US eases Covid travel restrictions for India

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and US State Department had eased their advisories regarding travel restrictions for India.

With the Covid situation improving significantly in India, the CDC lowered India to "Level 2: Moderate," while the US State Department eased its India rating to "Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution".

US President Joe Biden had imposed new travel restrictions on India on April 30 in light of the Delta variant surge, barring most non-US citizens from entering the United States who had been in India within the previous 14 days.

In addition to India, the United States currently bars most non-US citizens who within the last 14 days have been in the United Kingdom, the 26 Schengen nations in Europe without internal border controls, or in Ireland, China, South Africa, Iran and Brazil.

Several countries had imposed travel restrictions on India amid a peak of its second wave of the pandemic earlier this year. Some countries like the UK, Switzerland, Germany, and Russia have already lifted the ban, while others like the US, Singapore, and Canada have yet to lift them.

After this acknowledgement from the US State Department regarding the improved Covid situation in India, it is now hoped that the restrictions may be further eased in the coming weeks.