Biden Considering Easing International Travel Restrictions by May

The Biden administration is eyeing mid-May to begin to ease restrictions on international travel to and from Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Brazil.

The administration so far has focused on easing domestic coronavirus spread as travel picks up nationally, but officials are confident international travel will increase as more of the world’s population becomes vaccinated, CNBC reported.

“There is going to be a sea change in mid-May when vaccines are more widely available to everyone,” an official predicted.

Nonetheless, experts are concerned about mutating strain; travel to and from the United Kingdom was halted in reflection of the fear of the extra-infectious British variant.

The Department of Homeland Security recently extended a travel ban across the United State’s land borders with Mexico and Canada through April 21st.

Along the southern border, the DHS is grappling with a surge of immigrants, many of them unaccompanied minors. Along the northern border, Canadian authorities have urged the U.S. to keep the border closed until vaccines become more readily available.

Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a statement in February that the two counties “agreed to take a coordinated approach based on science and public health criteria when considering measures to ease Canada-U.S. border restrictions in the future.”

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smarcus@hamodia.com