US President Joe Biden will reimpose a Covid-19 travel ban on most non-US citizens who have been in Ireland, Britain, Brazil, and much of Europe, a White House official said, as the new administration ramps up its pandemic response.
Mr Biden will also extend the ban to travellers who have recently been to South Africa. The moves come amid warnings that new, more transmissible coronavirus variants are already establishing themselves in the US.
The new president last week tightened mask wearing rules and ordered quarantine for people flying into the United States, as he seeks to tackle the country's worsening coronavirus crisis.