It will be up to airlines to verify a person’s vaccination and testing status, officials said. Many airlines already have systems that allow travelers to upload proof of a negative test and vaccine status. In addition, international visitors will have to provide information for how they can be reached in the United States for contact-tracing efforts.

“These are strict safety protocols that follow the science and public health to advance the safety of Americans here at home and the safety of international air travel,” a senior White House official said in a briefing with reporters.

The Biden administration announced in September that it was replacing the travel ban on international visitors with a system that would rely on vaccination, testing and contact tracing for visitors wishing to come to the United States.

U.S. announces end to travel ban on international visitors

The announcement was welcomed by the travel industry, which has been pushing the government for more than a year to lift the travel ban on travelers from 33 countries. With the ban in place, industry representatives feared the United States was losing ground to Europe, which began to ease travel restrictions for Americans this summer. Canada opened its borders on Aug. 9 to visitors from the United States who had been vaccinated.

Kevin M. Burke, president of Airports Council International-North America, said the new protocols will help the nation safely and securely reopen its borders.

“We appreciate the Biden administration’s commitment to working with industry on these complex challenges and we look forward to our ongoing work as the November 8 reopen date nears,” he said in a statement.

Since the announcement in September, the administration has slowly been laying the groundwork for lifting the ban. That included the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention deciding which vaccines would be accepted, specifying that travelers must have received those with full or emergency approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or the World Health Organization.

Fully vaccinated travelers can come to the U.S. even if their doses are mixed

In January, President Donald Trump announced a plan to end the travel ban, saying it was unnecessary because of his administration’s policy that required international travelers to provide proof of a negative test before boarding U.S.-bound flights. But within days of taking office, the Biden administration reinstated the ban and added South Africa, and later India, to the list, citing the need to control the spread of coronavirus variants.

In June, the White House formed working groups to help determine when to lift rules that banned international visitors from certain countries.

Under the restrictions, most foreign nationals who have been in the United Kingdom, several European Union countries, Brazil or China in the previous 14 days are not permitted to enter the United States. India was added to the list in May.

The White House also announced this month it was easing pandemic-related restrictions on overland border crossings from Canada and Mexico. Officials said Monday they would release additional information about requirements that people coming to the United States via land borders must follow.

The updated policy offers limited exceptions for individuals enrolled in certain coronavirus vaccine clinical trials and those who shouldn’t get vaccinated for medical reasons. Those who need to travel for emergency or humanitarian reasons and have a letter issued by the U.S. government verifying their need to travel also may be exempted.

In addition, those with non-tourist visas coming to the United States from countries where there is low vaccine availability as determined by the CDC may be allowed to travel to the United States. Those who receive exemptions but intend to stay for more than 60 days may be required to get vaccinated once in the United States.

More coverage: Air travel, transit, railroads

High-speed rail: Las Vegas-S. California project gets $3 billion federal grant

Merger: JetBlue, Spirit case in the hands of a federal judge

Air travel: Alaska Airlines reaches deal to buy Hawaiian Airlines for $1.9 billion

Maryland: Moore administration targets $2 billion cut to transportation projects

Air safety: Air traffic controller’s decision-making spotlighted in near-miss files

Travel Ban Countries 2024

On March 6, 2017, United States President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 13780, also known as the Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States order. This replaced a previous executive order that was issued in January of 2017. Since it was signed, two presidential proclamations have revised the order. This is because court rulings prevented provisions of the order from being enforced. However, the Supreme Court has upheld the most recent version since June of 2018. This executive order is also known informally as the “travel ban.” Under the order, there are limitations or bans placed on nationals from other nations who are traveling to the United States. The travel ban has been a very controversial issue. The executive order was signed in order to secure the borders of the U.S. and protect it from terrorism. However, some people believe that it is in violation of the Constitution and argue that it the order was simply part of an anti-Muslim agenda.

