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Washington: The White House on Friday said it will lift COVID-19 travel restrictions for fully vaccinated foreign nationals effective November 8, ending historic restrictions that had barred much of the world from entering the United States. In Italy, protests greeted the start of a national health pass designed to fight the spread of coronavirus.
Announcing the starting date for the new rules on travel into and out of the country, White House spokesman Kevin Munoz posted on Twitter that the policy “is guided by public health, stringent, and consistent”.
Passengers wait to check in for a Southwest Airlines flight at the Portland Jetport in Maine. Credit:AP
The unprecedented travel restrictions kept millions of visitors out of the United States from China, Canada, Mexico, India, Brazil, much of Europe and elsewhere; shrunk US tourism; and hurt border community economies. They prevented many loved ones and foreign workers from reuniting with families.
US allies had heavily lobbied the Biden administration to lift the rules.
Restrictions on non-US citizens were first imposed on air travellers from China in January 2020 by then-President Donald Trump and then extended to dozens of other countries, without any clear metrics for how and when to lift them.
Curbs on non-essential travellers at land borders with Mexico and Canada have been in place since March 2020 to address the COVID-19 pandemic.
Preparing for arrivals: The US is opening its borders. Credit:AP
The United States had lagged many other countries in lifting such restrictions.
The White House on Tuesday announced it would lift restrictions at its land borders and ferry crossings with Canada and Mexico for fully vaccinated foreign nationals in early November. They are similar but not identical to requirements announced last month for international air travellers.
Unvaccinated visitors will still be barred from entering the United States from Canada or Mexico at land borders.
Canada on August 9 began allowing fully vaccinated US visitors for non-essential travel.
Demonstrators bring flowers to police officers at Rome’s Circus Maximus during a protest against a new anti COVID-19 measure.Credit:AP
Protests erupted in Italy on Friday as one of the most stringent anti-coronavirus measures in Europe went into effect, requiring all workers, from magistrates to maids, to show a health pass to get into their place of employment.
Police were out in force, some schools ended classes early and embassies issued warnings of possible violence amid concerns that the anti-vaccination demonstrations could turn violent, as they did in Rome last weekend.
But by day’s end, the protests appeared to have been largely peaceful, including one at Rome’s central Circus Maximus where some protesters gave police officers flowers in a sign they meant no harm.
“We are not here to make violence or anything like that, we are here because they are taking away our rights and we can’t even go to work anymore,” complained protester Elena Campisi.
The so-called “Green Pass” shows proof of vaccination, a recent negative test or of having recovered from COVID-19 in the past six months. Italy already required them to access all sorts of indoor environments, including restaurants, museums, theatres, and long-distance trains.
But the addition of the workplace requirement has sparked heated debate and opposition in a country that was a coronavirus epicentre early in the pandemic, but has kept the latest resurgence in check through continued mask mandates and one of the highest vaccination rates in Europe.
“Today they are stepping on our Constitution,” said an anti-vaccine protester, Loris Mazzarato. “I say NO to this discrimination.”
Reuters, AP
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