Newsman: The United States will restrict travel from India starting on Tuesday, May 4th 2021 in response to the surge of coronavirus cases and variants being observed in the country.
“On the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Administration will restrict travel from India starting immediately,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement on Friday. “The policy will be implemented in light of extraordinarily high COVID-19 caseloads and multiple variants circulating in the India. The policy will take effect on Tuesday, May 4.”
The travel restrictions will not apply to American citizens, lawful permanent residents or other exempted individuals, according to a White House official. People in those categories will still have to test negative prior to travel, quarantine if unvaccinated and retest as negative upon entering the U.S., as is required for all international travelers.
The Biden administration will issue a 212(f) order restricting entry into the US for foreign nationals, who have been in India within the previous 14 days, a source familiar with the move said. Airlines have been told of the decision, according to the white house official.
Biden spoke to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, and administration officials said they are sending a range of supplies to the country, including oxygen equipment, raw materials used in vaccine production, rapid testing kits and the treatment remdesivir.
Psaki said two U.S. military flights arrived in India on Friday carrying oxygen cylinders, rapid diagnostic tests, N95 masks and other supplies.
Bottom of FormBefore boarding Air Force Two on a tarmac in Kentucky on Friday afternoon, Vice President Kamala Harris addressed the travel restrictions.
“As it relates to the people of India, we have a long-standing, decades-old relationship with India, particularly when it comes to public health issues,” Harris said, adding that she had not spoken to her extended family in India since the restrictions were announced. But said “People are worried. No question. People are worried.”
“The US would be sending a plane of supplies, including oxygen, “with an expectation that that will provide some level of relief.” She added that on Friday night,
The United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France and New Zealand, among other countries, have imposed similar travel restrictions on India in recent days.
In January, Biden reinstated similar travel restrictions on most non-U.S. travelers from Brazil, Ireland, the United Kingdom and 26 other European countries that allow travel across open borders and issued new restrictions on travel from South Africa.
India in a ninth day in a row the has added more than 300,000 cases a day and surpassed 200,000 Covid-19 deaths this week with some experts warning that the death toll is likely higher than reported. The country also reported 3,498 deaths, bringing the death toll to 208,330. Overall, India has recorded about 18 million cases, second only to the United States with more than 32 million cases.
The surge in new infections has stretched India’s hospitals to the breaking point, leading to a shortage in oxygen, hospital beds and other critical supplies.
Although India is one of the world’s largest vaccine producers, the country has struggled to procure enough to vaccinate its population of nearly 1.4 billion people. Experts have warned that global vaccine inequality could prolong the pandemic for everyone as virus variants mutate and could be more infectious and evade Western vaccines.
On Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that India accounted for 38% of global coronavirus cases recorded in the week leading up to April 25.
As of Thursday evening, more than 152 million vaccine doses have been administered. More than 26.7 million people have received their second doses, which is approximately 2% of India’s 1.3 billion population being vaccinated, according to a press release issued by the health ministry on Thursday.
India launched its vaccination drive on January 16 and will open up vaccinations to everyone above the age of 18 on Saturday, but some states have indicated that they will not be ready for that vaccination rollout. Mumbai’s municipal administration also announced the suspension of all Covid-19 vaccinations across the city Thursday evening due to a shortage.