There are currently seven nations on the travel ban list: Iran , Libya , North Korea , Somalia , Syria , Venezuela , and Yemen . Chad was removed from the travel ban list effective April 10, 2018. For Iranians, only nationals with student vistas or exchange visitor vistas can enter the U.S. However, even with these credentials, all nations are subject to enhanced screening. For Libyans, entry of nations on a business, tourist, or business/tourist visa has been suspended. Entry of all North Korean and Syrian nationals has been suspended. Specific government officials from Venezuela, as well as their immediate family members on business, tourist, or business/tourist visas, are suspended from entering the U.S. For Yemen nations, Yemenis with business, tourist, or business/tourist visas aren’t allowed in the United States. Finally, entry of Somali nationals as immigrants has been suspended.

• On January 20, 2021, newly inaugurated president Joe Biden issued a proclamation revoking the Trump travel bans, with the exception of the reverse travel ban prohibiting American citizens from traveling to North Korea .
• The "Trump Travel Ban" was actually a series of Executive Orders and Presidential Proclamations. The most well-known was the third in the series, Presidential Proclamation 9645, which was issued Sept. 24, 2017 and restricted travel from eight countries: six Muslim-majority countries, Venezuela , and North Korea.

Download Table Data

Enter your email below, and you'll receive this table's data in your inbox momentarily.

What countries are US citizens not allowed to visit?

Frequently asked questions.

• Travel Advisories - Travel.State.Gov
• Trump travel ban - Wiki

US considers easing warnings for Americans traveling to China

• Medium Text

The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here.

Reporting by Michael Martina, David Brunnstrom and Kanishka Singh; Editing by Sandra Maler and Sonali Paul

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. New Tab , opens new tab

World Chevron

Russia launches first Angara-A5 space rocket from Far East cosmodrome

Russia on Thursday test-launched its Angara-A5 space rocket for the first time from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Far East, successfully putting a test load in low orbit as part of an effort to develop a new post-Soviet launch vehicle.

More than 98,000 people have been evacuated due to floods in Kazakhstan, the country's emergencies ministry said on Thursday.

• Australia edition
• International edition
• Europe edition

UK at risk of summer water shortages and hosepipe bans, scientists warn

Hot and dry conditions could force measures despite country experiencing wettest 18 months since records began

• Why is the UK facing water shortages despite record rainfall?

The UK could face water shortages and hosepipe bans if this summer is hot and dry, despite having experienced the wettest 18 months since records began.

Leading scientists have said that because the UK is not storing its water properly, the country is vulnerable to the “all or nothing” rain patterns being experienced more frequently due to climate breakdown.

There have been no new major reservoirs built in the past three decades, rivers have been engineered to move water quickly so it runs into towns and cities – causing floods – and the sea, and many wetlands have been drained and farmed or built on. This means the water that pelts the UK in winter is not being stored properly, causing floods followed by water shortages in summer.

The Environment Agency released a report last week that predicts a growing shortfall of water in coming years, leading to a deficit of almost 5bn litres of water a day by 2050. This is more than a third of the 14bn litres of water currently put into public water supply. The shortfall may be revised upwards; without action, draft government plans indicate that by 2050 the nation’s public water supply will face a shortfall of more than 4,800 Ml/day (million litres per day), which has risen from 4,000 Ml/d in the 2021 draft, due to revised forecasts of demand and additional reductions in abstraction to improve the environment.

Shortages in practice mean public supply is prioritised, and agriculture and other businesses being banned from abstraction, forcing them to cease operations for a time. Also likely to happen is a ban on filling swimming pools and ponds, and cleaning public buildings. Hosepipe bans are already in place during hot and dry periods, with people prohibited from using them to wash their cars and water their gardens.

Jamie Hannaford, a hydrologist at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), said: “It was an extremely wet winter, with England seeing the wettest October to February on record (since 1890). Rainfall was at least twice the February average across central and southern England.

