Fully vaccinated foreigners can enter the United States from November 8, the White House said on Friday. 

“This policy is guided by public health, stringent, and consistent,” tweeted White House assistant press secretary Kevin Munoz while announcing the news. The travellers, however, will still need to go through testing and contact tracing to enter the United States.

Non-essential travellers have been banned at land borders since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These restrictions were first imposed on air travellers in China in early 2020, which later got extended to those in 30 other countries as well. 

Earlier on Tuesday, the White House had announced that it would lift restrictions at its land borders and ferry crossings with Canada and Mexico in early November for those who are fully vaccinated. These requirements are almost similar to those announced last month for international air travellers.

Also Read | Explained: What India’s new air travel rules say about demand

As per the announcement, unvaccinated visitors will remain barred from entering the United States from Canada or Mexico at land borders.

From August 9, Canada began to allow fully vaccinated travellers from the United States for non-essential travel. 

Earlier, the White House announced on September 20 that the United States was planning to lift restrictions on travellers travelling via air from 33 countries including China, India, Brazil and most of Europe, starting early November. However, it did not reveal the precise date when the announcement would take effect. The White House further added that the United States would apply vaccine requirements to foreign nationals travelling from all other countries.

A proof of vaccination before boarding a flight and a proof of a recent negative COVID-19 test will be mandatory to be shown by non-US air travellers. However, foreign visitors crossing a land border will not be required to hand over a proof of a recent negative COVID-19 test.