On Friday, October 15th, the White House announced its plan to lift the travel ban effective November eighth, allowing visitors from other countries into the United States.
“I would feel safe traveling with mask mandates in place,” said Alexis Cavalieri, a junior.
“Since the travel ban has been lifted I would like to travel more than before,” said Lailie Eckman, a senior.
As instructed by the Biden administration, in order to travel to the United States, travelers must show proof of COVID-19 vaccination status, along with a negative test.
The United States will soon be opened up to people from Africa, Europe, Brazil, along with other countries. Although the ban will be lifted to vaccinated travelers, mask mandates are still strongly enforced. According to the CDC, wearing a mask is necessary on public transportation because often it can be difficult, or even impossible to social distance in such close quarters. Just as since the beginning of the pandemic, anyone who refuses to follow the guidelines is not allowed to continue their travel.
“For travel to Aruba, the country required a Negative Molecular PCR COVID test within 72 hrs of arriving. This made things a little stressful, because although I took all precautions and isolated prior to my trip, it was a bit nerve wracking to know that I could still possibly be asymptomatic, and the test could be positive. Once the negative results were in, it was exciting to know I’d be accepted into the country when I arrived,” said Jaqui Rivers, a marketer.
The travel ban impacted many companies and individuals who require traveling for their career negatively, so it being lifted really helps out those who were affected. Number one being airlines; COVID-19 left airlines with fewer people willing to fly, therefore, losing money. Pilots, flight attendants, and airport employees were left without jobs for a period of time, the ban being lifted is predicted to help get them back on their feet.