The Biden workforce says journey restrictions on Europe and Brazil won’t be lifted regardless of Trump’s appointment

A traveler leaves a test center at Heathrow Airport in London on January 17, 2021.

Hollie Adams | Getty Images News | Getty Images

The incoming Biden administration said Monday it would not lift an entry ban for most visitors from Europe, the UK and Brazil shortly after President Donald Trump ordered an end to travel restrictions on Covid-19.

“With the pandemic worsening and its contagious variants around the world, this is not the time to lift restrictions on international travel,” tweeted President-elect Joe Biden spokeswoman Jen Psaki.

Trump used the rules at the beginning of the pandemic to contain the spread of the virus and lifted them on Monday, just days before Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday. They prohibit most non-US citizens from entering the US if they have been to Brazil, the 26 Schengen countries in Europe, Ireland or the UK in the past two weeks.

Trump’s order came less than a week after the US announced that overseas travelers, including US citizens, would have to take a negative test for Covid-19 before flying. This requirement will take effect on January 26th, the day the travel restrictions are lifted.

Airlines have repeatedly urged the U.S. government to lift travel bans, which have contributed to a sharp drop in demand for air travel, in advance of the flight with Covid-19 tests.