United States Could Require Vaccination Proof for Visitors
September 16, 2021 ctn_admin
The Biden administration says it wants to introduce contact tracing for visitors to the United States and also is considering vaccination proof for foreign nationals.
The U.S. has been reluctant to bring in tough border measures, but President Joe Biden’s team is taking a different tack of late.
During a media briefing on Wednesday, White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients said new rules are being looked at.
“The new system will include collecting contact tracing data from passengers traveling into the United States to enable the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to contact travelers if exposed to COVID-19.”
In addition, Zients said the Biden administration is “exploring considering vaccination requirements for foreign nationals traveling to the United States.”
“The American people need to trust that the new system for international travel is safer even as we – I mean at that point – we’ll be letting in more travelers,” he said.
No timeline for further action was provided.
Speaking at a U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board meeting, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the recent spike of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is making it difficult to ease travel restrictions.
“We want to move to a metrics-based system,” she said. “Before we can do that, we have to get a better handle on the domestic situation, which requires us to get everyone vaccinated.”
The current U.S.-Canada land border closure order is due to expire on Tuesday, September 21. Given the public comments by top government officials this week, it seems unlikely the land border will be opened to Canadians five days from now.
Canadians, can, however, still fly to the United States. Negative COVID-19 test results are needed to cross the border, but there’s no requirement to show proof of vaccination.
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