- Outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered COVID-19 related border restrictions to be dropped from January 26
- Under the Executive Order announced on Monday night local time, the U.S. would reopen to E.U., U.K. and Brazillian travellers
- However, Joe Biden’s team has already announced they would overturn the order and keep borders closed to non-U.S. citizens
- The incoming President’s Press Secretary argues re-opening the borders goes against current medical advice and would increase COVID-19 cases
- Biden will be sworn in as the 46th President of the United States on Thursday, January 20
Two days out from his inauguration, Joe Biden is going head-to-head with Donald Trump over COVID-19 border restrictions.
The outgoing President announced on Monday night via an Executive Order that the U.S. would soon reopen to E.U., U.K. and Brazillian travellers.
Trump had previously shut the border to the nations earlier in the pandemic, as well as China and Iran, with U.S. citizens the only exception to the rules.
However, in his last few days in power, the leader has asked for border restrictions to be dropped from January 26.
Specifically, Trump argues new rules forcing everyone flying to the U.S. to return a negative test to COVID-19 supplant the need for border restrictions.
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an order, effective January 26, requiring proof of a negative COVID-19 test or documentation of having recovered from COVID-19 for all air passengers arriving from a foreign country to the United States,” the Executive Order read.
“The Secretary has explained that this action will help to prevent air passengers from the Schengen Area, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, and the Federative Republic of Brazil from spreading the virus that causes COVID-19 into the United States,” it added.
However, within hours of the Executive Order being issued, Biden’s Press Secretary announced the Biden administration overturn the order and keep the country’s borders closed to non-U.S. citizens.
Jen Psaki said on Twitter that re-opening the borders would go against current medical advice and would likely increase COVID-19 cases, considering the contagious mutations coming out of Britain.
On the advice of our medical team, the Administration does not intend to lift these restrictions on 1/26. In fact, we plan to strengthen public health measures around international travel in order to further mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
— Jen Psaki (@jrpsaki) January 19, 2021
She also used the social media announcement to highlight Biden’s intent to introduce further COVID-19 measures, such as increasing the number of daily tests being conducted across the country.
These plans, as well as Biden’s commitment to overturning Trump’s border order, will all begin once the President-elect is officially sworn in on January 20.