Political News – COVID Travel Restrictions Reinstated by Biden
COVID travel restrictions prior to leaving the White House; Donald Trump called for a relaxation of travel rules that had been in place since the early days of the pandemic; his reasoning for doing so was because of new requirements issued by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that called for all travelers from overseas to have had a negative COVID test three days prior to travel. Trumps decision is set to be reversed on Monday;with Joe Biden extending restrictions to South Africa.
On the list of countries where travel restrictions will be imposed are the UK; Ireland; Brazil; and 26 different countries across Europe. Biden will make political news by also adding South Africa to the list in a move that infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci referred to as “prudent.”
The major problem with South Africa is that a new variant of the virus has sprung up and spread beyond its borders; that variant is considered more infectious and dangerous than the one that is currently causing positive spikes in the United Kingdom.
Before taking office
Biden stated that getting the coronavirus situation under control would be at the top of his list of things to do. The reinstatement of the travel restrictions is certainly a sign that he was serious. The addition of South Africa to the list of countries included in the restrictions; is also viewed as a sign of perhaps tighter restrictions still to come.
To this point; no resident of the United States has tested positive with the South African variant of the virus, but that is not the case with the variant out of the U.K. That strain of the virus has now been detected in several different states; which is another reason why the President has seen fit to reinstate the restrictions.
If there is a positive side to the arrival of new variants; it is that the current vaccines have all proven to be effective at battling the new version of the virus. While the data shows that it is not quite as effective as it is with the original strain; the percentages are so small as to be almost negligible. That should be considered a good sign for those who have already taken the vaccine; as well as those waiting in line for it.
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