“If there is below-average rainfall sustained over the coming months, especially if temperatures are also high (leading to high evaporation rates and water demand), then this could put pressure on water supplies in areas where there is limited groundwater storage, which rely on rivers and reservoirs for water supply. In these areas (notably, upland northern and western areas) reservoir stocks and river flows can be depleted rapidly during warm, dry spells in spring, even after wet winters – as occurred in the 2010 drought that followed a wet winter and flooding in north-west England.”

Prof Hannah Cloke, who specialises in water at the University of Reading, said: “It is always good for water supply levels to be high as we go into the spring and summer, after a record-breaking wet past 18 months, but it is still possible for regions of the UK to dwindle if we experienced another lengthy dry spell. Unfortunately, these ‘all or nothing’ periods of rainfall we are experiencing in the UK are likely to increase as heat continues to build up in the atmosphere and oceans. We need to realise that our water infrastructure is creaking and required billions of pounds of investment.”

Jo Parker, a chartered civil engineer who has worked in the utility industry for 30 years, said that even after record rainfall there could still be hosepipe bans in the event of a record hot summer.

“The amount of untreated water storage in this country is far lower than we need as there have been no reservoirs built for the last 30 years,” she said.

“Water demand has increased, particularly in the summer, as the population has grown and more people enjoy such things as water features, paddling pools and power washers. Coupled with summer temperatures soaring into the 40s due to climate change,” she added. “Whilst this has not generally lead to widespread problems, it has required some hosepipe bans (or to use its proper terminology, temporary use bans) and some localised shortages which are often due to bottle necks in the distribution network rather than an overall shortage of water.

“Without knowing what the weather will be like this summer it is difficult to predict what will happen.”

Though it has been a wet March, if the following months are dry, as models have suggested they could be, it is possible for the UK to run out of water this summer.

Based on projections, Hannaford said: “While the UK will see increasing river flows in winter, and increasing high flows during periods of flooding, river flows at other times of year will decline, and the lowest flows experienced each summer will be much lower than they are now. Similarly, drought events will become more severe over the coming century. Correspondingly, this will put additional pressure on water supplies during periods when demands are greatest.”

Cloke added: “The UK risks running out of water because our population has grown and continues to grow, our patterns of rainfall are changing due to climate change, and we haven’t yet invested enough in the changes that are needed to plug the gaps. We have already seen in some areas what happens when high demand for water follows prolonged periods of drought: the pipes can run dry.”

• Water industry
• Climate crisis

More on this story

Storm Kathleen: 200 evacuated after River Arun overflows in West Sussex

Storm Kathleen: Scotland hit by high winds, heavy rain and travel disruption

Storm Kathleen sweeps across west of UK and Ireland – in pictures

Dozens of flights cancelled as Storm Kathleen hits west of UK

Storm Kathleen to bring unseasonably wet and windy weather to UK and Ireland

UK weather: rain disrupts Easter weekend events amid flood warnings

UK Easter weather and travel: ferries hit by winds as getaway begins for millions

Snow falls in Devon as UK prepares for ‘unsettled’ Easter weekend weather

UK weather warnings for wind and rain issued in run-up to Easter weekend

UK weather: Met Office issues yellow warning for snow in west of England

Most viewed.

Advertisement

Supported by

With Scant Information on Omicron, Biden Turned to Travel Ban to Buy Time

“Here’s what it does: It gives us time,” President Biden said of the flight restrictions. He called the new variant a cause for concern, not panic.

• Share full article

Biden Urges Vaccinations Amid Omicron Variant Concerns

President biden called the new omicron coronavirus variant “a cause for concern, not a cause for panic,” and urged americans to get vaccinations and booster shots. the variant has not yet been detected in the united states..

