United States will not immediately lift travel restrictions
According to Reuters, the Biden administration will not immediately lift any international travel restrictions, even as it faces growing pressure from U.S. business groups and lawmakers, a White House official told Reuters on Wednesday.
In June, the government introduced special working groups with the European Union, United Kingdom, Canada, and Mexico to look at how to lift restrictions and eventually resume travel.
“While these groups have met a number of times, there are further discussions to be had before we can announce any next steps on travel reopening with any country,” the White House official told Reuters.
“We have made tremendous progress domestically in our vaccination efforts, as have many of these other countries, but we want to ensure that we move deliberately and are in a position to sustainably reopen international travel when it is safe to do so.”
For the official press release on Reuters, please click here.
let’s look at the US States which Still Have COVID-19 Restrictions
Laurie Barrati from Travel Pulse did collect the detais about the covid restrictions, domestic travel and all updates related to that in the states of US. Now, when nationwide infection rates have dropped dramatically in the months since COVID-19 vaccines were first made widely available. Governments have the feeling that they have finally gained the upper hand over the virus. What are the updates by state?
Hawaii:
Hawaii has maintained some of the toughest policies toward travelers throughout the pandemic, with Governor David Ige being extremely wary of overwhelming the islands’ limited healthcare systems and resources, maintaining Hawaiians’ health as his foremost priority.
—As of July 8, the state will waive quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated U.S. travelers (meaning that at least 14 have elapsed since receiving their final dose).
—Presently, Hawaii’s Pre-Travel Testing Program requires visitors from the mainland to present a negative NAAT-type COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of arrival if they want to bypass an otherwise standard 10-day quarantine.
Kansas:
Kansas continues to apply COVID-19 quarantine and testing measures to highly specific and ever-changing sets of travelers, based upon their point of origin and recent travel history. As of the most recent rules update on July 1, persons who must quarantine upon entering the state of Kansas include those who:
—Traveled on or after July 1 to Brazil, Namibia, Oman or Saint Kitts and Nevis.
—Traveled on or after June 17 to Kuwait or Mongolia.
—Traveled on or after June 3 to Colombia or Suriname.
—Traveled on or after May 20 to Costa Rica or French Guiana.
—Traveled on or after May 6 to Maldives or Seychelles.
—Traveled on or after April 22 to Argentina.
—Traveled on or after April 8 to Uruguay.
—Traveled between June 17 and July 1 to Saint Martin.
—Traveled between June 3 and July 1 to Chile or Paraguay.
—Traveled between April 22 and July 1 to Bahrain.
—Attended any out-of-state mass gatherings of 500 or more where individuals did not socially distance (six feet) and wear a mask.
—Been on a cruise ship or river cruise on or after March 15, 2020.
Visitors that fall under these categories must isolate from seven to 10 days, depending upon whether or not they get tested for COVID-19 on Day 6 of their quarantine. Those who receive a negative result after testing on their sixth day will be released from quarantine on Day 8, rather than Day 11.
Fully vaccinated visitors are exempt from quarantine requirements as long as their final dose was administered at least two weeks prior.
For other states, please click here and continue reading on Travel Pulse.
Sweden decided to Permit Entry for 11 More Third Countries
According to schengenvisainfo.com, starting from July 12, Monday, the residents of several more third countries will be eligible to enter Sweden for non-essential purposes. The decision was taken on July 8, and as a result, travellers from the following countries will be eligible to enter Sweden even for tourism and visiting friends and relatives:
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Brunei Darussalam
- Canada
- Jordan
- Kosovo
- Montenegro
- Qatar
- Moldova
- Saudi Arabia
Previously on June 23, the Swedish authorities permitted entry for travellers from several other third countries, which are Albania, Hong Kong, Lebanon, Macao, North Macedonia, Serbia, Taiwan and the US.
This means travellers from these countries should either be fully vaccinated, recovered from recently, or tested negative for COVID-19. Swedish citizens, as well as the residents of Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway, are exempt from the requirement of the certificate.
Eligible to enter, for further details, please click here and continue reading on schengenvisainfo.com
United Adds Nearly 150 Flights to Warm-Weather Cities This Winter
According to the official website of United Airlines, the Chicago based airlines is expecting the resurgence to continue for winter holiday travel and is planning ahead by increasing service to cities in the U.S., Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America. The airline will add nearly 150 flights to warm-weather destinations across the U.S and is increasing service to Latin beach and leisure markets by 30% compared to 2019. The airline will fly 137 more flights than it did in 2019 to places like Florida, California, Arizona, Georgia and Nevada starting this November through next March.
“Celebrating the holidays with family and loved ones in 2020 was a challenge, and we know our customers are already eager to plan winter vacations and gatherings in person this year to make up for time that they lost,” said Ankit Gupta, vice president of network planning at United. “As pandemic restrictions ease, people are becoming more confident in planning travel further in advance, so we want to make sure to offer our customers as much choice as possible.”
Most of these additional flights will be operated with mainline aircraft featuring United FirstSM , Economy Plus® and standard Economy seat options and complimentary snacks and onboard Wi-Fi. The additional U.S. flights include:
- Up to 25 additional daily flights from New York/Newark to cities including Ft. Myers, Jacksonville and Savannah
- Up to 14 additional daily flights from Denver to cities including Charleston, Ft. Lauderdale and Savannah
- Up to 12 additional daily flights from Chicago to cities including Key West, Las Vegas and San Diego
- Up to 11 additional daily flights from Washington D.C. to cities including Charleston, New Orleans and Phoenix
- Up to seven additional daily flights from Houston to Florida including Miami, Orlando and Palm Beach
- Up to four additional daily flights from Los Angeles to Orlando, Tampa and Ft. Myers
- Up to four additional daily flights from Cleveland to Orlando, Tampa and Ft. Myers
- Up to three additional daily flights from San Francisco to Orlando and Ft. Myers
And as customers continue to … for the rest of the article, please click here and continue reading on United Airlines.
Norway Imposes Stricter Entry Restrictions for US Travellers
According to schengenvisainfo.com, Norway has tightened entry restrictions again for travellers from the United States after the National Institute of Public Health asserted that the Coronavirus situation in the US was getting worse and the new cases increased.
Among others, the changes in entry restrictions mean that boyfriends and girlfriends of Norwegian citizens will no longer be permitted to enter Norway starting from Monday, July 12. Grandparents of children who are Norwegian citizens will also be affected.
Commenting on the new decision, Secretary Lars Jacob Hiim in the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness said that he is aware that many people will be disappointed with the new changes.
“The pandemic has lasted a long time, and many had hoped to see their loved ones this summer. Unfortunately, the infection situation is changing rapidly in the world, and we have always been clear that there will be changes. Anyone planning to receive a visit from abroad should follow the situation closely,” the Secretary said.
For the rest of the article, please click here and continue reading on schengenvisainfo.com
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