America Prepares to Reopen to the World
Biden gives an update on the American economy at the White House. Source: NBC News
The Biden Administration announced last month that travel restrictions will be lifted in November for travelers fully vaccinated against COVID-19. This new policy will allow thousands of foreigners into the United States, which will ease American tensions with Europe. For the past 18 months, a travel ban has existed in 33 countries including certain states in the European Union, South Africa, China, Brazil and more. By enabling these travelers to enter the U.S., Biden may rejuvenate the struggling tourism industry in the nation, which has lost $500 billion in 2020 after the pandemic began.
19.4 million international travelers came to the United States in 2020, which is less than 25% of the number of foreign visitors in 2019. The tourism industry, as a result, is celebrating Biden’s new policy. Roger Dow, the president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, issued a press release to express his appreciation for the reopening: “The U.S. Travel Association applauds the Biden administration’s announcement of a roadmap to reopen air travel to vaccinated individuals from around the world, which will help revive the American economy and protect public health.”
Foreign travelers, additionally, are excited about the newfound changes in light of the struggles they have endured over the past 18 months. Many have gone through inconvenient and expensive means of entering the United States. Since Mexico and Canada were not closed off for American travel, foreigners committed to two-week quarantines in those countries and then would obtain a negative COVID-19 test to enter the U.S. The travelers involved in these extravagant measures now are relieved their home countries are no longer forbidden in America.
The coronavirus, however, is currently rampaging through certain parts of the United States, with the 7-day average of the number of cases remaining above 100,000 recently. Given that these travel restrictions are set to re-open in November, there remains possibilities for case levels to both increase and decrease. Cold weather notoriously tends to worsen cases, though, which proved true last November on American soil. When these restrictions ease this upcoming November, therefore, COVID-19 cases may already be worsening around the country. These foreign travelers may be entering America at an already dangerous time. Hopefully with the vaccination requirement for foreigners, cases will not worsen due to increased travel.
The exact date of when these altered restrictions will be officially implemented is still up in the air, but November is the general timeline currently. Countless families and estranged friends have awaited this change for 18 months, in hopes of reuniting with those from whom they have been separated. Airlines, businesses and travel companies, too, are eager for this policy to officially come to fruition. As these people await the new law, however, Biden still remains the source of some geopolitical tension with European nations. With all the ambiguity that surrounds these new policies, Americans and foreigners must sit and wait for the official change.