The very day the World Health Organization identified the new variant, I took immediate steps to restrict travel from countries in Southern Africa. But while we have that travel restrictions can slow the speed of Omicron, it cannot prevent it. But here’s what it does. It gives us time, gives us time to take more actions, to move quicker, to make sure people understand you have to get your vaccine. You have to get the shot. You have to get the booster. The — sooner or later, we’re going to see cases of this new variant here in the United States. We’ll have to face this new threat just as we faced those that come before it. This variant is a cause for concern, not a cause for panic. We have the best vaccine in the world, the best medicines, the best scientists, and we’re learning more every single day. And we’ll fight this variant with scientific and knowledgeable actions and speed, not chaos and confusion. In the event — hopefully unlikely — that updated vaccinations or boosters are needed to respond to this new variant, we will accelerate their development and deployment with every available tool. I want to reiterate: Dr. Fauci believes that the current vaccines provide at least some protection against the new variant and the boosters strengthen that protection, significantly. We do not yet believe that additional measures will be needed, but so that we are prepared if needed, my team is already working with officials at Pfizer and Moderna and Johnson & Johnson to develop contingency plans for vaccines or boosters if needed.

By Michael D. Shear and Sheryl Stolberg

WASHINGTON — By the time President Biden was briefed on the emergence of a fast-moving new Covid variant on the morning after Thanksgiving, he had a choice to make — and little information to base it on.

In a secure conference call from a vacation compound overlooking Nantucket Harbor, the president listened as his health advisers told him that the highly mutated virus was far more concerning than other variants they had seen in recent months. It spread twice as fast as the dominant Delta variant and had the potential to evade treatments and vaccines .

Banning travel from southern Africa, where the variant was discovered last week, would not stop the coronavirus from finding its way to the United States, the officials told Mr. Biden, even though Britain and several other countries had announced similar restrictions. But the measures might slow the spread.

During the 30-minute briefing, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the president’s top medical adviser for the coronavirus, and other health officials acknowledged how little they knew about the threat, according to White House officials and others familiar with the discussion. But they concluded that even a potentially marginal benefit from a travel ban was worth the criticism that it was likely to generate from the affected countries, the officials said. Better to be criticized for something you do, rather than for something you don’t do.

A few hours later, as Mr. Biden ate lunch with his extended family at the Nantucket Tap Room, the White House issued a statement in his name announcing a ban on travel from eight countries in southern Africa , prompting outrage among leaders in that region — and from global health experts who questioned the benefits of the move, saying it was tantamount to punishing South Africa for being transparent about the virus.

“Here’s what it does: It gives us time. Gives us time to take more actions to move quicker,” Mr. Biden said at the White House on Monday morning as he called the new variant, named Omicron , “a cause for concern, not a cause for panic.”

The sudden arrival of Omicron represented a jarring, here-we-go-again moment for a weary and politically divided country after nearly two years of battling the pandemic. It also underscored the difficult position the president is in as he seeks to respond aggressively to yet another public health threat.

The scramble among White House and public health officials on Thursday night and Friday morning was a reminder that the United States remains vulnerable to a virus that is still spreading, unchecked through largely unvaccinated parts of the world — a problem that is well beyond the control of any global leader. And it once again highlighted the political dangers for Mr. Biden and his party if a new wave of infections derails the country’s economic recovery and return to some semblance of normalcy.

The president on Monday sought to reassure the public, ruling out a return to the kinds of nationwide “shutdowns and lockdowns” that ground economic and social life to a halt last year. Instead, he said, the administration would combat the new variant “with more widespread vaccinations, boosters, testing and more.”

Mr. Biden’s call for more vaccinations came as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday altered its guidance and urged all adults to get a booster shot when they are eligible, six months after their initial Pfizer or Moderna doses or two months after their initial Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The agency had previously urged eligible people over 50 and those living in long-term care facilities to get a booster shot, but stopped short of saying that everyone should do so.

In addition, Pfizer and BioNTech will ask federal regulators this week to authorize their booster shot for 16- and 17-year-olds , according to people familiar with the companies’ plan.

Scientists were working to make sure current tests could accurately detect the new variant, officials said; the administration was working with manufacturers to modify their vaccines and booster shots, should that prove necessary, Mr. Biden said.

White House officials said that the president would outline a detailed strategy for fighting the coronavirus this winter when he visits the National Institutes of Health on Thursday.

But significant risks remain, including to the nation’s economy.

