US will accept travellers who have been fully vaccinated with any of the shots approved for emergency use by the WHO
CHARLES DE GAULLE AIRPORT, France, Nov 8 (AP): The US lifted restrictions Monday on travel from a long list of countries including Mexico, Canada and most of Europe, allowing tourists to make long-delayed trips and family members to reconnect with loved ones after more than a year and a half apart because of the pandemic.
“I’m going to jump into his arms, kiss him, touch him,” Gaye Camara said of the husband in New York she has not seen since before Covid-19 brought the fly-here-there-and-everywhere world to a halt.
“Just talking about it makes me emotional,” Camara, 40, said as she wheeled her luggage through Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport, which could almost be mistaken for its pre-pandemic self, busy with humming crowds, albeit in face masks.
The rules that go into effect Monday allow air travel from a series of countries from which it has been restricted since the early days of the pandemic — as long as the traveller has proof of vaccination and a negative Covid-19 test. Those crossing a land border from Mexico or Canada will require proof of vaccination but no test.
US citizens and permanent residents were always allowed to enter the US, but the travel bans grounded tourists, thwarted business travellers and often separated families.
Airlines are now preparing for a surge in travel. Data from travel and analytics firm Cirium showed airlines are increasing flights between the United Kingdom and the US by 21% this month over last month.
The change will also have a profound effect on the US borders with Mexico and Canada, where travelling back and forth was a way of life until the pandemic hit and the US shut down nonessential travel.
Malls, restaurants and Main Street shops in US border towns have been devastated by the lack of visitors from Mexico. On the boundary with Canada, cross-border hockey rivalries that were community traditions were upended. Churches that had members on both sides of the border are hoping to welcome parishioners they haven’t seen in nearly two years.
Loved ones have missed holidays, birthdays and funerals while nonessential air travel was barred, and they are now eager to reconnect.
The US will accept travellers who have been fully vaccinated with any of the shots approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization, not just those in use in the US. That’s a relief for many in Canada, where the AstraZeneca vaccine is widely used.
The moves come as the US has seen its Covid-19 outlook improve dramatically in recent weeks since the summer delta surge that pushed hospitals to the brink in many locations.