U.S. to admit vaccinated foreign travelers with negative COVID-19 test

Sept. 20 (UPI) -- The United States will begin allowing foreign travelers into the country in November if they provide proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test, the White House announced Monday.

The new policy will replace various restrictions that have been in effect since last year, which barred U.S. entry for foreign travelers if they'd spent any of the previous 14 days in Britain, the European Union, China, India, Iran, Ireland, Brazil and South Africa.

Under the new policy, foreign travelers will be required to show proof of vaccination before they board a U.S.-bound flight and a negative coronavirus test no older than three days.

"International travel is critical to connecting families and friends, to fueling small and large businesses, to promoting the open exchange of ideas and culture," White House coronavirus coordinator Jeff Zients said, according to The New York Times.

"That's why, with science and public health as our guide, we have developed a new international air travel system that both enhances the safety of Americans here at home and enhances the safety of international air travel."

Vaccinated U.S. residents traveling abroad will also need to show a negative test to return -- and unvaccinated Americans will have to test one day before their flight, and must test again once they return.

The U.S. government has restricted travel for numerous countries for more than a year, angering some leaders after they'd dropped restrictions for American travelers.

Zients said the new policy is more focused on individual travelers rather than countries as a whole.