Jerome H. Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, plans to tell lawmakers on Tuesday that Omicron creates more economic uncertainty and the possibility of further inflation, according to a copy of his prepared remarks.

“Greater concerns about the virus could reduce people’s willingness to work in person, which would slow progress in the labor market and intensify supply-chain disruptions ,” Mr. Powell plans to say.

In his remarks on Monday, Mr. Biden promised that he was “sparing no effort, removing all roadblocks to keep the American people safe.”

That pledge came as some Republicans seized on the existence of another variant to attack the president. The Republican National Committee issued a statement saying that “Biden failed to shut down the virus as he promised.” Representative Ronny Jackson of Texas, who served as President Donald J. Trump’s White House physician, suggested that Omicron was created by liberals eager to impose further Covid restrictions.

White House officials dismissed the political criticism. Natalie Quillian, the deputy Covid-19 response coordinator, said the potential dangers from the new variant were serious enough to prompt a flurry of meetings among officials from multiple agencies, calls with pharmaceutical companies and urgent messages to health officials in other countries.

“There was a sense of concern, a sense that this felt different from other variants,” Ms. Quillian said. “This had enough of the markers to differentiate itself in the level of concern we felt. We sort of kicked into action Thursday night and Friday.”

The new variant upended the Thanksgiving holiday for administration officials and top scientists, who had scattered across the country for celebrations.

The variant was identified by South African scientists on Thursday afternoon, as many U.S. officials were sitting down to dinner. Shortly before midnight, Dr. David A. Kessler, the chief science officer for the government’s coronavirus response, reached out to a South African partnership, which sent back a genomic sequencing report on the variant.

Dr. Fauci and Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, the C.D.C. director, were in contact with their counterparts in South Africa late on Thanksgiving Day. Jeff Zients, the president’s Covid-19 response coordinator, and others spent most of the night making calls.

By Friday morning, it appeared that Mr. Zients was leaning toward travel restrictions, according to one person familiar with the deliberations. At 10:30, Mr. Zients, Dr. Fauci and other top scientists were briefed by the South Africans, including Tulio de Oliveira, a geneticist who helped identify the Omicron variant .

After Mr. Biden made the decision to impose the travel ban, State Department officials told diplomats in the affected countries, and administration officials began calling airlines to inform them of the change. From the beginning of the discussion late Thursday, it took about eight hours to issue the presidential directive.

“Even if we bought ourselves a little bit of time to understand this more, that was valuable,” Ms. Quillian said. “And this is an action that’s not permanent.”

For now, the travel restrictions are the president’s primary response.

Dr. Michael T. Osterholm, an infectious disease expert at the University of Minnesota who advised Mr. Biden during the presidential transition, said that while travel bans could help officials gain “situational awareness,” they offered only temporary benefits. He said he would not be surprised if the restrictions were soon lifted.

“It’s like in a crime scene,” Dr. Osterholm said. “When you go to a crime scene, what do the police do right away? They lock everything down so they can figure out what’s going on. But that doesn’t mean they are going to keep things locked down for the rest of the day or the rest of the week.”

But several public health experts expressed outrage at the bans, saying they punished South Africa for doing what the United States expected of other nations: tracking the coronavirus, identifying worrisome variants and making the information public.

“Travel restrictions are exactly the wrong incentive to give to countries when you want them to share data,” said Gregg Gonsalves, an activist and associate professor of epidemiology at Yale University. “You want them to be on the lookout for new variants, and you shut your borders?”

Mr. Oliveira warned on Twitter on Monday that because planes were no longer flying to South Africa, his lab might run out of some of the chemical components known as reagents that are needed to test for the variant.

“It will be ‘evil’ if we cannot answer the questions that the world needs about #Omicron due to the travel ban!” he wrote .

The new variant has again raised criticism that the Biden administration is not doing enough to vaccinate the rest of the world, though that effort is complicated by vaccine hesitancy in other nations.

