- Washington D.C. USA
Two days before the inauguration of Democrat Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States, the outgoing President Donald Trump has decided to lift the entry ban on travellers from the Schengen Area, Ireland, as well as the United Kingdom, imposed back in spring last year. The decision has been announced by the White House, which explains that President Trump has signed a new proclamation removing entry restrictions for travellers coming from 28 European countries.
“Understanding that the nature of the threat posed by COVID‑19 would evolve over time, I directed the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make recommendations to me regarding whether to continue, modify, or terminate the restrictions that I had previously imposed,” President Trump points out in the proclamation published in the official website of the White House.
The proclamation further explains that on January 12, 2021, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an order, obliging all travellers reaching the US by air to present proof of negative COVID-19 test or proof of having recovered from COVID-19, starting from January 26.
According to Trump, the Secretary of Health and Human Services has explained to him that the requirement of COVID-19 negative test results and proof of having been infected in the past will prevent air passengers from the virus in the United States.
“Accordingly, the Secretary has advised me to remove the restrictions applicable to the Schengen Area, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, and the Federative Republic of Brazil, while leaving in place the restrictions applicable to the People’s Republic of China and the Islamic Republic of Iran,”
Trump notes, further pointing out that he has decided to put into effect the Secretary’s advice and remove the entry ban for travellers from Schengen Area, Ireland and the UK, given that they comply with the entry requirement.
Back in March 11, Donald Trump signed a proclamation banning travellers from the 26 Schengen Area Member States from entering the territory of the United States, after the World Health Organization officially called the COVID-19 a pandemic.
Immediately after, amid the increasing number of COVID-19 cases, President Trump signed another proclamation, restricting entry to the US for travellers from the United Kingdom and Ireland.
At the time, the travel bans were criticized by many, including EU officials, who later on sealed off the external borders of the Schengen Area, thus banning US travellers and all other third-country travellers from entering the EU and Schengen territory.