President Biden will reimpose a ban on many non-U.S. citizens attempting to enter the country. The move is an attempt to limit the spread of COVID-19 and contain new variants of the disease that have cropped up in several countries around the globe, according to media reports Sunday.
The ban, expected to start Monday, would prohibit travelers from the United Kingdom, Ireland and 26 countries in Europe that allow travel across open borders, called the Schengen Area, according to Reuters. It will also block entry to travelers from Brazil and South Africa, where researchers discovered new variants of the virus.
Former President Donald Trump imposed similar restrictions on travelers from Brazil and Europe but ordered that those bans be lifted two days before his term ended.
Biden's order rescinds that decision, marking the new administration's approach to coronavirus policies moving forward. It also follows early signs that Biden planned to turn back Trump's attempts to open U.S. borders to foreign travelers amid the still-raging pandemic.
These new variants we don't want to mess around with. Look to be intensely contagious.