South Africa has fully vaccinated only 24 percent of its population, according to the Our World in Data project at the University of Oxford. It has a better vaccination rate than most countries on the continent , but has asked vaccine makers to stop sending doses because of trouble getting shots into arms, in part because of distribution bottlenecks and hesitancy.

Elsewhere in Africa, the vaccination rate is much lower; in some countries, even health care workers have had trouble getting their shots. The W.H.O. reported last week that only 27 percent of health workers in Africa had been fully vaccinated.

The Biden administration has pledged to donate more than a billion doses to other nations; so far it has shipped 275 million doses to 110 countries.

“Now we need the rest of the world to step up as well,” the president said.

But activists and some global health experts said the administration needed to move faster, arguing that vaccine inequities were the reason for the emergence of the variant.

African officials on Monday criticized the global effort to provide vaccines to their countries, saying in a joint statement that their low vaccination rates were the result of a lack of consistent, reliable doses.

“The majority of the donations to date have been ad hoc, provided with little notice and short shelf lives,” they said in the statement. “This has made it extremely challenging for countries to plan vaccination campaigns and increase absorptive capacity.”

“This trend must change,” they added.

Michael D. Shear is a veteran White House correspondent and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner who was a member of team that won the Public Service Medal for Covid coverage in 2020. He is the co-author of “Border Wars: Inside Trump's Assault on Immigration.” More about Michael D. Shear

Middle East latest: Iran attack on Israel could be 'imminent'; Why some Israeli soldiers are 'refusing to work' near Gaza border

Security circles in the US and Israel have likely accepted that the killing of a top Iranian commander in Damascus earlier this month means Iran will have to "retaliate in some form", with reports suggesting an attack could be imminent.

Thursday 11 April 2024 12:43, UK

• Israel-Hamas war

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

• Biden says US support for Israel 'ironclad' on Iran
• Alistair Bunkall : Attack from Iran on Israel reported to be imminent
• More than 100 Israeli conscripts 'refuse to serve on Gaza border'
• Three sons of Hamas leader killed in strike | IDF gives details of attack
• Explained: Who is Ismail Haniyeh?
• Watch: Moment he is told his family has been killed
• Alex Crawford report : Yemeni fishermen face threat of Houthi attack - but on Gaza they are firmly behind the militants
• Live reporting by Brad Young

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the war in Gaza will continue but adds that his forces are preparing for scenarios in other areas.

He said: "We established a simple principle - whoever hurts us, we hurt him. We are preparing to meet the security needs of the state of Israel both in defence and in attack."

The comments come following a visit to an air force base in southern Israel and amid fears of Tehran launching a retaliatory strike over the killing of senior Iranian commanders in Damascus.

Palestinian residents have been returning to Khan Younis after Israeli forces withdrew from the area.

Footage shows much of the the city in ruins.

The Times of Israel has reported that one IDF brigade remains in the area.

The Kremlin has called on all countries in the Middle East to show restraint, as the region braces to see whether Iran follows through on its threats against Israel.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov asked governments to avoid the region slipping into chaos.

Iran has vowed revenge for an airstrike on its embassy compound in Damascus which killed a top Iranian general and six other Iranian military officers on 1 April.

There had been no requests for Russia to mediate between Israel and Iran, Mr Peskov said.

He claimed the Israeli strike was a violation of international law. 

The Biden administration has been very frustrated with Israel over Gaza in recent weeks, but when it comes to Iran, America still has Israel's back, says Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall .

"The Americans have been very worried over the last six months that [the conflict] would spill out. Now that really is a possibility if Iran decides to retaliate and how Iran decides to retaliate."

A "like-for-like" retaliation could involve an attack on something connected to the Israeli government or military, said Bunkall.

This may not be in Israel - it could include an Israeli diplomatic mission abroad.

It may be an Iranian proxy like the Houthi or Hezbollah that carries out such an attack, ratter than Iran itself.

This could "be enough not to force Israel to attack Iran directly".

"The one thing I think is not in any doubt is if Iran does decide to retaliate then it would spell a very, very dangerous and risky moment for a region that is already incredibly tense."

More than 100 female soldiers are refusing to serve in surveillance units on the Gaza border, according to reports.

Fears among the conscripts included that female border observers were among those killed or taken hostage by Hamas on 7 October, Israeli news agency Ynet said.

Of the 346 draftees, 116 would not travel to a border protection corps training base.

This is the third group of draftees that have refused the posting, where soldiers monitor cameras and report potential incidents, since the war began.

In January, Ynet reported a group of 50 female soldiers declined to be taken to the base on the grounds that senior commanders had disregarded warnings from observers ahead of the 7 October attacks.

The vast majority of those serving in the border surveillance unit are female soldiers, according to the Times of Israel.

Israeli forces did not consult senior commanders or Benjamin Netanyahu before killing three sons of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, according to Israeli media.

Neither Mr Netanyahu nor defence minister Yoav Gallant were told in advance of the strike, which was coordinated by the Israeli military and the Shin Bet intelligence service, senior Israeli officials told Walla news agency.

They said his sons were targeted as fighters and not because they were relatives of the political leader.

The Israeli military did not comment on reports that four of Mr Haniyeh's grandchildren were killed in the attack.

A 23-year-old man from Leeds has been handed a suspended sentence after publishing pro-Hamas content on X.

Ozain Ibn Yousef, of Mexborough Place, admitted posting images of armed soldiers wearing Hamas headbands and sharing Hamas-led videos in October and November last year, according to the UK's counter-terrorism policing group.

He was given a 16-week custodial sentence, suspended for two years, on Tuesday.

Since 2001, the UK has proscribed Hamas's military wing as a terrorist organisation. This was extended to the whole group in November 2021.

Yousef was charged on 27 February 2024 with publishing images that aroused reasonable suspicion he supported a proscribed organisation.

Alongside the suspended sentence, Mr Yousef was ordered to undertake 100 hours of community service and he will be subject to a 35-day rehabilitation requirement.

Russia's foreign ministry has told citizens they should refrain from travelling to the Middle East, especially to Israel, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. 

The US and its allies believe major missile or drone strikes by Iran or its proxies against military and government targets in Israel are imminent, Bloomberg reported yesterday.

"The tense situation in the Middle East region persists," said the Russian foreign ministry.

"We strongly recommend that Russian citizens refrain from traveling to the region, especially to Israel, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, except in cases of extreme necessity."

Earlier this morning, German airline Lufthansa said it had suspended flights to the Iranian capital, Tehran.

German airline Lufthansa has said it has suspended flights to Tehran.

Israel is currently on alert for an Iranian retaliation following a suspected Israeli airstrike on Iran's embassy in Syria earlier this month. 

An Iranian news agency briefly caused concern when it published a report saying all airspace over Tehran had been closed for military drills. This story was then removed and the agency denied it had issued such a report.

Lufthansa says it has suspended flights to and from Tehran from 6 April until probably today.

"We are constantly monitoring the situation in the Middle East and are in close contact with the authorities. The safety of our guests and crew members is Lufthansa's top priority," a spokesperson for the company told Reuters news agency.

Lufthansa and its subsidiary Austrian Airlines are the only two Western carriers operating international flights into Tehran, which is mostly served by Turkish and Middle Eastern airlines.

We've just been hearing from our Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall , who says reports suggest an attack from Iran on Israel is "imminent". 

Security circles in the US and Israel have likely accepted that the killing of a top Iranian commander in Damascus earlier this month means Iran will have to "retaliate in some form". 

Watch: Attack that killed Iranian commander

That killing was more than 10 days ago, but Bunkall says the Iranians "tend to be quite calculated in what they do" and "don't often act rashly". 

Reports from the US which cite intelligence sources say Iran is planning to target military or government infrastructure, rather than Israeli civilians. 

This would be seen by Iran as a "like for like" response, but Bunkall says it's not clear whether the US and Israel would agree. 

The US has been warning Iran "not to push it too far" as there is a "big risk of it spiralling dangerously out of control".

Bunkall says the Iranians have a "network of proxies around the Middle East that they leverage to their own interests" and they may well use these again for their attack.

Until now, Iran has not wanted to be directly involved in the war with Israel. 

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

US Considers Easing Warnings for Americans Traveling to China

FILE PHOTO: U.S. and Chinese flags are seen in this illustration taken, January 30, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

By Michael Martina and David Brunnstrom

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. is considering easing advisories against its citizens traveling to China, Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said on Tuesday, acknowledging concerns that the warnings may have curtailed exchanges between Americans and Chinese people.

Communication channels between Washington and Beijing had largely normalized after months of heightened tensions, Campbell told an event hosted by the non-profit National Committee on U.S.-China Relations.

However, he also warned that Chinese support for Russia's war in Ukraine put stabilizing ties at risk.

The State Department has periodically issued tiered warnings for Americans traveling to China, calling on them to reconsider visits or exercise increased caution due to risks of "arbitrary enforcement of local laws," exit bans and wrongful detentions.

But the two countries' presidents have sought to rebuild people-to-people exchanges as a pillar for managing increasing geopolitical competition between the superpowers.

Photos You Should See - April 2024

"I don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but I would just simply say that this is certainly an issue under active consideration," Campbell said when asked if the U.S. would ease the advisories. He said he accepted the premise that they had acted as an inhibition to academic and other exchanges.

China has issued its own travel warnings for the U.S., and criticized what it says is increasing harassment of Chinese nationals by U.S. agents at ports of entry, accusations U.S. officials have rejected.

Despite China's warnings, hundreds of thousands of Chinese students study in the United States compared with only a few hundred Americans in China.

But the State Department's No. 2 diplomat, who has said China helped Moscow "retool" and reconstitute its military after early setbacks in its war in Ukraine, cautioned Beijing in stark terms about its "substantial" support for Russia's war effort.

"We have told China directly if this continues, it will have an impact on the U.S.-China relationship. We will not sit by and say everything's fine," Campbell said.

If Russia gains territory in Ukraine it will alter the balance of power in Europe in ways that are unacceptable to the U.S., Campbell said.

"And we will see this not as just a Russian unique set of activities, but a conjoined set of activities backed by China, but also North Korea," he said.

Campbell also said potentially "hundreds of thousands" of Chinese migrants fleeing weaker economic conditions in China have come to the U.S. in recent months, and that Beijing was aware but did not seem to be taking steps to curtail the flow.

"The numbers that we're seeing are large and, frankly, of gathering concern," Campbell said.

(Reporting by Michael Martina, David Brunnstrom and Kanishka Singh; Editing by Sandra Maler and Sonali Paul)

Copyright 2024 Thomson Reuters .

Join the Conversation

Tags: United States , Asia , international trade

America 2024

Health News Bulletin

Stay informed on the latest news on health and COVID-19 from the editors at U.S. News & World Report.

Sign in to manage your newsletters »

Sign up to receive the latest updates from U.S News & World Report and our trusted partners and sponsors. By clicking submit, you are agreeing to our Terms and Conditions & Privacy Policy .

You May Also Like

The 10 worst presidents.

U.S. News Staff Feb. 23, 2024

Cartoons on President Donald Trump

Feb. 1, 2017, at 1:24 p.m.

Photos: Obama Behind the Scenes

April 8, 2022

Photos: Who Supports Joe Biden?

March 11, 2020

Embattled Johnson Bruised Again

Aneeta Mathur-Ashton April 10, 2024

What to Know About Biden's State Dinner

Laura Mannweiler April 10, 2024

Fed: Inflation Path ‘Somewhat Uneven’

Tim Smart April 10, 2024

No Letup From Inflation in March

Arizona Court Upholds 1864 Abortion Ban

Lauren Camera April 9, 2024

EXPLAINER: Rare Human Case of Bird Flu

Cecelia Smith-Schoenwalder April 9, 2024